Since we haven’t been eating much lately, due to our furbaby being very sick,  I had some eggs that had been in the fridge for quite awhile. They were still good, so I needed to just boil them all up and put them to good use.

Coincidently, after I had already boiled them and was in the middle of peeling them, my hubby walked in the door from visiting with the next door neighbor, and they were just talking about the deviled eggs I had made them last summer! 

What an odd conversation that must’ve been! And what a freaky thing that I was making more for them to enjoy as an afternoon treat! I just don’t care for deviled eggs myself, but I do enjoy making them for everyone else! 😀

I didn’t feel like making my usual ones though, so I thought to use up some of my basil pesto that I had hanging out in the fridge! Eggs and basil pair well together, so why not, right?

I also use a secret ingredient that makes them super extra creamy, too! The secret is to use cream cheese along with the mayo! It holds up better than just using all mayo, yet they seem to be even creamier! A chef taught me this little secret many years ago, and I’ve been adding cream cheese ever since!

You may or may not even need any salt, so always taste before adding any. Your homemade or purchased pesto may already have plenty of salt added to carry through.

I also always use the “Julia Childs Method” for cooking hard-boiled eggs, and they never have that awful green lining. Just place the eggs into a pan with cold water, heat to boiling, stirring the eggs gently and constantly, place on a tight-fitting lid, shut the heat off, and let sit for 30 minutes for hard-boiled. *If you don’t cook the eggs long enough, the yolks won’t break up properly and the filling won’t be creamy. Then as soon as they are done, drain the hot water and place eggs into a bowl of ice water. Let cool a bit before peeling.

The reason for stirring the eggs constantly, is to keep the yolks in the center. The yolks are heavier than the whites, so if you don’t keep the eggs moving and the yolks in the middle, the yolk will sink to the bottom of the egg. Then your deviled eggs will always have the yolk completely to one side. Make sense? 😀

One last tip: always, always , always, use the oldest eggs possible. Eggs shrink inside as they age, so older eggs will peel much easier! 😉 Tap each end to break shell, then gently tap egg all the way around until the peel is super easy to peel and practically falls off! 😀

You can make these with homemade or purchased basil pesto, or any pesto that you prefer, then just garnish with a little sprinkle of paprika and some shaved parmesan cheese if you have some on hand!

These little eggs, according to my hubby and the neighbor, were spectacular! Easy and simple enough for an afternoon treat, and pretty enough for a special occasion. Hope these make an appearance at your next barbecue, party or holiday table! Take care all! 😀

Yield: 12-16 deviled egg halves

Super Creamy Basil Pesto Deviled Eggs

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Ingredients

• 6 jumbo or 8 extra-large eggs, hard-boiled
• 1 cup heavy mayo
• 6 oz. regular cream cheese, very soft (I warm it in the microwave until stirable)
• 1 Tbl. sour cream
• 1 Tbl. homemade or purchased basil pesto
• 1/8 tsp garlic salt, if desired or needed
• light dusting of paprika for garnish
• shavings of parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

Place eggs into large saucepan and cover completely plus an inch with cold water.

Heat over medium-high heat, stirring gently and constantly, until a full boil. Cover with lid, turn off heat. Let sit for 30 minutes. Place eggs into bowl of ice water and cool.

Peel eggs, slice in half, place yolks into a bowl and egg white halves onto a serving plate.

Mash egg yolks extremely well until fine crumbs. Stir in mayo, very soft cream cheese, sour cream, pesto and taste for saltiness. Add a little garlic salt to taste if needed.

Spoon or pipe filling into egg white halves filling generously.

Garnish with a light sprinkle of paprika and parmesan cheese shavings if desired.

Serve cold. Refrigerate any leftovers.