Devilled Eggs (an Egg-Stravaganza)

What better way to begin a summer barbeque than a platter of chilled, delicious deviled eggs? Having a variety of tastes is a great way to please everyone without having to spend the whole day in the kitchen making a multitude of different dishes.

Ingredients:

  • 18 hard-boiled eggs (makes 36 deviled eggs)
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon-Pepper Deviled Eggs:

  • 2 ½ tablespoons prepared mayonnaise
  • juice of a half a lemon
  • 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
  • ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
  • lemon zest curls and lemon pepper for garnish

Fresh Herb Deviled Eggs:

  • 3 tablespoons prepared mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/8 cup chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
  • ¼ teaspoon chopped fresh dill
  • ¼ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon chpped fresh sage
  • 1/8 teaspoon chopped fresh basil

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Deviled Eggs:

  • 1 tablespoons prepared mayonnaise
  • ½ of a roasted red pepper, pureed
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • dash dried red chilis
  • slices of fresh red chili for garnish

Directions:

  1. Peel hard-boiled eggs and cut them in half, lengthwise. Remove yolks and put 6 yolks in each of three bowls. Set whites on plate and sit aside. Mash yolks with a fork.
  2. Add mayonaise and other ingredients to each bowl separately and stir to combine. Either spoon fillings into eggs or pipe with an icing bag and tip. Garnish with complementary garnishes. Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Hard-Boiled Eggs:

  1. Lay the eggs in the pan and add cold water, making sure it covers the eggs by about an inch. Set over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan, and let sit exactly 17 minutes.
  2. Transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and water. Chill for 2 minutes while bringing the cooking water to the boil again. (This 2 minute chilling shrinks the body of the egg from the shell.)
  3. Transfer the eggs (6 at a time only) to the boiling water, bring to the
  4. boil again, and let boil for 10 seconds – this expands the shell from the
  5. egg. Remove eggs, and place back into the ice water.

*Chilling the eggs promptly after each step prevents that dark line from
forming, and if time allows, leave the eggs in the ice water after the last
step for 15 to 20 minutes. Chilled eggs are easier to peel, as well.

* The peeled eggs will keep perfectly in the refrigerator, submerged in water
in an uncovered container, for 2 to 3 days.

After-Thoughts:

· The lemon-pepper and fresh herb eggs were my favourite – the spicy roasted red pepper were good, but the taste took just a bit of getting used to.

Recipe Origin:

based on a Martha Stewart Recipe
* egg boiling instructions care of my mom and Julia Child