When I was growing up, I loved my mom’s stuffed eggs. Heck, as a chubby and happy-go-lucky kid, I loved anything filled with mayonnaise.
As I grew older, I figured out that these seductive little bite-sized appetizers (also called deviled eggs, at least when spiked with something hot) were packed with calories. Happily, I now know that you don’t need a ton of mayonnaise to make a tasty filling. This recipe satisfies the heedless little kid in me and the more prudent grown-up.
But first, we need to address the proper way to boil an egg. The goal is to produce a tender white with no nasty green line between it and the yolk. It was Julia Child who taught me how to achieve this lovely result. The key is not to hard boil the egg, but to hard cook it.
You put the eggs in cold water, bring the water to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, then cover it. About 15 minutes later, you drain the pot and run cold water over the eggs. I tend to let them stand for 10 minutes, not 15. It’s the cold water that prevents the green line from forming.