Easter Eggs

I know church evokes many feelings for many of us & probably lots of memories too. My family’s church was on a military base, Ft. Monroe and it is “the oldest continually used wooden military structure for religious services in the United States” – yea, pretty cool.

Our church service was at the butt-crack of dawn….aka 7:30 AM on Sundays. WHY? Do you ask?.....trust me, I asked the same damn question every week in my youth. The truth is, The Chapel of the Centurion was on an active duty Army base (the Army has now left) and was used for 3 different services : Episcopalian, Protestant & Baptist. Back in the 90s, the Carpenter Gothic style of architecture stood the test of time & really made me revel in how a beautiful building came to hold so many threads of Christian faith – I loved it & still do.

nostalgia at its finest.

My mom & other wives of our church congregation would sign up for the Coffee Hour snacks months in advance. Judy always wanted Easter Sunday to make Hot Cross Buns & Deviled Eggs. My favorite & oldest ((now passed, RIP)) parishioner Father Jim, always called them Heavenly Eggs rather than Deviled Eggs – because he said “they taste so good, the devil surely can’t be a part of this” – I was shooketh from a very young age. Father Jim had a way about him. He was swanky, lanky & weird as hell, and I loved everything about him. He had great one-liners & always put up with my weird obsessive questions of wanting to know the ins & outs of God – for example : if God created us all equal then why do some people hate onions? Why do some people get sick? Why don’t we all look alike? – LORD I’ll bet he thought, you’re testing me with this child.

So, this blog post is in dedication to growing up loving Deviled Eggs, learning to make them my own, and never forgetting the sacred hour after church that allowed me to enjoy them. Happy Pre-Easter weekend, everyone, let’s get to it!

Instructions, 1

Now let me start this off by saying I know I sound like Bake Sale Betty by what I’m about to say….but I don’t curr. My method works. Its foolproof every time & I’ll be damned if anyone wants to argue with me about it!

In a medium-sized pot, nestle the eggs together at the bottom and pour water in the pot to cover each egg slightly with about 1 inch of water overtop. ((you don’t want them to have a TON of room, because when the water boils they can bump around & crack each other, but you don’t want them to be overcrowded either))

Set the heat at medium-high and WATCH the water – the key is not to boil the eggs to death!

When your eggs start to boil, now is the time to splash in the 3 TBS of White Vinegar, then turn down the heat to medium & allow them to bubble away for 2 minutes. SET A DAMN TIMER.

Once the timer has gone off, turn off the heat & immediately cover with a lid.

Once again, SET A DAMN TIMER for 11 minutes & do not touch the lid or pot.

While you are waiting for the 11 minute timer to count down, have a large bowl at the ready.

Fill it with cold water & have a large cup of ice at the ready.

Once the 11 minute timer goes off, gently drain the pot & rinse the eggs with cold water.

When they are safe to touch, remove the eggs & place them each into the bowl of cold water – now is the time to add in the ice.

Set another timer for 20 minutes to allow the eggs to fully cool.

Watch your ice as well – if you need to add more, be sure to do so. You are cooling down the eggs & “shocking” them which will also make them easier to peel!

Get the rest of your ingredients ready while you wait for your eggs to finish cooling.

I find it easiest to have 2 tupperwares if I’m not serving the eggs immediately – 1 for the whites & 1 for the yolk mixture – the HEAVENLY component, if you will *wink*

I like to crack & peel my eggs on on wooden cutting board. I also like to have a couple paper towels nearby.

Gently crack your eggs by tapping & rotating them on the cutting board. If you know what the hell you’re doing & feeling brave, then you can also give them a lil roll on the cutting board to help loosen the shell & the thin membrane – ((THAT is the damn catalyst in peeling eggs! If that membrane is still stuck to the egg rather than the shell, then that’s when shit goes sideways. The “old” eggs and the vinegar help separate that membrane from the shell – you’re welcome.))

Once you have successfully peeled all of your eggs, discard the shells & gently rinse your eggs and return them to the cutting board with a dry paper towel to pat dry before cutting.

I usually set up my tupperwares at this point so I can cut each egg, gently push out the yolk in 1 tupperware & then keep the white in the other Tupperware. If you are serving immediately, then have your Heavenly Eggs platter ready & just the 1 tupperware for mixing the yolk.

With a VERY sharp knife, cut each egg longways & gently push the yolk out into your designated Tupperware container.