Thanksgiving is just 6 days away!  And what is on my mind?  Deviled Eggs.

As long as I can remember there was always a appetizer platter at every Ramon’s Thanksgiving celebration, consisting of Stuffed Green Olives, Black Olives, Midget Sweet Pickles, Stuffed Celery, and Deviled Eggs.  I couldn’t wait to have my very first taste of a Deviled Egg as a kid on Thanksgiving Day, and for some reason Deviled Eggs were only to show up on this one holiday.  I guess that is what made them even more special and taste so good!

The recipe for Deviled Eggs made by my mother and her sisters, consisted of a few ingredients.  Hard boiled egg yolks and Miracle Whip made up the filling and then it was spooned into the hard boiled egg white halves and then dusted with paprika.  That is all.  The flavor of the filling was slightly sweet, tart, creamy, and with that little zing from the Miracle Whip.  Always good and consistent.  I know there are those who despise Kraft Miracle Whip and opt for Hellmann’s Mayonnaise when making their Deviled Eggs.  I personally love both and use them for different applications.  My mom raised 9 kids on Miracle Whip and that is what we use for Deviled Eggs.

So there we have it, 3 ingredients; Hard Boiled Eggs, Miracle Whip, and Paprika.

The first thing is to hard boil the eggs.  This is where no one person agrees what the proper procedure to make a hard boiled egg that yolk is just set and completely yellow.  Under cooking the eggs produce soft runny yolks that are not appetizing in a Deviled Egg filling.  Over cooked egg yolks produce that sulfur green color surrounding the yellow yolk, leading to an off flavors and smelly deviled eggs.  The other problem that can happen is the hard boiled eggs don’t peel.  I had this happen years ago on Thanksgiving and ended up cursing the whole time and finally made some rough looking finished deviled eggs.  I guess rough looking Deviled Egg are better than no Deviled Eggs.  I’ve learned a few tricks that insure perfectly boiled eggs that peel every time.

So here is the recipe that I’ve used for years to make my Deviled Eggs.

Equipment

• 2 Qt. Sauce Pan
• Knife
• Cutting Board
• Rubber Spatula
• Food Mill
• Fork
• Piping bag with tip of choice/or a spoon
• Serving Platter

Deviled Egg

• 1 Doz.          Large Eggs (hard boiled, peeled, and halved)
• ¾ to 1 cup    Miracle Whip (add the amount to your taste)
• ½ tsp.          Sea Salt (finely ground)
• ¼ tsp.          White Pepper (ground)
• ½ tsp.          Paprika (for dusting the tops of the filled Deviled Eggs)

Preparing the Boiled Eggs:

1. In a 2 qt. sauce pan, place the whole eggs.  Pour in enough water to cover the eggs completely with at least 2 inches of water above the eggs.
2. Add 2 Tbsp. of sea salt to the sauce pan.  (This will insure the egg peel for you every time!)
3. Place the sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a full boil.
4. Set a timer for 8 minutes and reduce the heat to have the water just boil.
5. Boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and place the sauce pan under running cold water from the tap.
6. Let cool for 4 minutes before peeling and dividing the eggs in half with a knife.
7. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl.  Place the egg white halves onto a serving tray.  Set aside for the filling.

Mixing the filling:

1. Place the egg yolks into a food mill and place the food mill over a mixing bowl.
2. Mill all the egg yolks into the bowl.
3. To the mixing bowl with egg yolks add the Miracle Whip, sea salt, and white pepper.  Whip with a fork to blend.  Taste for seasoning and adjust according to your taste.
4. Prepare the piping bag with tip and fill with egg yolk filling using a rubber spatula to get all the filling out of the bowl.
5. Pipe or spoon the filling into the egg white halves.
6. Dust with paprika.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.  (If you use toothpicks stuck into the filling it will keep the plastic wrap from sticking to your finished Deviled Eggs.