Devilled Eggs and Quail Eggs

Ever since I saw the cute little quail eggs at Nicastros years ago I wanted to use them for something. They are so cute and dainty!! This time I purchased them at the new T&T Supermarket on Hunt Club, they are pretty cheap there. I made normal deviled eggs with chicken eggs and then topped them with half a hard boiled quail eggs. The important thing about boiled eggs is to NOT over boil them. If you do, then you get that dark ring around the yolk and the methane smell.

To cook them properly you put the eggs in a medium pot, don't overfill the pot~use two pots if you have to. Fill the water approx 1/2" higher than the level of the eggs. Bring the pot to a boil on high without the lid on, when it reaches a rapid boil, then cover the pot and take the pot off the burner. Put on a timer for 10 minutes (4 min for the quail eggs). When the time is up, run the eggs under cold water until you feel like the eggs have come to a reasonable temperature to stop the cooking process and begin to cool, and then put in the refrigerator.

I have no tips for peeling the eggs, I hate doing it and it is time consuming, if you try to rush you will end up ripping the egg and ruining it. If you have a certain amount of eggs that you have to be finished with, let's say for a container that holds 12 halves, then make one or two extra eggs incase an egg is ruined when you try to peel it.

The quail eggs are dainty and a little finicky to peel, but if you get a good peel going, it sort of comes off in strips.

I'm sure everyone has their own recipe for the filling of the deviled eggs, I just throw some mayo or whipped dressing into the cooked yolks and salt/pepper, paprika, mustard powder (and/or Dijon mustard). If I had shallots I would have put finely diced shallots. Top with some Paprika, don't put too much into the mixture itself (as my hubby did once!) cause it turns the mixture a gross colour.