Great Party Recipes: Deviled Eggs

Planning a party can be fun but intimidating. I personally do not recommend a sit down dinner event for more than four or six guests, unless that's the designated activity and plan for the evening. It can be hard to plan an entire dinner, especially if you're not a chef. You have to worry about drinks, appetizers, salad, entrees, desert. It can be overwhelming. Instead, why not try preparing a variety of appetizers that everyone can enjoy? It's much more affordable, and with a little prep time you can prepare many of the dishes in advance and just pop them in the oven for a few minutes to heat, or retrieve them from the fridge if it's a cool dish and voila! Instant bon apetite. For Christmas Eve this year, my girlfriend prepared several such appetizers (for lack of a better word) to serve at her friend's house, and they were all a huge success.

• 1 dozen large eggs

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1/2 cup mayonaise

• 1 tsp dry ground mustard

• 1 tsp white vinager

• 1 1/2 tsp horseradish

• paprika

Boil one dozen eggs for twenty minutes on high. Drain water and run cold water over eggs until they cool down. Peel each egg from it's shell.

NOTE ON HARD BOILING EGGS: Your best bet is to use eggs that are at least one week old. This will make them easier to peel. The fresher the eggs, the more difficult it will be to remove the shell. A successfully hard boiled egg should be easy to peel, with no green around the yolk, and an egg white that is tender.

After peeling, rinse eggs under cold water again to remove any leftover shell. Slice eggs long ways, evenly, so they're cut directly in half. Spoon out the entire yolk and put it into a bowl. After you're done, gently rinse the egg whites (again) under water to remove any excess yolk residue. NOTE: * This step is not absolutely necessary, especially if you're pressed for time, but I find that it makes the presentation nicer if the eggs are clean.*

Allow the egg whites to dry on a paper towl as you prepare the yolk mixture.

Break down the yolks in bowl with a fork to remove lumps, making them look more like powder. Add in 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup mayonaise, 1 tsp dry ground mustard, 1 tsp white vinegar, and 1 1/2 tsp horseradish. Mix well until creamy. If it needs more of any ingredient, add it to your liking, seasoned to your personal taste. You can also prepare what is called "dirty deviled eggs" with the addition of 2 tblsp of hot relish into the mixture. Just remember this will make them spicier and more lumpy, too.

Using a butter knife, add a little scoop of the mixture into each hollowed out egg white. Be careful not to overload. Garnish each finished egg with a tiny dash of paprika.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for no more than one day before serving.