deviled eggs

I think eggs are a great idea.

My boys love eggs: scrambled, poached, over-easy. Having hard-boiled eggs at lunch with a dash of salt and pepper is a treat.

But if you want to take it to yet another level, one that you can serve at a party or tuck into a lunch box, you can also make deviled eggs.

I can vaguely remember the first time I tried them. I was four. It was Thanksgiving. Relatives were mulling all about, conversing, standing around in cocktail-style. I was underfoot, a little kid where out of sight and out of mind came in handy. Usually, when it came to Thanksgiving thievery, I would find myself an accomplice. My nearest grabs were my cousin or my brother. And when it came to deviled eggs, no other thief was more perfect than my brother Kerry.

He loved deviled eggs---even more than I did. We would scramble through the conversation, the adult legs, the above-head chatter and steal passes at the nearby table. Buffet style? Even easier. Slide through, slide the egg in mouth, slide away. We were quite competent at egg inhaling. (A precursor to oyster-slurping)?

Adults wouldn't notice until almost no eggs were left. Maybe they caught us, maybe they didn't. Either way, it was too late. We had enjoyed these eggy jewels that belonged to holiday tables. Why not make your little thief's day? Add some deviled eggs to his/her lunch.