The devil’s in the details
If there’s a sandwich tray around I hover to make sure I get at least two triangles of egg sandwiches before they disappear. I don’t know what it is about eggs, but I love them. I think it’s the combination of egg and mayo that provides such a delicious taste and texture.
If I walk into a gathering and there’s deviled eggs on the table – watch out. I’m all over it. Deviled eggs are eggcellent. As Halloween is just around the corner I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about deviled eggs. They make a great party appetizer. One that is great for all ages.
“Wicked chickens lay deviled eggs.”
- Unknown
If your nose instantly turns up at the sight or thoughts of deviled eggs, perhaps you’re not including the right mixture of ingredients. There’s the standard — egg yolk and mayo topped with a little salt and pepper.
Oh my goodness, are you ever missing out if that’s all you put in your deviled eggs. There’s so much more to deviled eggs than meets the eye and a multitude of flavour combinations.
Like most food, you can theme it. Halloween is a perfect occasion for deviled eggs. Come on, the name alone is wicked. I decided to make devil deviled eggs and spider deviled eggs. Mainly because I had the ingredients on hand.
First, hard boil the eggs. I cut the eggs in half, took out the yolk and divided into two bowls. In one bowl I used mayo, a grainy mustard, paprika and a dash of salt and peppers to taste. In the other bowl I used mayo, relish, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste and some green food colouring. Avacado makes a lovely green mixture.
“I’m so egg-cited, I just can’t hide it.”
– Unknown
I spooned my yolk mixtures back into the egg whites and started in on the fun side of deviled eggs – decorating. For the spiders, I started by cutting a black olive in half. I had to be careful as it was starting to turn out to be one olive for me, one olive for the egg. Yep, it’s a problem with cooking. I should have a sign in front of me as a reminder: Erin, do not eat the ingredients!
OK, back to the decorations. Take one half and cut it in four or six slices. Then, place the slices on the side of the egg for the legs. Take the other olive half and place it on top for the body of the spider. For the devil deviled eggs, take a red pepper and cut two small triangles for the eyes. For the horns, cut two longer pieces and cut small triangles out of them and stick them on top. Voila! Aren’t they the cutest?
I will admit, it’s a little tedious and takes time but after a while it falls into routine and you start picking up the pace.
Oops! Time to press pause and rewind a few steps.
I also took it a step further at the beginning. After I boiled the eggs and let them cool, I took a wooden spoon and smacked each egg around the entire shell. I then placed them in a bowl and covered it with cool water. I took my tiny bottles of green and blue food colouring and, well, to be honest, I doused the water with food colouring. There’s no magic step to how much you should put in. Put in as much as you want to get the desired colour you’re looking for. Once that step was completed, I placed the bowl of eggs in the fridge for about 3-4 hours. As you can see from the picture, when I peeled the shell, a gross, veiny look appeared.
Cool or wha?
“There is no such thing as too many deviled eggs.”
– Jan Karon Hidden bonus: if they’re not a big hit at the party or gathering, take it as a win. Why? Well that means you can indulge in as much as you want without feeling the guilt.
It’s a win-win really.