March Madness ACC Tribute -- Bleu Deviled Eggs

It’s time for March Madness!!! As a tribute to this great month of basketball, TCC will be presenting recipes "inspired" by the ACC (sort of like making a movie "based" on a book, loosely bound, no real ties to the truth, but crazy fun just the same). Alright, let’s get this ACC party started.

Disclaimer: I will do my best to put aside my personal basketball feelings and treat all team inspirations equally and fairly as not to offend any of you, my faithful followers…BUT I make no promises (it is basketball after all).

So having said that, let’s start at the top! Saving the best for first, I begin my monthly food foray with a tribute to the mighty Blue Devils (GO DUKE!). You may not like the name, you may not like the team, but if you like the cheese, you’ll love these.

Bleu Deviled Eggs

6 eggs, hard boiled
1/3 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip, too sweet)
¼ cup bleu cheese, crumbled
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 dashes Texas Pete
Salt, to taste
Fresh-cracked black pepper, to garnish

Prepare boiled eggs as you usually would. Cool, peel and slice horizontally.

Put the yolks in a small bowl and pre-mash with a fork until they have a fine crumbly texture.

Mix in the mayo and blend well, then add in the bleu cheese crumbles and blend until mixture is semi-smooth (don’t need to press out all the bleu cheese lumps).

Fry up the bacon and mince into small pieces. Fold into the yolk mixture.

Add in the Texas Peter and then salt to taste. The bacon should provide a good amount of salt to the flavor, but you’ll still want to adjust to suit your own tastes.

Fill in the egg holes with the bleu cheese fill and crack some black pepper over the top.

Now you’re ready to serve your fancy pants Bleu Deviled Eggs.

NOTES

I used turkey bacon in mine and because turkey bacon is not as salty as pork bacon had to add a bit more salt to the mix.

If you don’t like a strong bleu cheese taste, you can cut back on the original amount and add in slowly until it’s got the bite you want.

If you don’t have Texas Pete, you can substitute your favorite hot sauce. You don’t need a lot because all you are trying to do is provide a support for the other flavors in the filling.

Duke is currently riding the top of the ACC standing, followed closely by the other blue school down the road from Durham. With a 26-3 record, they are riding high at #4 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

The Blue Devils are expected to make a showing in the NCAA tournament, but how far they will go is anyone’s guess at this point. We Devil fans have our hopes high and fingers crossed for another back-to-back banner to hang in the rafters at Cameron.

A special shout-out to Juliet and Emily for the idea for this month's postings! They were the winners of last March's Mystery Month Theme and this was one of the ideas they presented.  Muchas gracias, chicas!