Simply Eggs-travagent - Eggs en Cocotte (Baked Eggs, Bread Bowl Style)

I finally gave in this morning....  For the most part, I tend to be an "eggs fried in olive oil" kind of person on the weekdays... it's simple, it's tasty and lets face it, when you are trying to get out the door for an hour commute in the morning, fast is always best. OK, I will admit to the occasional Omelet.

That was, until Sunday....  I was cruisin' around the net while waiting for my Squash to roast when I ran across a recipe on the Noble Pig Winery blog for baked eggs in a bread bowl... The pictures had my mouth watering.  I resisted though, I had already eaten breakfast and was about to boil eggs for Thanksgiving anyway... As tasty as it looked, temptation was low.

But this morning, my friend Cathy at Dutch Baker's Daughter made "Chicken in a Basket", "Eggs in a Hole", or "Eggs in a Nest", depending on what part of the country you are from.  Unfortunately, I was still drinking coffee when I saw the post this morning.  Thoughts of toasty bread wrapped around golden eggs suddenly filled my mind, making it very hard to concentrate on anything else.  Sadly, I am out of sliced bread.... But that is OK, cause I still have hard rolls...  One way or another, I am having eggs and toast!

And thus it was that, on a weekday, I am made Oeufs en Cocotte (eggs baked in cream); but in a dinner roll instead of a ramekin...  It was awesome!

Oeufs en Cocotte

2 hard Dinner rolls (preferably sourdough)
2 Large Eggs
Black Pepper
Kosher Salt
Pecorino Romano
Thyme or Chervil
Olive oil

First you need to preheat your oven to 350 F degrees and grab a couple hard dinner rolls.

Now carefully slice the top 1/4 off, being careful to hold the roll with your palm and keep your thumb out of the way.  (We are going for breakfast here, not a trip to the emergency room)  ;)

Scoop out the interior of the roll with a fork.

Crack an egg into the depression.

Top with Salt and Pepper along with 1 tsp of Heavy Cream.

Sprinkle with shredded Pecorino Romano.

Place on a baking sheet and move to the oven for 18 minutes (soft yolks) 24 minutes (hard yolks)

For the tops, that you cut off, simply drizzle with Olive Oil, Chervil or Parsley and some Salt and Pepper.

Place these, cut side up, on the baking sheet during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Serve while still hot.

The rolls and nice and crusty while the egg is soft and cheesy.  A perfect interpretation of your standard egg and toast breakfast.  This is most definitely going into my brunch repertoire.

Mangia!!
~~

A Toast! to Belgium - Belgian Toast

Sadly this post is not going to be about beer. ;) Although I think I need to have my brother do a guest post, because he just finished his Oatmeal Stout, but more on that later. It is also not going to be about French toast pressed in a Belgian waffle iron. (an inspired idea to be sure). This is going to be about what *I* know as "Belgian Toast"; better known as "uitsmijter" in it's country or origin.

Granted this is not a sweet dish such as French Toast or a Belgian (Brussels or Liège) Waffle, but it does contain toast and most importantly, CHEESE. And as you all know, anytime there is cheese involved, I am all over it like wax on Gouda. (Har Dee Har Har! Cheesy Humor)

This is really more of a hybrid recipe between Julia Child's Oeufs en Croustades and the ever popular Oeufs en Cocotte; with a twist of course. Cause ya just gotta have a twist. ;) Everything's better with a twist. Scotch and Soda has it; good detective novels have it; some cinnamon doughnuts have it; even Chubby Checker had it.... Well, so too does Belgian Toast.....

OK, I think I have established that this recipe contains toast... and a twist. My personal preference is sourdough, I find it to be great for these sorts of breakfast/brunch type foods containing eggs and cheese. That pretty much sums up the ingredient list as well; Toast, Cheese and Eggs. Oh, and some butter, but that kind of goes without saying I guess. I suppose olive oil would work just as well, that is also a personal preference thing. So It is OK to use Olive oil and Whole Wheat Bread or Canola Oil and French Bread or even cottonseed oil and Buttermilk or Potato Bread..... :) Don't ya love it when a recipe is open to so much interpretation?

