I adore eggs. I like them scrambled, poached, over-easy. I sometimes insert hard-boiled eggs into my boys' lunch---an extra bag filled with salt and pepper for the tossing. And who doesn't love deviled eggs? They are brilliant finger-food for a party, perfect for after-school snacking and can be gussied up any which way.

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 egg-into-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. Hopefully, no friends will slide in---and steal them away.

Now I make: pesto deviled eggs, eggs with a smidgen of chipolte, traditional deviled eggs with a dash of paprika on top and for fun: I finely chopped parsley, dipped the top of the egg white in the 'green' and then loaded in the deviled core. Makes for a nice 'green eggs' for 'green eggs and ham,' don't you think?

How do gussy-up YOUR deviled eggs?