The Devil(ed egg) is in The Details

What to do with all of those hard-boiled, beautifully-dyed, eggs? An egg-salad is a predictable next step, but my favorite thing to do with these treasures is to devil them. Yup, Deviled eggs appear on many a pot-luck, holiday, or family-gathering table. And, for as many Aunts and Grandmas as there are in Texas, there are recipes. While our family gets serious about a lot of other recipes and very insistent on the methods of other dishes, deviled eggs have been a relatively stress-free item with no real recipe and no strong opinion about what is "right." These are so easy to make that, often times as a kid, I would take just one egg and devil it myself as a snack. I still do that on occasion when I am in need of a quick snack or lunch.

My standard quickie single deviled egg is as follows: 

• Peel egg and slice in half lengthwise.
• Reserve egg white for refilling
• Place yolk in a small bowl and mash with the tines of a fork.
• To the mashed yolk, add a sprinkle of garlic salt and pepper; a dollop of mayonnaise (a generous, rounded teaspoon for those who measure); a shot of plain ol' French's yellow mustard (about a tsp); mix well and then refill the whites with the egg yolk mixture.(if the mixture seems a little dry, add a bit more mayo)
• If you are feeling super fancy, sprinkle with a little paprika or even fancier a few snipped fresh chives.
• That's it - enjoy!

However, when thinking about how to change it up a bit, another fabulous treat popped into mind: Pimento Cheese - (or likely, for those of us with deep Texas roots, puh-men-nah cheese). This creamy, delicious, cheesy spread also appears at many (if not all) of the same meals as a deviled egg. I'm not talking about the stuff in the plastic tub at the grocery store that is a shade of orange not found in nature. But, instead, the real deal, homemade, pimento cheese that I grew up on.  A nice longhorn cheddar or colby, grated by hand mixed with a jar of pimiento peppers (diced), some grated onion, some grated tomato and then mixed with just the right proportion of mayo to make a spread that is divine on white bread for a sandwich, or spread on crackers or on occasion, rolled up in a leaf of ice cold, crispy iceberg lettuce.

So, why not kill two birds with one stone and do a mash-up?

Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

• 6 hard-boiled eggs - peeled, cut in half-lengthwise
• 3 Tbsp mayo (maybe a 4th if you like your filling uber creamy)
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard (if you like more tang and zing, add more mustard than this)
• a few shakes of garlic salt & pepper - to your liking
• 1 Tbsp of grated sweet onion
• 1 Tbsp of grated fresh tomato
• 1/3 C of finely grated "Longhorn" cheddar or colby (or mix of cheeses if you prefer)
• 3 Tbsp of diced pimientos (jarred)
• a sprinkle of paprika (optional)
• a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Scoop the yolks into a small mixing bowl and mash with the tines of a fork until relatively smooth. Stir in the mayo, mustard, garlic salt & pepper, grated onion and tomato, cheese, and pimientos. Stir/mix until well-combined and smooth-ish.
2. Scoop mixture into the wells of the egg whites (if you've got the talent to pipe it in, go on and do it. Me? I just scoop)
3. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and/or cayenne, if using.

Happy Cooking!

 sld

Tweet