Deviled Egg filling by Gene Munson Barry

Having invited a few friends over for a comfortable evening of a meal
and some cards I thought that it would be nice to have some appetizers.
I chose to make Deviled Eggs, and found this recipe which I tweaked to our liking.

Once the water begins to boil I set a timer and allow the eggs to boil for 10 minutes.

After the eggs have boiled for the alotted 10 minutes, I drain off the boiling water and place the hard boiled eggs in a pan of cold water and ice cubes to cool them off faster. This way I can keep going with my preparation. Use caution as you drain off the boiling water as there will be steam that rises as you pour, so keep your hands clear and be careful to not spill hot water onto yourself.

Once the eggs have cooled you need to crack the shell and peel the shells off. Place the waste in the trash or I sometimes save them to put out for the birds and natures creatures. They say that if you peel the shells off under running water that this will help with the shell removal. Personally I find this didn't help, so I usually just crack them on the counter and carefully peel them.

Once you have the eggs all peeled, cut them in half lengthwise.

I acquired this special knife from my wife's mother when she passed away. It sharpens like no other knife that I have and holds its sharp edge. I have a new knife sharpener that uses stone pieces. It is definitely a piece of kitchen equipment they have improved on over the years.

Scoop out the yokes into a separate bowl and set aside. I have these old silver small spoons that my wife's mother used to have and she used them for root beer floats. They have long handles that work so wonderfully to remove the yokes. Try not to gouge the white part of the hard boiled eggs while removing the yokes.

My wife also had some even smaller spoons with short handles that we use to eat soft boiled eggs using a whiskey glass to hold them. These are very old fashioned silver spoons.

Now take the yokes that you scooped out and mash them with a fork in a mixing bowl. Sometimes use an electric mixer to mash them.

Combine with the liquid mustard (we usually omit this but most people like mustard). Also add the salt curry, mayonnaise (we use the real thing) and cayenne pepper. Mix all these ingredients well into the yolks until smooth. I usually add the cayenne and curry and mayonnaise a bit at a time and taste as I go. You want use as much curry and cayenne as you like - the amounts listed above might be too hot for your taste. You do not want to use so much mayonnaise that the mixture will be really wet because then the deviled eggs are hard to eat as finger foods.

Spoon the mixture into a food storage bag.

If you own a piping bag for cake decoration you can use that with a small nozzle.

I use the scissors in the photo which are quite sharp.

Snip a small hole in the corner of the storage bag and pipe the mixture into the hallow cup-shaped holes of the egg white halves.

Sometimes I have borrowed a piping bag nozzle to get a different design when filling the whites.

Next carefully sprinkle the eggs with paprika. Regular paprika does not have much flavor but adds nice color to this appetizer. We prefer the smoked kind of paprika because it adds, not only color, but another flavor tone..

These are so delicious that I eat one right away, savoring the wonderful flavor of the curry, mustard, and cayene filling.

Put the remainder on a plate and seal with saran wrap and refrigerate.

Before I cover the completed devled eggs I would suggest that you have a few tooth picks to stick into the whites of the eggs, to keep the saran wrap away from the yokes.

A friend of mine that I had shared the eggs with came over one day bearing gifts. She had found this special Deviled Egg Plate. Note the indent pockets that hold the eggs in an upright position. No one has every been able to tell me purpose the section in the middle where the chicken covers a small type bowl section. Anyone have ideas?

After you have eaten one place the remainder in the refrigerator to get cold and well rested.

You know the saying you can't eat just one? It usually is only a minute before I give into temptation and eat another one. I get so many complements on the flavor of these eggs!

These are so delicious, that every time I have taken them to picnics or gatherings they are gone in no time flat.

Once we were invited to a thanksgiving dinner at a church where our friends attended. Everyone was supposed to bring a side dish. I made and took these deviled eggs to this gathering. There was quite a spread and many choices besides the standard turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.

The friend who invited us quickly got to the head of the line. immediately took two before anyone else got to them. She then told the others present that they were the most awesome deviled eggs that she had ever had. Well by the time that I had gotten to the food table, waiting in line like others were - guess what? Yup they were all gone. Poor me.

If cholesterol is a big issue for you....it seems the jury is still out on the benefits or detriments of eggs. However you could definitely substitute a lower cholesterol product (say miracle whip) for the mayonnaise.