When I was growing up, my mother would make extra money putting together "party trays" for small events. She'd have pickles and carrot sticks and meatballs and I'd usually help her stuff celery with some sort of cheese mixture. But my special exclusive job was to make the deviled eggs. Apparently I had a talent for it.Before the party trays got rolling, I liked deviled eggs, and I didn't mind making them because we'd make just a few for snacks. When the party trays came along and I was making dozens and dozens of them...well, let's just say that it got to be a lot less fun. When you're ten years old, you don't have the attention span to want to neatly stuff dozens of eggs.
When the era of the party trays ended, I swore off of deviled eggs. They were old fashioned. They weren't very exciting. Not only was I tired of making them, but I was tired of eating them. As a young adult, I never volunteered to make them for potlucks and parties, and for sure I didn't make them at home.
Years later, my husband mentioned that he really liked deviled eggs, so I relented. And the funny thing is that after a long hiatus, I liked them again.
My usual recipe includes some horseradish for a little kick, but the last time I made them, I decided they needed even more heat. They needed to be devilish and not just plain old deviled. And since I'm a bit addicted to a certain hot condiment, of course I had to use that for the heat.
This recipe uses 6 eggs, which makes 12 pieces, but you can double and triple and multiply to make as many as you want to.
Devilish Deviled Eggs
6 hard boiled eggs
2 teaspoons Hot Heads Pepperspread
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt, to taste
paprika or smoked paprika
Cut the eggs in half, lengthwise, and scoop the yolks into a bowl. Add the Pepperspread, mustard, mayonnaise, and salt, and mash the yolks to a smooth paste. Taste and adjust for seasoning and smoothness.
Pipe or scoop the yolk mixture back into the whites. Sprinkle with paprika or smoked paprika for a garnish. The smoked paprika adds an interesting flavor, but if you don't have it or don't like it, use sweet paprika or sharp paprika, whatever you prefer.
If you really like hot stuff, you can garnish with a slice of hot pepper, a sprinkle of cayenne, or an extra dab of Pepperspread or a drizzle of your hot sauce of choice.
Notes: if you have any whites that have holes or look ragged from a bad peeling job, you can chop them up and add them to the yolk mixture. It's always a good idea to boil an extra egg or two, so you don't have to use the ones that don't look pretty. And you'll want some for quality control. Of course you want to taste one.
As for the yellow mustard, that's added for the color as well as the tang. Brown mustard would be fine, but the color of the yolks will be more drab when you're done.
