Coloring three dozen hard-cooked eggs seemed like fun when the kids were doing it, but tomorrow you may be wondering what to do with all of them.
You can slice them on top of green salads or smash them into egg salad, but there is an even more surefire way to make sure they disappear: Turn them into deviled eggs.
It may be one of the oldest appetizers around, but put out a plate of deviled eggs at a party or picnic, or even as an after-school snack, and they’ll be gone quicker than you could ever convince your family to eat those holiday leftovers.
You can use a tried-and-true recipe with mayonnaise, mustard and relish, or you can check out the new book by Kathy Casey, D’Lish Deviled Eggs: A Collection of Recipes from Creative to Classic (Andrews-McMeel/$14.99 hardcover).
Casey offers 50 recipes for a wide variety of deviled eggs from classic to the nontraditional, like her Dirty Martini Deviled Eggs.
Here is a family-friendly recipe from her book:
GARDEN RANCH ’N’ VEGGIE
DEVILED EGGS
1 dozen hard-cooked eggs
For the filling:
½ cup pre-made ranch dressing
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
For the topping:
1 tbsp. very tiny-diced red bell pepper
2 tbsp. very tiny-diced celery
2 tbsp. very tiny-diced carrot
2 tbsp. pre-made ranch dressing
Halve the eggs lengthwise and transfer the yolks to a mixing bowl. Set the egg white halves on a platter, cover and refrigerate.
With a fork, mash the yolks to a smooth consistency. Add the ranch dressing and parsley and mix until smooth. (You can also do this using an electric mixer with a whip attachment). Taste and season accordingly.
Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain or large star tip, then pipe the mixture evenly into the egg white halves. Or fill the eggs with a spoon, dividing the filling evenly.
To make the topping, in a small bowl, mix the bell pepper, celery, and carrot together. Top each egg half with ¼ teaspoon of the ranch dressing and a sprinkle of the veggie mixture.
Makes 24 eggs.
Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com. Find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @akronfoodie or visit my blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/lisa.
