This year, my parents are hosting our family’s Easter dinner at their San Marcos home. In years past, we have had quite a crew, but this year will be just the immediate family: mom, dad, my brother Erik and his wife Cat, Dan and I and possibly a family friend. My dad is making the turkey in a komoto pot, an egg-shaped terracotta cooking device that is half grille and half outdoor oven. The pot is quite cool and makes a super-moist turkey in no time. Dan and I are bringing the appetizers. We decided on making a special recipe: four-pepper deviled eggs. Peppercorns and caper liquid are some of the ingredients. The peppercorns add a little spice, and the caper liquid adds a bit of savory. The ingredients together make the best darn deviled eggs on the planet!

The first and most annoying step to making deviled eggs is boiling and peeling the eggs.

I, however, have a secret for you. I saw a cool video on YouTube on the easiest way to peel a hardboiled egg, and it involves no peeling. First you cook the eggs with about two inches of water above the eggs. Add one teaspoon of baking soda before you cook them. This raises the water Ph and helps prevent the eggs from adhering to the shell. Don’t boil them; give the eggs more of a low rumble for 12 minutes. Then drain the water and place the eggs in cold water with ice to chill them to a workable temperature. Now, here comes the cool part. Tap the egg on one point, remove the crushed shell bit and do the same on its opposite end. Blow into one of the holes and place your hand over the hole to catch the egg as it pops out of the shell. It will take you about 10 seconds to remove each shell.

If you want to be fancy, place the eggs in a pastry bag or in a plastic bag with pastry-star tip at a corner to make the filling look cool in the white. Alton Brown placed his deviled eggs on a four-sectioned tray with a light bed of peppercorns, one color for each compartment. It looked really smart. I tend to place them on a plate and garnish with parsley. They are always a hit and cheap and easy to make. I am pretty sure Whole Foods carries a variety of peppercorns in bulk, so you can buy as much as you need. Enjoy your holiday and see you next week.

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: 12 deviled eggs

Ingredients

Pinch sugar

Directions

Slice the eggs in half from top to bottom. Scoop the yolks into a medium mixing bowl and lay the whites aside. Place all of the peppercorns, except 1/2 teaspoon of the pink peppercorns, into a spice grinder and grind them until they’re well ground. Combine the ground peppers, caper liquid, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, sugar and egg yolks together. Using a fork, stir the ingredients thoroughly to combine them. Place the mixture into a zip-top plastic bag and cut a small hole at one of its corners. Pipe the mixture into each of the white halves. Coarsely grind the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of pink peppercorns and use it to garnish the top of each egg. Chill them for at least one hour in the refrigerator before serving.