Elegant Deviled Eggs

Process

• Place a steamer basket into a pan large enough to hold 12 eggs and fill with water to base of basket. Bring water to boil.
• When water is boiling carefully place eggs into steamer pan. Cover and set a timer for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes elapse carefully pour out hot water, remove basket, and fill pan with cold water. Empty the first fill of cold water from the pan. Refill with cold water to cover eggs and add a dozen or so ice cubes. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. Note that this step is important to stop the cooking process and to make peeling easier. (It also helps prevent those ugly green rings around the yolk!)
• Set out some paper towels, about 2 sheets doubled up (or a clean kitchen towel). To peel egg rap on a hard surface, starting with larger end. Continue to tap the egg from bottom to top, breaking up the whole shell but not crushing the egg. Under running cold water and starting with the large end remove the shell (be sure to get underneath the membrane visible where there is a slight space). Continue to rinse egg to wash off any remaining bits of shell or membrane. Place on towel. Repeat for remaining eggs. When all eggs are shelled gently dry with more towels.
• Cut eggs in half lengthwise with a sharp thin knife. Carefully separate white from yolk. Place yolks in medium sized mixing bowl and whites in a separate container. Set whites aside. (Pro tip: Clean knife in between each egg to keep egg whites clean of yoke on outer surface.)
• Add remaining ingredients (mayo, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, salt/pepper) to yokes. Mash with potato masher (or fork). Then blend until smooth using a hand held electric mixer. (You can skip the mixer step but you will get a smoother and more luxurious texture if you blend until very smooth… and your yolks will be easier to fill into the whites!)
• I will many times consider this the “do ahead” point. You could stop here and continue later by putting everything in the refrigerator. Finish the day of your party by piping the yoke mixture into the whites and then adding any optional embellishments.
• When ready to fill the whites place a pastry bag (I just use a plastic storage bag, cheaper and more available) into a large glass. Fill the bag with the yolk mixture and squeeze it down into one corner. Snip off corner with scissors or knife. Start with a 1/4 inch hole, you can always cut off more later if needed. Twist together the open end of the bag and hold from the top of the filling.
• Squeeze yolk mixture into each egg white.
• At this point you have a basic deviled egg. You could just dust with a little course salt, some cayenne pepper or paprika and serve as is. Or you could create something more interesting by adding optional topping like in the examples below.
• Chili Lime, Blue Cheese and Bacon Deviled Eggs
• Sprinkle Chili Lime seasoning
• Add a small chunk of blue cheese
• Add a small square of bacon
• Smoked Salmon and Roe Deviled Eggs
• Cut smoked salmon into 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch squares. Place on egg.
• Top smoked salmon squares with salmon roe.
• Zest a lemon over eggs
• Basil Pesto and Pimento Deviled Eggs
• Spoon a small amount of prepared basil pesto onto egg.
• Cut a jarred pimento strip into 1/2 long pieces and place on top of pesto.