What the Devil?

At my house, we enjoy a good deviled egg from time to time, usually during some holiday. This Christmas, the task of making said eggs fell to me. Luckily, I had recently received the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (15th Edition)--you know, the classic red plaid one--to guide me along, as I had no real idea of what I was doing.

The basic gist is this: cut your hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise, scoop the yolks into a bowl, add mayonnaise and mustard to taste, plus a little vinegar, then stir it up--taking care to achieve a creamy consistency--and put the filling back into the eggs.

Mom likes hers with sweet pickle relish, so I threw some in (the brand I used was, of course, Mount Olive):

Then they had to be arranged on an egg plate. The one my father put in front of me is, apparently, quite old, but they're still widely available in different designs and shapes. I put the relish eggs in the middle and surrounded them with the regular ones, and the end result, while crowded, looked pretty okay:

Some people top their deviled eggs with paprika; we usually do that, but there was none in the house that day. (A word to the wise: make sure that you've grabbed the correct container, as opposed to some other red spice like, say, chili powder, which my brother did once.)

So next time you're looking for an easy appetizer, consider going with the deviled egg. They're simple and pleasing, and they'll probably be gone in ten minutes flat.

-Cate-

PS In other news, I'll be taking a short break from Food We Covet. Posts will resume on Wednesday, 19 January.