I am from East Tennessee and it is there I was introduced to the deviled egg. The truth about them is that you either love them or hate them. Maybe you are like me, and it just depends on who made them.  Like most things dealing with food, I like to go back to the basics. There is no need to pack the deviled egg with weirdness which clearly does not belong there.  So here it is, my simplified version of the Deviled Egg. Beware, these are hard to make with precise measurements!

Ingredients:

10 Hard boiled eggs

Real Mayo

Mustard

Dill Pickle juice

Mustard powder

Salt

Paprika

Begin by peeling the boiled eggs. Half each egg when they have cooled. Pop out, or scoop out the yolks into a mixing bowl. With a fork, mash-up the yolks. Starting here, much of the amount of ingredient you use will be according to taste.  Add one heaping spoonful of real mayo. (roughly 1/4 cup) Next put a generous squirt or two of regular mustard and two tablespoons of dill pickle juice. Next add 1 tsp of mustard powder, and a dash or two of salt. Now beat ingredients together. I often use a stick blender to make the filling whipped. Taste the filling and adjust accordingly. If it is not creamy enough, add a little more mayo.

To fill the eggs, scoop filling into a quart size ziploc-type bag. Use like a piping bag by clipping the bottom corner. Pipe filling into egg halves. Lastly, sprinkle eggs with paprika. I like to eat my deviled eggs immediately, however my husband enjoys them cold from the refrigerator. Either way, they are essential to the Easter Dinner. Enjoy!