Saturday, December 03, 2005

Comfort Food for Rainy Days

when Eggs & Toast Win Out Quite Often

photograph picture of cocotte-cooked egg with reduced cream and thyme breadcrumbs, comfort on a rainy stormy day
The warmed cream dribbled over these eggs elevated the experience to decadently good, whilst the crunchy crumbs added the perfect textural contrast.

Nursery Rhymes both Ancient and Modern


Doctor Foster went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain
He stepped in a puddle, right up to his middle
And never went there again

Food Blogger Breach-o, holed up in Potrero
Outside's pouring with rain
It was a doddle, to whip up a coddle
I think she might do it again

photograph picture of the broken yolk of cocotte-cooked egg with reduced cream and thyme breadcrumbs, comfort on a rainy stormy day
My favourite part is piercing the yolk for that scrumptious golden pool of yellow.

This was a classic French Oeufs en Cocotte recipe to which I added a twist with the addition of a crunchy breadcrumb topping. Method: First I made sure I had a kettle of hot, boiled water at the ready and the oven heated to 350F. Then I buttered the inside of a ramekin. I cracked open two small Marin Sun Farm eggs, one at a time, onto a saucer before gently transfering them to the ramekin, being careful not to break the yolks. I placed the ramekin in an ovenproof dish and the poured water into the dish up to a level half way up the ramekin, before popping it into the preheated oven. I took a handful of fresh white breadcrumbs, a few leaves of fresh thyme, pan-toasted them in a knob of butter until crispy and golden, then set them aside. I took a spoonful of creme fraiche and heated it gently over medium heat until it was reduced by half. After the eggs had been in the oven 5 minutes I kept checking regularly until I saw that the white had just lost its translucency. The egg should still be soft and wobbly, but it will be cooked through. I was brave enough to try and turn the cocotted eggs onto a plate without breaking the yolks. I succeeded and then spooned the warm cream over the eggs before sprinkling with the bread crumbs, but you could more easily eat the eggs in situ, still in the ramekin.



PS. [This post was written in accordance with the stringent rules of EOMEOTE. More information on this, the Nursery Edition, can be found over at Cook Sister.]

Archive Alert! This time last year we were reminiscing about a Las Vegas hotel breakfast in bed with no eggs or toast anwhere to be seen.

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Comfort Food for Rainy Days

12 Comments:

  • At 4/12/05 01:07, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    That does look good. I love the crunchy breadcrumb topping.

     
  • At 4/12/05 03:49, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    very clever rhyme. I might try this it looks good and easy.

     
  • At 4/12/05 05:52, Blogger Kalyn Denny said…

    I love eggs, and this looks very good. You are quite a poet. I love reading the EoMEoTE poems.

     
  • At 4/12/05 07:27, Blogger Greg said…

    It's early morn and I haven't had breakfast yet. May I have some eggs please?

     
  • At 4/12/05 12:29, Blogger cookiecrumb said…

    Scrummy photo. Rain on the window. Perfect eggs.
    Freakin' showoff!
    (Your poetry is, as always, good, too.)

     
  • At 4/12/05 15:09, Blogger Monkey Gland said…

    [homer style droolin...] aaaaarrrrrggghhhh...

     
  • At 4/12/05 15:53, Blogger Rose said…

    Scrumptious indeed!

    Wonderful photos, Sam. They just keep getting better and better!

     
  • At 4/12/05 16:11, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yummy. Do you think I could do it with egg beaters? (sniff sniff)

     
  • At 5/12/05 08:25, Blogger Sam said…

    Barbara - the breadcrumbs were good and easy. I made them with my new Kitchen Aid Chef's Chopper which I haven't tod everyone about yet.

    Mum - I know I make the rhymes look easy but they take some work you know *wink*

    Kalyn - my mum will tell you I have been a bit of a poet all my life. I am much better at the silly rhymes than the serious ones though, so no laureatship on the horizon for me.

    greg - well you are close to Marin Sun Farms, no?

    Cookie Crumb - hmmph. I've seen you and your perfect little pooch showing off quite regularly too.

    MG - are you ok? You are looking a bit yellow.

    Rose - I am *trying*

    Catherine - what is a woman like you doing with egg beaters? Making egg nog???

    Andrew - I am going to check you out.

     
  • At 7/12/05 13:13, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    looks like the perfect meal to have during my recovery! Have to try it, XO Katja

     
  • At 8/12/05 11:04, Blogger Sam said…

    Katja - I need to talk to you about that so we can work out how we can all help you out - otherwise you might end up with 10 people arriving with homemade chicken soup all at once.

    but i can make you these no problem - but maybe no breadcrumbs foryou at first

    sam x

     
  • At 4/1/06 08:06, Blogger Jeanne said…

    Hey Sam

    Don't die of shock, but the round-up is done! Check it out here:
    http://cooksister.typepad.com/cook_sister/2005/12/eomeote13_back_.html

    Thanks again for playing along...

     

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