GINA If you are having an Easter-egg hunt, you might as well have deviled eggs. I remember asking my great-great-grandmother, “Why do they call them devil eggs?” And she replied, “Because if you eat too many, the devil will show up!” To this day, I have never understood that saying, but I miss all those little pearls of wisdom that my mom and grandmother used to share. The two of them were magic together, and they always kept us guessing. Pat had a similar experience: as a child, he always wondered how his mother got the insides of the hard-boiled egg out, made a delicious egg mixture, then put it back in! Deviled eggs are easy and even fun to make with the kids. Here, once again, I do my thing as the “Spice Fairy” with a magic sprinkling of black and red pepper, which gives this dish just the right amount of kick.

　　

Ingredients

makes 24 deviled eggs

　　12 large eggs, hard-boiled

　　1/3 cup mayonnaise

　　1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

　　1 tablespoon dill-pickle relish

　　1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

　　1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Fresh chives, finely sliced, for garnish

　　

Step 1

Peel and halve the hard-boiled eggs, and remove the yolks to a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, relish, lemon juice, cayenne, salt, and pepper to the bowl, and mash everything together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pipe the filling back into the egg halves with a frosting bag with a large star tip (or spoon it in with a teaspoon). Sprinkle with chives.

　　

NOTE

Step 2

To avoid pockmarked eggs, use older eggs. They are generally easier to peel than fresh, and I hate peeling eggs!

　　

How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

Step 3

Place the eggs in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water. Once the pot has come to a boil, cover the pot and remove from the heat; let the eggs sit in the water for 14 minutes. Rinse under cold water, then peel.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Neelys' Celebration Cookbook by Pat and Gina Nelly. Copyright © 2011 by Pat and Gina Nelly with Anna Volkwein. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Pat and Gina Neely are restaurateurs, best-selling authors, popular speakers, and hosts of the Food Network hit series Down Home with the Neelys. They recently opened their first New York City restaurant, Neely's Barbecue Parlor. They live with their daughters in Memphis, where they enjoy cooking at home with family and friends.Ann Volkwein is a best-selling food and lifestyle author based in New York City and Austin, Texas. Her previous books include: The Arthur Avenue Cookbook, Chinatown New York, Mixt Greens (with Andrew Swallow), and, with Guy Fieri: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; More Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; and Guy Fieri Food.