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Somebody's Mom: Deviled Eggs

It's a sin how good they taste!

Deviled eggs are one of the simplest and most satisfying recipes you will ever make. When these little colorful babies make an appearance on my table, everyone makes a beeline for them!  

However, have you noticed that they’re not front and center anymore when you head for the appetizers? Yep, we’re all worried about the cholesterol. The stomach says “oh yes” and the head says “no way!” Who wins your battle? 

When my second child Marisa was born, we were pretty broke. I was planning on having her christening celebration when she was 6 weeks old. My husband and I thought we would invite just the family; before we knew it, the “family” expanded up to about 70 people.  

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Entertaining that many people at a restaurant was way too expensive at the time. My neighbor, Joan at the time, suggested we rent the Girl Scout house in the park. We did that and then we had to figure out the food. I made some calls and asked family and good friends if they would bring something.  

I started by asking my mom to cook something, and it just took off from there. An aunt made her famous chili; my sisters-in-law brought stuffed shells, potato salad and desserts. Someone brought gallons of wine, a roast beef, appetizers, etc.  

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Everyone was unbelievably generous, leading me to the reason why I am telling this story. My friend Sandy offered to bring something too and had decided on making her much revered deviled eggs. I let her know that I was totally up for that.  She asked how many people I was expecting, so I told her there’d be about 70.  God bless her heart, Sandy made at least 50 deviled eggs.

Understand this: While the recipe is simple and the outcome worth the effort, it does take a little time and patience to make them look good on a tray and to be worthy of a little admiration before devouring. (I’m sure you, like my friend Sandy, can appreciate the visual difference between a deviled egg served at a backyard cookout and one presented at a restaurant.)  

Anyway, Sandy was so traumatized after making all those good-looking deviled eggs for Marisa’s christening that I don’t think she made another deviled egg for many years after! While writing this story, I called Sandy to verify the amount of deviled eggs she made.  She still remembers that, for years after the christening, she couldn’t even look at a deviled egg!  

I always felt that party was one of the best I ever had. Everyone pitched in and made their special dishes. The menu included appetizers through desserts of all different homemade dishes. There is nothing like food made with love. I never forgot how everyone brought something.  

It just goes to show you it never hurts to ask for help, because you just might get what you asked for—70-fold!

Deviled Eggs

  • 10 hard-boiled eggs
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • paprika  
  1. To hard boil eggs, prick a pin hole on one end of the egg. Place egg in a pot of cold water. Cover the eggs completely with water. Place on a high flame on the stove and leave on till the water is at a full boil. Once it is boiling, boil for a full 10 to 12 minutes to cook the egg.  
  2. Remove the hard boiled egg from the stove and dump out the hot water. Run cold water over the eggs and let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes. Then dump that warm water out and run cold water again over the eggs.
  3. While the eggs are cooling, take one egg at a time and with the faucet running cold water, start to peel where you pricked the egg with a pin. The shell under the running water should come off easy. Discard shell and place egg on a paper towel.
  4. Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Gently remove yolks and place in a food processor or small bowl. Using the chop switch or with a fork, finely crumble the yolks. Stir in mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. With a spoon (or with a decorating bag), fill the egg white centers where you removed the yolk. Decorate with paprika.
  5. Serve immediately or cover tightly and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
  6. Enjoy—the Dijon mustard devil made the eggs! 

Mariann Raftery, creator of Somebody's Mom blog, cooks up comfort food recipes for families here at home, as well as sending homemade cookie care packages to our American soldiers overseas. Somebody's Mom Cooking videos at  http://www.youtube.com, search "Thesomebodysmom".

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