Hi. Barb here.

Boiled Over, the second book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series takes place in August, so I thought I’d share one of the recipes in the book–Lobster Deviled Eggs.

The eggs didn’t start out with lobster in them.

Boiled Over opens on Founder’s Weekend in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. My protagonist, Julia Snowden’s family takes a picnic to the waterfront park, where they listen to live music and watch fireworks. Her mother makes deviled eggs.

Julia’s mother, Jacqueline, is a terrible cook. That’s why Julia’s sister, Livvie, is such a good cook–self defense. But it’s also part and parcel of Jacqueline’s outsiderness. Her family feeds 400 happy people a day, so for the rest of the Snowdens, cooking and eating are communal and joyful activities. For Jacqueline, fixing meals is a chore, and one best accomplished alone.

Like a lot of terrible cooks, Jacqueline has one signature dish that she brings to every “party, potluck, picnic or other powwow,” the family is invited to where bringing a plate of food is required. I picked deviled eggs for Jacqueline for two reasons. 1) I like them a lot, and 2) I have a sister-in-law who makes great ones, so I thought getting a recipe would be easy. Believe me, when you write culinary mysteries, this is a huge consideration.

It turns out, my sister-in-law doesn’t actually have a recipe. She’s been making the eggs for so long, she just kind of does it. But my husband stepped up and figured one out. As we usually do, we made the recipe, and tasted the eggs, took pictures and talked about how to describe them. When I handed the book in in September 2013, the eggs were included–without lobster.

People always ask about the egg chicks. They aren’t in the book or part of the recipe. They came from the cover artist. But I absolutely love them.

Then two things happened. 1) I kept collecting food pictures on my Pinterest inspiration food board, and it seemed like more and more of the deviled egg recipes I found were for lobster deviled eggs. I started thinking, of course Jacqueline makes lobster deviled eggs. She has so much access to lobster, her friends would probably be pissed off if she showed up for parties with a non-lobster related dish.

And, 2) the recipe called for eight hard-boiled eggs. But because the yolk stuffing was mounded in the egg white, only six of the eggs got stuffed–i.e. twelve halves. When the edits for the book came back, the copy editor was very consternated about this. “What do you do with the other four halves?” she demanded to know.

I don’t know, throw them out? My husband said, “Eat them.” Then I asked him, “If we put lobster in the deviled eggs, would it fill up all the egg whites?” Et voila, two birds. One stone. Problem solved.

Here’s the recipe as it appears in Boiled Over.

Jacqueline’s Lobster Deviled Eggs

(The secret’s in the horseradish and smoked paprika.)

8 eggs

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish, drained

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

8 ounces cooked lobster meat, chopped.

smoked paprika

snipped chives

Place eggs in saucepan covered with water. Bring to boil and remove from heat. Rest in water for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Add ice and allow them to cool. Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop yolks into bowl. Add mayonnaise, horseradish, vinegar, and mustard and mash together. Gently fold in lobster meat. Spoon back into the egg white halves. Garnish with paprika and chives. Chill before serving. Serves 4-6.