Deviled Eggs: ready to party! #picnic #partyfood

FROM: MARY JANE MAFFINI

At Edith’s recent fun Around the Kitchen Table discussion about picnics and the like, my number one choice was Deviled Eggs. I find them perfect for this time of year, when we are starting get together outside and have fun again. Like every family, we have our traditions.  We almost never have a party without that old standby, Deviled Eggs.  Sure they have slipped in and out of fashion over the years, but they’re always in style in our gang, regardless of your age and whether you’re in the backyard or at picnic table by a river.  Face it: we party like it’s 1956! These eggs made an appearance at our uncle’s 91^st birthday last weekend,  a relaxed outdoor event by the river. and then again when a friend came for lunch this week. They are portable (if you play your cards right) and easy to make. They may be cheap and cheerful but we never have any left. 

INGREDIENTS:

For two dozen deviled eggs.

1 dozen large eggs (I know there are 16 here. I always add a few in case some of them look mangled after they’re shelled)

1 cup good quality mayonnaise (more if you like them creamier)

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp half-sharp paprika (or 1/8 tsp cayenne) You can add more or less depending on whether you like things spicy – or a bit of tabasco or whatever flavoring sounds good to you.

3 tablespoons snipped chives (I use kitchen scissors) and more for garnish

1 – 2 trays of ice cubes to cool the eggs.

DIRECTIONS:

Set timer for 20 minutes. In a pot big enough to have just one layer of eggs, bring eggs to a boil and cook until timer goes.  Add the ice cubes to a large bowl of water. Drain the eggs and plunge them into the  ice water immediately. 

This will cool them quickly and make them easier to peel (on a good day). I am betting that many of you swear by different cooking times or methods for hard-boiled eggs and for making them easy to peel, so please drop in and share your secrets. I promise to try out every one. 

Peel the cooled eggs (this is the only boring part) and slice in half.  

Scoop out yolks and place in bowl of food processor.

Set up egg whites on a plate or deviled egg holder.

Add Dijon, mayo, paprika/cayenne and 3 tablespoons chopped chives. 

Blend until very creamy.  

Return to egg white bases using a heaping teaspoon of filling for each. If you like things creamier, add more mayo.  One of my friends pipes the filling into the white base and it looks very pretty but strikes me as too much like work. Perhaps in another life …  But I hope you will wade in on this issue too!

Sprinkle extra snipped chives on top. Sometimes I sprinkle a bit of paprika too …   Party on!

 Mary Jane Maffini is the award-winning author of three and a half mystery series: the Camilla Maffini mysteries, the Fiona Silk capers and the Charlotte Adams organizer mysteries – number six coming soon! With her daughter Victoria Maffini, MJ collaborated on The Book Collector Mysteries as Victoria Abbott. Victoria Abbott spent several happy years on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. MJ  is very glad to be back and Victoria is waving at you all!

The first five Charlotte Adams are being reissued by Beyond the Page Publishing. Recipes have been added and of course, the organizing tips continue! The Charlotte Adams books have recently been optioned for television films.

Organize Your Corpses was re-released as an e-book and a trade paper on May 18. There's a great deal for the e-book.   You can order it HERE!

The Cluttered Corpse was reissued on June 15th and Death Loves a Messy Desk is coming July 13th. 

Coming in July:

Jordan Bingham has a tough time: she's the first person in her large family to go straight. She has learned some useful skills from her crooked relatives but she's trying to hang on to a legit job working for a curmudgeonly book collector. But of course, the bodies keep piling up.  There's lots of fun in the book collector series from Victoria Abbott.

Don't forget to check out MJ's Canadian books:  Camilla MacPhee features a fortyish widowed lawyer who runs an advocacy agency for victims of violent crime, in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Life would be easier if she didn't have the world's worst office assistant, the world's bossiest sisters and, arguably, the world's greatest stubborn streak. If you like your mysteries a bit edgy with a side order of humor, these could be for you.  

Keep up on the news!  You can sign up for updates about MJ and Victoria plus fun and prizes through our newsletter HERE