Egg Baked in Cream

Addendum 9/28/10: I had this on our weekly menu, but the day I was to make it, I realized, "I have no leeks!" Instead, I caramelized some onion (always caramelize more than you think you're going to need 'cuz it cooks down so much) and steamed/sauteed some Swiss chard from our CSA & threw that in too. Results = delicious!!!


I know I just posted a recipe that came from The Wednesday Chef, but I actually made two of hers that week & the other was so good, too, that I wanted to share it. Of course, you should really pop over to her site to read her mouth-watering description of Camino's Egg Baked in Cream and see some yummy-looking pictures. We had it for supper, but I think it would make a fabulous brunch dish & comes across as fancy and difficult. So, perfect for impressing the in-laws for brunch!

It's really quite easy. I think you could probably even saute the leek mixture ahead of time and then just allow a little longer for cooking. Luisa mentions cooking the leeks longer than recommended since she likes them softer, and since I do, too, that's how I did it. Mr. Kluges and I threw some torn-up spinach leaves in the ramekins on top of our leeks & it was great! The girls opted for no leeks & their spinach as a salad, but each ate TWO plain baked eggs with cream, so that was a winner for us. I have to confess that Mr. Kluges & I liked it so much that we ate two each as well! *grin* So, you may want to allow for seconds if you're not serving it with a lot of side dishes!

Egg Baked in Cream
Serves 1 with leftover leeks for many uses

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 leeks, sliced, light green and white parts only
Salt
2 sprigs thyme, leaves roughly chopped
2 sprigs parsley, leaves roughly chopped
1 large farm-fresh egg
About 2 tablespoons half-and-half
Coarsely ground black pepper
Grilled or toasted bread slices

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, a splash of water and a pinch of salt and cook until the leeks are tender, about 2 minutes. Add the herbs and transfer to a 6-inch cazuela, cocotte or other ceramic dish, covering the bottom with the butter, leeks and herbs.

2. Crack the egg into the middle of the dish. Add enough half-and-half to barely cover the white. Sprinkle with salt and coarsely ground pepper. Cook until the white is set, 8 to 12 minutes. Serve with grilled or toasted bread.

Wednesday Fun #77 - Easter Egg "Tie" Dyeing Idea

Over on Cool Mom Picks I saw this kit for dyeing eggs using vintage silk ties. "Huh," I thought, "that doesn't sound too hard. I wonder if there are directions on-line for doing that, 'cuz picking up some ties cheap at Goodwill would certainly be less $ than ordering the kit..."

So I found this thing where Martha Stewart had been on the Today show back in 2007 demonstrating it. Doesn't look too hard at all, so I might give it a try.

Here's where somebody else tried out Martha's idea, with great pix.

And another, with super pictures of the eggs and the ties they came from.


So, anybody else thinking about giving these a try? If so, please post your pix!

(Or any other beautiful eggs you make! Dyeing eggs is my favorite part of Easter!)

Oven-Easy Omelet aka Egg Bake

This is another recipe I got from my mom, but it's infinitely easy to adapt. In fact, I don't know the last time I actually looked at the real recipe (other than now!). In case you were ever at a GAW when we made individual Egg Bakes, yeah, this is it.

1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 Tbl. flour
6 slices bacon, fried & crumbled OR some ham OR some sausage
3 Tbl. diced fresh red peppers OR 2 Tbl. cut-up canned pimento
2 Tbl. parsley leaves (opt.)
8 large eggs
1 c. milk

Heat oven to 350F. Toss together cheese & flour. Spread cheese mixture in bottom of greased 8" baking dish or casserole. Scatter bacon, pepper, and parsley over cheese. Beat eggs and milk together. Pour egg mixture over ingredients in baking dish. Bake 30-45 minutes (depending on size/shape/depth of dish) until puffed and completely cooked. Serves 6.

This can also be made in small loaf pans, especially if you want to let people choose their own toppings. Also, faster cooking!


Now, FYI, in my head, the recipe for Egg Bake goes more like this:

Mental Egg Bake

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put a LOT of shredded cheese (various kinds or just Cheddar) in bottom of greased pan; stir in big spoonful of flour so cheese doesn't stick together. (Don't forget the corners if it's a square pan!)
   
3. Toss on sliced mushrooms and/or cooked bacon and/or ham chunks and/or diced bell peppers and/or diced onion and/or any other food you might put in an omelet. (Good way to use up ends and bits of leftovers or homemade pizza toppings!)
4. In a separate bowl, mix together some eggs with quite a bit of milk. Pour over cheese and toppings. Realize you didn't mix together enough eggs/milk since most of the topping is still sitting there high and dry, so mix together a few more eggs with some milk. Add to dish.
5. Stick in oven for what seems like a long time because it always smells good and makes me hungry well before it's ready!

Swedish Oven Pancake (Plus Bonus Recipe)

This puffed egg pancake is wonderful with a side of ham. I usually make it for guests and it always gets rave reviews. Recipe can easily be halved, put in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, and then will serve 2-3 depending on how hungry you are.

I serve with sliced fruit, usually strawberries, and whipped cream. But, below I am posting an alternate recipe along with an apple topping.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix:
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour

Add slowly while beating: 2 1/2 c. milk

Put butter the size of an egg into a 9x13 pan and melt. (I use a glass pan.) Pour butter into batter and then patter into pan (or you could just spray the pan and then add the melted butter to the batter I guess).

Bake 1/2 hour.
Serve right away (it will deflate). Top with fruit and whipped cream that are on the side. Enjoy!


Below I am also posting an alternative puffed oven pancake recipe from Great Cooking for Two. This version is heaver/thicker as it doesn't use as many eggs or as much milk. It's still good and is for 2 people.

Spray 8 1/2" pie pan with non-stick spay
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix:
2 eggs
1/3 c flour
1/3 c milk
dash of salt.
Put batter into pan and bake for 25 min. Serve right away.

Spiced Apple Sauce (for 2 people):
1 med to large apple, thinly sliced
1 T raisins (optional)
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T apple juice, apple cider or water
2 T half-and-half, light cream or milk
1 T apple brandy or orange juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
2 T chopped nuts (optional)

In medium saucepan cook apple, raisins and butter until apples are almost tender, stirring frequently. Add brown sugar, apple juice (or cider or water), half-and-half (or milk), apple brandy (or orange juice), and cinnamon (or other spice). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 min. Stir in nuts.

Recipe: Frittata

I tried this out last week because it sounded so light and spring-like, and it was! Quite a bit of zing between the goat cheese (you could easily sub feta) and lemon zest. I wish I'd served it with a starchy side or garlic toast or something to undercut it a bit.

Wild Rice, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Frittata

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 large eggs
4 large egg whites (I just used 7 whole eggs, because that's how many I had. It was fine.)

1 cup asparagus slices (1-inch)(about 1/4 lb)
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup green onions thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil thinly sliced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes halved
1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
1 teaspoon lemon rind grated
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (1-oz)

Instructions:
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk; set aside.
3. Heat a large in an oven-proof skillet (I used cast iron) over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add asparagus and garlic, and saute 2 minutes. Add onions, and saute 1 minute or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add tomatoes, rice, basil, and rind; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Reduce heat to medium. Pat mixture into even layer in pan; sprinkle with cheese. Pour egg mixture over rice mixture; cook 4 minutes or until almost set.
4. Move to broiler; broil 4 minutes or until golden brown and set.