the perfect deviled eggs

** update ** Hey, would you look at that! I'm on the front page!

Have you ever made deviled eggs that went horribly wrong? i.e. overly hardboiled eggs where the whites come off in chunks as you shell it and the yolks have a dark casing and are really stiff? Too much or too little of an ingredient? I've tried several different recipes over the internet, and none of them are as good as this very easy and simple recipe. My boyfriend's sister told me how to make these in less than 5 minutes with no measurments, just (use a glob about this big... etc). This works out great because you are actually TASTING the mixture before you stuff the eggs, and then can adjust accordingly, rather than blindly mixing everything together. So, if you follow these instructions well, you should have a perfect batch every time! Note: this is geared towards a dozen eggs, but you should be able to easily adjust this to larger batches if necessary.

hardboiling!

This will yield the PERFECT hardboiled eggs. It takes about a half hour to 45 minutes to do, but trust me, it's worth it. A dozen eggs fit perfectly in a 2qt saucepan. Fill the pan up about 1/3 of the way with cold water and then set your eggs in very gently, otherwise they will crack. There should be about an inch of water over the eggs. Now, shake some salt in that badboy and put the cover on. Put the pan on the burner and set it to high. Keep your eye on it. When it starts a rolling boil, set your timer (or watch it) for about 20 to 60 seconds and then turn off the burner. Keep the cover on, and let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then, dump out the warm water and replace it with cold water. Now is the time to go do something... watch TV, read, do laundry, start making dinner/lunch/whatever! Once the eggs have been sitting for at least 10 minutes and are somewhat warm/cool to the touch, you can start peeling them.

peeling!

You should find these eggs super easy to peel, and often you'll get large pieces of shell to come off at once. At the bottom (wider part) of the egg, there's a little pocket of air. Lightly tap this part on the counter top, and work your way up the egg, tapping lightly, then, pry the shell from the egg, including the thin membrane encasing it, in the same order that you tapped it: starting from the bottom up to the tip. I peel it right into the water, the shells will sink, which makes it easy to drain the water and discard the shells, and then you don't get a mess all over the place. Don't be too rough, or you'll pull apart the whites. if it's not coming off then keep tapping it lightly on the counter until you've got some little pieces to take out. Usually you have the little pieces first, and towards the end you're taking off almost half the shell!

mixing!

You'll need:
a jar 'o light or regular Hellmans mayonaise
some Hellmans dijonaise mustard

After you cut your eggs in half longways (hotdog style!) and pop out the yolks into a bowl, mash them with a fork until the yolk is in little pieces. The mayonaise to mustard ratio should be about 2:1, or in other words, the mustard should be about half of the mayonaise. In a seperate bowl, scoop out one huge spoonful of mayonaise. If I were to guess how many tablespoons, perhaps three? Then put half of that amount of dijonise and mix it together. Then, slowly mash in the mayo/mustard mixture. I go by parts, and once everything is blended, I taste it. If it's still a bit dry, then I add more, mix it, taste it. If you use up all of your mayo/mustard mixture, then fix up some more. When you have about the perfect mixure, it should be fairly creamy, and niether of the ingredients should be overpowering. Sometimes it helps to put the mixture on an egg white half to taste!

** update: ManiacalV suggested that you mix your ingredients in a plastic baggie with a ziploc, and once your mixture is perfect, nip the corner and use it like an icing bag -- brilliant!

finishing touches!

Paprika
Parsley


After you've got the perfect mixture, scoop about one teaspoon full into each egg white. It always comes up about perfect every time I do it, but if you have some extra at the end, put it on toast with some cheese or beef up your little ones. If you don't have enough, then you probably put too much in. Either salt your extra whites and munch away, or cut them up and put it in a salad... or put your overweight devils on a diet and fill up the rest of your egg white halves. Once you're done, lightly sprinkle paprika and parsley.

Then, DEVOUR as many as you can, because once everyone in your house knows they are made, they will be gone before you can blink your eyes.