While the ingredient list is fairly simple, the presentation is still mighty impressive. Proof positive that you don't need a million different ingredients to make a delectable dish of fluffy heaven. This is primarily to do with the fact that eggs are just about the most miraculous natural food on the planet. (Aside from cheese, though cheese requires human intervention)

Belgian Toast

For each person you will need.....
2 slices of Sourdough Bread
a little butter (or oil of your choice) for a baking dish
2 Large Eggs, separated
Slices of Grana Padano (though Parmigiano-Reggiano works too)
Salt and Pepper
A little Shredded Grana Padano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
So this morning I sliced up my Sourdough "Long" into 3/4 inch slices.

Then "toast" the bread in the toaster... (Did I mention that I really like sourdough?)

Now, crack and separate your eggs, making sure that no yolks contaminate the whites.

Butter an oven proof dish and arrange the toasts in the dish.

Lay thin slices of Grana Padano on each toast.

Beat the egg whites, with a pinch of salt, to firm peaks.

Divide the fluffy egg foam between the toasts. (I have no idea what else to call it, cause it's not a meringue due to lack of sugar)

Make a well in each egg foam mound with the back of a spoon.

Carefully ease the yolks into the wells.

Sprinkle the yolk with shredded Grana Padano and season with fresh ground pepper, if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the white is nicely browned.

Remove the dish from the oven and gently move to a plate.

MMMMMMM Cheesy golden goodness on a fluffy cloud of deliciousness!

Mangia!!
~~

Eggs-ellent Casserole - Oeufs en Cocotte

It's time for another egg post. Those incredible edible eggs...

Eggs as a Casserole (en Cocotte), for all intensive purposes - Baked eggs, with cream (does it GET any better?)

I have done this a couple of times before, but I was feeling very much the experimentalist this morning. Mainly due to the fact that I had no ham or Prosciutto to line the ramekins with. Thus I opted for Peruvian blue potatoes sliced very thin (which made me think of the au Gratin Potatoes I had just made), and spring onions with a sprinkling of Grana Padano. It was quite tasty.

The part that wasn't so great, although, not necessarily BAD, was that I opted for my au gratin pans, which, since they are not enameled, banned me from using a proper water bath. Eggs don't like to be exposed to intense temperatures and should be baked in a more gentle fashion... But I was throwing caution to the wind this morning.

Oeufs en Cocotte

(although slightly unconventional)

For each serving......
Butter for the Ramekin/Au Gratin pan
1/2 a small potato, sliced thin
1 Scallions (spring/green onion), sliced thin
1 TB Grana Padano Cheese grated
2 eggs
2 TB Heavy Cream
a couple dots of Butter
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450
Butter your ramekin/au gratin pan

Line the bottom with a single layer of thinly sliced potatoes

Sprinkle with scallions (spring/green onions) and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly (about 5 minutes) before sprinkling with Grana Padano.

Crack 2 eggs into the cooled ramekin/au gratin

Pour 1 TB of cream over each of the yolks (it should pretty much cover the top of the egg)

Sprinkle with Salt (I used Alder Smoked Salish Salt) and hit it with Black Pepper and add a dot of butter to the top of each yolk.

Technically they should be placed in an oven save dish that is filled with hot water and baked for 10-15 minutes. I simply placed mine in the oven for 10 minutes.

Serve with Sour dough toast points, so you can do this... :) Cause breaking into the liquid gold of the yolk with the point of your toast is just more satisfying than using a spoon or fork. (Sometimes it's just the little things)

As I said, the au gratin pans were not the ideal vessel for egg cookage, but they were serviceable. One thing that I will NOT do again, is use the Peruvian blues... I forgot that they turn this weird grayish color when cooked, not very appetizing at the bottom of my dish... But other than that, utterly delish!!!!

Mangia!!
~~