Holiday Eggs

There is almost no getting a deviled egg wrong.

Ingredients

for the deviled eggs

• 1 half dozen eggs
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• green food coloring
• optional: decorative piping tip and bag

for the garnish

• chopped pimentos
• paprika for sprinkling
• poinsettia or another holiday floral garnish

Directions

1. Boil the eggs. Place the eggs in a pot with enough water to cover them only halfway. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. After 1 minute, turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and wait about 12-15 minutes. There are variants, and if you have a way you prefer, use that method.
2. Peel the eggs. Run cold water over the pan to bring the eggs to a temperature that is comfortable to touch.
3. Cut your eggs in half.
4. Combine the egg salad ingredients in a mini food processor, but a fork or potato masher works equally fine. Place all ingredients together and pulse or mash to combine into as smooth an emulsion as possible. Adjust to your taste.
5. Color the yolks. One drop at a time, add the green food coloring to make a shade you like. Mix well to combine, ensuring the color is even.
6. Fill the egg whites. If you have a piping bag and tip, use it. If you don't, carefully spoon the filling into the egg whites.

Garnishing the eggs

1. Drain the pimentos.
2. Top the eggs with the pimentos.
3. Sprinkle with paprika. If you don't care for paprika or pimentos, garnish with something else like a picked red pepper or a sprinkle of cayenne.
4. Decorate with florals. If you're using poinsettias or holly, simply place them in the center of the plate. To use a fake poinsettia, trim the plastic mount off the back, so it sits flat. You can also surround it with parsley, holly, whatever you have.

Tip!

Egg yolks dye up all kinds of colors. You can dye them blue (given you use more dye to tint the yolk past the initial greenish color you get by combining yellow and blue) for Hanukkah, deep orange for Thanksgiving, pastel colors for a pastel Christmas or Easter, and so on. Be as creative as you like decorating the center of the dish with appropriate theme décor.