How to bake an egg--and like it!

 

Ready to eat

I was this many years old before I learned how to bake and enjoy an egg for supper. I don’t remember my mom ever baking eggs, so that’s probably why I didn’t. I was only so-so at poaching (seemed to take forever and half the time I fished them out too soon, even though I like them fairly runny) and frying (I couldn’t do over easy without breaking the yolk). But one night I ran across simple directions for baked egg and thought I’d try it. Now a baked egg is one of my favorite “you’re on your own” suppers. Here’s what I did:

Simple baked egg

½ slice good sourdough bread

1 large egg

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. cream or milk

Grease a small ramekin well. Toast sourdough bread and butter both sides (toasting makes it crisper as it soaks up the egg). Shape toast into ramekin until it forms a lining on bottom and sides of the dish. Carefully break egg into the center of the ramekin, being sure to keep the yolk whole. Add salt and pepper and pour cream or milk over egg to keep it from drying out.

In process
note hole in center

Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes, until yolk is set but still runny.

That’s the straightforward version, but once I saw how easy that was, I decided to fancy it up a bit. Fry a strip of bacon, crumble and let it drain a paper towel, while you shape the toast. Then add a bit of cooked, chopped spinach and a nice bit of grated cheddar. Dot with butter but leave a hole in the middle for the egg. Add the egg and cream and bake as above. Serve garnished with bacon. Without the bacon, you might garnish it with paprika or scattered microgreens.

Ready for the oven

A baked egg can even help you use leftovers—diced ham or chicken, sausage, various cheeses, maybe corn. It’s pretty much up to individual taste. Today I was contemplating leftovers from a full dinner last night—roast chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and fresh broccoli. I decided to bake an egg, using the potatoes and broccoli and the grated cheddar left from chili night a couple of nights ago. I was going to garnish with microgreens, but I learned a lesson about them—they do not keep. So I sprinkled paprika and had myself a good lunch.

A gourmet side note: Recently I did something I had done in a long time. I had enough leftover chicken to make chicken salad, but instead of dicing it, I whirred it in the food processor until it was flaked. Then I dressed it with salt and pepper, lemon juice, and just enough mayonnaise and sour cream to bind but not enough to make it soupy. The flaked meat gives the salad a whole different texture and flavor. I used to do the same thing with ham and tuna. I think I was being lazy about getting the processor out, but no more. A neighbor once said, doesn’t it just make it mush? The answer is no—it makes dry flakes (drain canned tuna, of course.)

Gourmet side note #2: I’ve discovered a web site I really like. It’s called Kitchn. The site features cooking and cleaning hints and ideas along with new products, but it’s the recipes I really like. The producers apparently have a deal with Aldi and Trader Joe, because they frequently feature their products, both to buy and to include in recipes; Costco, occasionally. Kitchn is now one of those emails I read every morning.