This Fourth of July has certainly been a special one. Swimming, great food, family, & fireworks. That's what the Fourth means to me. A time to be together, enjoying the warm weather, eating yummy food, and celebrating this great country we live in! And we certainly put some emphasis on the 'eating yummy food' part. I had family here from up North and wanted to make this day a little extra special. I'll be blogging about our day in an upcoming post, but I thought I'd share a few recipes from the day first.
These festive little eggs were the perfect side dish for our decorated table. What's a BBQ without deviled eggs? I don't think I've ever attending or hosted one without them. And I don't think I ever want to attend one that doesn't have them. {So, if you ever invite me the a BBQ and tell me what's on the menu and I decline, please read the statement before this.}
I have to admit, these are a little more time consuming than regular deviled eggs, but not by much. They're pretty easy to make and you can make them a day ahead of time. Just try it, I promise it won't be that bad! Honest!
Below I'll post how to actually make a deviled egg, if you don't know how to already. But I don't have exact measurements for each ingredient because, well, I never measure. And I always make a different amount of eggs each time I make them. So I'll try to explain as best as I can.
To Make Deviled Eggs:
- Eggs
- Mayonaisse
- Mustard
- Salt & Pepper
1. Start by placing your eggs in a sauce pot and cover with water. Place over high heat, and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover. Let it sit on the burner for a while. I found that boiling them for a quick 10 minutes and then placing the lid on, it doesn't dry your eggs and you're left with a bright yellow yolk.
2. Once the eggs are cool, cut in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the yolks into a bowl.
3. This is when you'll be striping the eggs, which you can find the directions below.
4. To make the filling, you can either mash the yolks by hand if you like the filling a little lumpier or place in a food processor for a smoother filling. When I want them to look fancy shmancy I place them in a food processor so it's easier to use a piping bag and there won't be any lumps getting stuck in the decorating tip.
5. Add in enough mayonnaise so the mixture is really moist. I only add in a little mustard (probably around 2 tsp. or so) for a little extra color and taste, but I don't want it to be overpowering. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Then pipe or spoon the mixture into the egg whites. Then you're done! :)
To Make Striped Eggs:
- Deviled eggs (without filling)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 tsp. white vinegar
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
Pour 1/4 cup of boiling water into two small bowls. Add in 1 tsp. of vinegar into each bowl and red food coloring into one bowl, blue into the other. For this, I used Wilton's food coloring.
Next, take your egg whites and dip one side into the blue water for a few seconds and then set on some foil or wax paper to dry.
After you've dipped all the eggs, dip the other side into the red water for a few seconds.
Place the eggs back onto the foil or wax paper to dry for a few minutes. This is the only reason it takes a little longer is because of the drying time. Patience, grasshopper!
After they've dried and you notice some excess water in the middles you can just pat them dry with a paper towel or napkin. The vinegar in the water or any excess water in the middle doesn't change the taste of the egg at all.
For these eggs I placed my yolk mixture into a pastry bag with a decorative tip.
I used a tall glass and placed the bag in, and wrapped the top around the rim of the glass. Makes filling the bag MUCH easier when you don't have extra hands there helping you hold that sucker open!
Pipe the mixture into your patriotic little eggs, and you're finished.
See? That wasn't so bad. Next time, ya gotta trust me!
Enjoy!
