Easter Treats, Part 3: Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

Since Easter is right around the corner, I wanted to share a recipe for an appetizer that is delicious, yet easy, and tastes elegant – Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs. If you have kids, you will most likely be making hard boiled eggs in order to dye them anyway. So why not put them to good use? (If you are worried about whether or not it is okay to eat eggs that have been dyed, here is a link about doing it safely.)  http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/easter-egg-food-safety

Before I go on any further, I have to admit that as much as I love to cook, I used to struggle with hard boiling eggs. Sometimes they would crack during cooking, and I would never be able to peel the shell off without taking huge pieces of the egg white off along with it. And I would always get the timing all wrong. Just in case you are anything like I was, I am going to share a few tips that I have found helpful.

1) Bring your eggs to room temperature by leaving them out for about an hour before cooking. In case you’ve forgotten to do this, I’ve read that you can place cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes in order bring their temperature up.

2) Place the eggs in a pot large enough to hold all the eggs in a single layer and fill with enough cold water to cover the eggs by about an inch.

3) Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and let it cook for about 10 to12 minutes, depending on their size. (I usually use large eggs.)

4) Place the eggs in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.

There are many variations for boiling eggs, but this is the method that I have found to work the best.

6 large hard-cooked eggs

4 oz. cold-smoked salmon, very finely diced (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbs. minced red onion

2 Tbs. capers, rinsed and finely chopped

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. packed finely grated lemon zest

Freshly ground black pepper

Peel and halve the eggs lengthwise. Remove the yolks and crumble them into a medium bowl. Add the salmon, 3 Tbs. of the chives, the mayonnaise, onion, capers, lemon juice, zest, and 1/8 tsp. pepper and mix. Mound the filling into the egg whites. Garnish with the remaining 1 Tbs. chives and several grinds of black pepper.