Here’s a portable egg favorite for those who like eggs and bacon for lunch or dinner (who doesn’t?) that’s certain to disappear at any gathering. The recipe comes from my friend Penny Perry-Hughes, co-owner with husband, Jerry, of Der Kuchen Laden, a first-rate kitchen shop located just across Main Street from Rather Sweet. As a student at London’s Le Cordon Bleu years ago, she remembers promising to bring her family’s prized deviled eggs to a party thrown by a group of fellow Americans. “My mother almost died laughing that I called from London to get her deviled egg recipe,” she says. Worst part was, Penny prepared the deviled eggs in advance, but got sick just before the party and couldn’t go. The eggs went without her, never to be seen again.

　　

Ingredients

makes 12

　　6 large eggs

　　3 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and crumbled

　　1/4 teaspoon sugar

　　1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

　　1 teaspoon yellow mustard (Penny uses French’s)

　　1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, or paprika, for garnish (optional)

　　

Step 1

In a large saucepan, set the eggs in a single layer and add enough water to cover them by 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs, run cool water over them, dry, and refrigerate. To peel the eggs, hold in the palm of your hand and knock on a hard surface to crack the shells. Submerge in a bowl of cool water to remove the peel, rinsing well to ensure all of the shell bits are removed. Halve each peeled egg lengthwise.

　　

Step 2

Scoop out the egg yolks and place in a small bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork. Stir in the crumbled bacon, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and mayonnaise; season with salt and pepper. Spoon a tablespoon of the yolk mixture into each egg-white half. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley or paprika, for garnish. Cover the eggs with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

　　

do it early

Step 3

According to the American Egg Board, refrigerated, unpeeled hard-cooked eggs will keep for up to 1 week. If covered and refrigerated, the deviled eggs will keep for up to 3 days. Make sure to wrap them well; they can absorb odors easily from other foods stored in your refrigerator.

　　Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.