Dean Cooks: Dean makes his mom’s famous deviled eggs

Not a fan of deviled eggs? You’re probably not alone. But you’ve probably never tasted Dean Richards’ family recipe.

Richards, a reporter and film critic with Nexstar’s WGN, recently whipped up a few batches of the classic party appetizer during his “Dean Cooks” segment — despite skepticism from his colleagues behind the anchors’ desk.

“You cannot deter me,” said Richards, responding to some pushback from the deviled-egg-haters in the newsroom. “I have been flooded with people who love deviled eggs.”

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The recipe, which comes from Richards’ mom, is also bolstered by a few special ingredients including horseradish sauce and sliced olives.

“Wherever [my mom] went back in the day, any holiday, any party, people asked for her to make her deviled eggs,” Richards said. “They are incredibly delicious.”

Dean’s mom’s famous deviled eggs

Ingredients

• 12 large or extra-large hard-boiled eggs (hard-boiling instructions below)  
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish, drained of as much liquid as possible)
• 1 teaspoon creamy horseradish sauce
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion, liquid squeezed out
• 1/4 teaspoon salt optional
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest 
• 1/2 cup sliced pimento olives for topping
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika for dusting

Instructions

Hard-boil the eggs:

1. Place a steamer insert into a pot. Begin filling with water; stop when the water reaches just below the bottom of the steamer.
2. Bring water to a full simmer (not quite boiling) over medium heat. Gently place the eggs in the steamer insert, cover the pot, and steam for 15 minutes.
3. Immediately transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle.
4. Make a small crack on the large end of each egg and place eggs back into the ice water for about 20 minutes.
5. Carefully remove the shell under a stream of cool water. 

Make the deviled egg filling:

1. Slice the 12 hard-boiled eggs in half,  lengthwise.     
2. Gently remove the yolk and place yolks into a mixing bowl. Set the intact whites aside on a serving platter.
3. Use a fork to mash egg yolks in the mixing bowl. Stir in mayonnaise , mustard, relish, horseradish sauce, celery, onion, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. 
4. Using a spoon or a piping bag, return the egg yolk mixture to the center of the egg white halves. (You can put the yolk mixture in a zip-top bag and snip off one of the corners to acts as a piping bag.)
5. When filled,  place an olive slice on top of each half. Dust lightly with paprika. Serve cold.  

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