Dolly’s Deviled Eggs

My mother, whose nickname was Dolly due to her petite cuteness, loved deviled eggs and these timeless treats found their way onto many a scrumptious party table in her house. Her traditional Southern version was made with mayonnaise, yellow mustard, hot sauce and sweet pickle relish. Her exotic gourmet version evolved from a blurb on the back page of a very old Gourmet magazine whose clipping stayed in her recipe box for years until it literally fell apart. That old version was described as Soy Deviled Eggs, but I’m going to rename them Spicy Soy Deviled Eggs because in a nod to her Tabasco sauced original, we threw in chili garlic sauce one day, and that added just the right kick to make them disappear as fast as the original version. I offer them both here today in the hopes that they’ll make their way onto your celebratory table in Dolly’s fine tradition.

Dolly’s Southern Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs, halved, yolks in a small mixing bowl, whites on a plate*
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
A dash of hot sauce (Tabasco, Louisiana Hot Sauce or whatever you have on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sweet Paprika

Preparation:

Mash the yolks with a fork, add the mayonnaise, mustard, pickle relish and hot sauce, and stir until the mixture is almost, but not quite smooth. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon equal amounts into each egg half, sprinkle lightly with paprika, and chill until ready to serve.

Dolly’s Spicy Soy Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs, halved, yolks in a small mixing bowl, whites on a plate*
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 green onions, white parts finely chopped, green parts reserved
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

Preparation:

Mash the yolks with a fork; add the mayonnaise, the white part of the green onion, mustard, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. Stir until the mixture is well combined. Spoon equal amounts into each egg half, slice the reserved green onion green ends and garnish each egg with an onion round or two. Chill until ready to serve.

**We make our hard-boiled eggs this way. In a large saucepan, carefully place a dozen eggs. Add two tablespoons of kosher salt and add cold water to cover the eggs. Over medium heat, bring the eggs to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for exactly10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and add cold water to cool the eggs. Wait about 10 minutes before peeling.