Deviled eggs

I have a confession.

I've never had a deviled egg before. Ever.

I know, right? Jeez..

Since it was a potluck for my birthday, I decided to make deviled eggs. I have potlucks at my house all the time, and I'm usually roped into making the main dish. That's fine and dandy with me (I also made a main at my birthday too), but I really wanted to try my hand at making deviled eggs.

I found a easy recipe for classic deviled eggs on the Food Network and used that as a guideline for mine.

I used my large stockpot to boil 9 eggs. I didn't want to crowd them in my medium saucepan, for fear they would knock and crack, causing egg white spillage. Make as many eggs as you want.

A little trick I learned to boil eggs without them cracking? Put the eggs in the water and then turn the stove on. That way you don't dunk them in while the water is boiling, potentially causing cracking when they're dropped in the water.

Once the water reached a boil, I left it to simmer for a couple minutes before turning the heat off and letting the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Then run them under cold water for a few minutes.

Slice them in half and dump the egg yolks into a bowl with mayonnaise, vinegar, yellow mustard, and some salt.

I fancied them up a bit by piping them with a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 2D open star decorating tip. Sprinkle a bit of smoked Spanish paprika on them, and voilà!

I was quite happy with how these turned out, especially since I had never even tasted one before. I got pretty good reviews from my friends, and the disappeared before some people had even arrived!

Classic Deviled Eggs (adapted from Food Network)

9 eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp yellow mustard
salt
smoked Spanish paprika, for garnish 

1. Boil eggs for 1 minute, let simmer for another minute before removing from heat and letting sit for 15 minutes. Run eggs under cold water until cool enough to touch.
2. Peel eggs under water. Wipe dry with a paper towel and slice in half lengthwise.
3. Remove yolks and place in a bowl with mayonnaise, vinegar, yellow mustard and salt. Mash together until smooth and combined.
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 2D tip, pipe filling into each egg white half.
5. Sprinkle with paprika and serve on a decorative plate.