The Humble Egg

So simple, yet so deliciously complex.

Lucky me, I have a lot of eggs right now.  As in, seven dozen in the fridge "a lot right now".  This means not only do I have some to give, some to sell, and plenty to eat, but I also have little room for anything else in the icebox!  (What a lucky problem, right?)

I eat lots of eggs, in various forms--boiled, baked, fried, in frittata, in omelet, you name it.  On a busy day that runs long, an egg or two is my go-to fast dinner comfort food of choice.  Take this gem of a recipe, for example:

Baked Eggs with Brussel Sprouts (adapted from brooklyn supper blog)

You'll need:   three fresh eggs; a nice handful of fresh brussel sprouts, trimmed and sliced thinly; a third of an onion, chopped finely; a nice big handful of fresh mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thinly; a fat strip of smoky bacon, cubed; a bit of butter; a slosh of cream or milk, your choice; a little bit of grated Gruyere or other cheese of your choice--I've used asiago with great success--and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a cast iron skillet and add your bacon, cooking over medium heat and stirring to render out the fat.  Once the pan is greasy, toss in your brussel sprouts and onion and saute for a couple of minutes until nice and wilted.  Add the mushrooms, and reduce heat a little.  Cook, stirring around often, until the mushrooms are soft and slightly browned.  I generally add some salt and pepper here, but you can wait to season until the end if you like.

While you are cooking the veg, heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Find a handy ramekin or small oven-proof dish (I use my go-to vintage Pyrex for this purpose), and once your oven has reached temp, put a tablespoon of butter in the dish and pop it in the oven to melt the butter.

Once the butter is melted, remove the dish and swirl it around to get the butter to coat the sides and bottom nicely.  Crack your eggs into the dish, top with the sauted veg, and add your dollop of milk or cream.  Pop your Pyrex back into the oven and bake for 5 minutes.

When the timer dings, slide the dish out just far enough to sprinkle on your cheese of choice.  Put back into the oven and bake fo another 1-2 minutes until the eggs are set.  When the final time is up, take out your delicious egg dish, salt and pepper if you haven't already, and grab a fork to dig in.

Simple, seasonal, and a great way to enjoy the humble egg.