Egg Recipe #12

This evening we had breakfast for dinner and this time I made Shirred Eggs.

If have never heard of these, you have been missing out. To have eggs cooked this way is very delicious. The cream and Gruyere cheese make your mouth water. 

Now my eggs tonight thou were not get made with heavy cream or Gruyere cheese, seeing how I did not have either in the house and I did not want to drive to town just for those items. So I used half and half with some Cheddar and Monteray Jack cheese. It was good but not as good as when made with the ingredients in the recipe.

Shirred Eggs

serves 2

2 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons shredded Gruyere cheese
2 teaspoons minced shallot
a few sprigs of thyme
2 pieces of toast, cut into thin slices

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two 4-inch ramekins (you can use a smaller size, or tea cups work as well; you may have to adjust your cooking time for desired setting of the eggs).

Crack each egg into a ramekin, and pour 1 tablespoon of cream onto each egg. Sprinkle the cheese, shallots and a few thyme leaves onto each egg.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes (7 for a very runny yolk, 10 for a firmer yolk), until the egg is 'set' to your preference. Serve immediately with toast soldiers. Eggs will continue to set up as you eat, so get them to the table as soon as possible.



 Additional ingredient ideas: caramelized onions, chopped olives, sauteed mushrooms, snippets of chives or green onions, bell pepper slivers, diced tomatoes, and goat cheese are all great in eggs cocotte.

Also toast soldiers are an English term for a very thinly cut crusty bread.