Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Counting Your Eggs

When I was little, the newspaper in my hometown ran a weekly feature where kids would submit phrases into which the word "egg" had been cleverly incorporated. Every week I would read it and consider contributing. I never did. Being that I was not a big fan of eggs at the time, and that my family did not celebrate Easter in any capacity, this regular and vaguely disinterested pondering was, for a long time, the extent of my relationship to the food.


It was only much, much later in life that I realized the degree to which eggs could be incorporated into almost anything. Not just turns of phrase, but every conceivable kind of meal. Eggs benedict, burgers, grain salads, quiche: eggs seemed to be the pivotal ingredient in limitless cuisines. So for awhile I went nuts and tried to put them in everything, resulting in equal parts disaster and delight. Then, inspired by the plight of a miserably empty pantry one morning before work, I decided to reign in the unmitigated cree-egg-tivity (haw haw) and just do it straight for a second. Let the egg be an egg, like it was always meant to be. I decided to bake myself some! A little of this and a little of that later, I pulled out of the oven a right tasty egg dish. I look forward to making it for my friends with some frequency in the future, but until that morning comes I will satisfy my urge to share as usual...via blog.

PS: Predictably, cooking an egg in a muffin tin makes it look like a muffin. This does not detract from their appeal in any way whatsoever.

You Will Need:

Eggs
Whatever spices you damn well feel like
Tomatoes

To Make:
This is so simple it is literally painful. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Crack your eggs into each, individual muffin tin. Be careful so as not to break the yolks (unless you like it like that). Sprinkle the top with whatever spices of interest you have on hand. I used oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Slide them into the oven, and let them back for approximately fifteen minutes. Upon removal, let them cool for a bit so you can pop them out without breaking them apart. Serve over fresh, cool slices of tomato.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What kind of muffin tin did you use? The shape is so... oblong.

Jamie said...

Oooh...so simple, yet so smart! My only beef with this is waiting for the eggs to bake, when the frying pan is staring longingly.

Yvo Sin said...

How well cooked an egg would you say that produces? Yolk still a little runny (for benedict, perhaps) or not quite, just completely cooked through?

BTW, thank you. I was contemplating baking my eggs this morning (inactive cooking time.. love it) in these shaped metal tins I have for such a purpose, that came with no instructions, and I wasn't sure how long I'm meant to cook the eggs, so you've solved that question nicely :)

Mark Scarbrough said...

Nice blog. Found you via Justin Schwartz and just linked you up with mine.

Keep up the very good work.

Anonymous said...

Yummy. I love cooking eggs like this but usually mix them up with herbs and a bit of cheese - they are like mini frittatas! This is cute though - they look pretty with the eggs still intact.

luv 2 cook said...

I love this idea. I will be having a large amount of houseguests soon and this will be great for breakfast.

sweeetheartfever said...

jamie: haha, you're right. better put that frying pan to use...and sautee up a bed of garlic, onion, and tomato for those eggs to go on when they are done in the oven! :)

yvo: if you bake for a full fifteen minutes, the eggs are very firm and cooked all the way through. if you like them a little runnier, i bet you could pull them out around 10 minutes and be fine. and thank YOU for reading! you should definitely let me know how your recipe comes out!

mark: thank you very much! that means a lot to me, and i will be sure to check back in with you. Both your blog and your garden look great, hah.

helen: yummmmm! i will absolutely be making these eggs like that in the future, haha. it sounds divine.

organic mom: ooh! what's the occasion? i hope it goes well! you should send me some photos and tell me what else you make! i'd like to know how it goes.

Jamie said...

Hey Feverish, mind if I link to you?

fash said...

eggcellent! tried it with bread underneath, squished into the muffin tin?

sweeetheartfever said...

Jamie! of course not! I was just checking back on your blog for updates, hah.

Fash! You're definitely onto something. I found a recipe that uses two slices of pita bread as a base, effectively making an "edible cup" for the egg after it has been baked. I want to try that next.

Anonymous said...

This looks great! I have baked eggs in ramekins with cream and herbs for a few people at a time, but was looking for a way to cook about 35-40 eggs at at time and I think this will do the trick! You did not mention greasing/buttering/spraying the muffin pan first, but guess that would be advisable. I wonder if you also put a small amount of water in the bottom, would that facilitate removing the eggs?

Unknown said...

I Like to cook some recipes where i can add some eggs, because they are very nutritive and delicous.I like to cook eggs specially for the breakfast combine it with bacon. Simply delectable.

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