Baked Eggs with Cheese

Jeremy has decided that he wants to learn how to cook. So he's asked me to look up a new recipe each week that he can make for dinner.

He already knows how to make burgers and pasta; so I want to expand his horizons a bit, but without nudging him to make anything too terribly complicated and frustrating. Cooking is supposed to be fun, after all!

So I thought that a lovely egg dish - perfect as a light supper or as a breakfast/brunch dish, too - would be a good one to start with.

And while these baked eggs are ridiculously simple - crack eggs into small dishes, top with cream and cheese, bake - they are really, really good. They're also sufficiently sophisticated that the end result far exceeds the sum of the very pedestrian parts.

Jeremy made an exceptionally nice dinner, and I'll happily encourage him to keep cooking delicious things!


Baked Eggs with Cheese

(adapted from the recipe for Shirred Eggs in The American Lighthouse Cookbook by Ed Jackson and Becky Sue Epstein)

kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 eggs
4 tablespoons half-and-half
4 generous tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
2 medium scallions, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease 4 6-ounce ramekins or shallow baking dishes and place them onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dishes with salt and pepper.

Break 3 eggs into each of the dishes. Top each dish with 1 tablespoon half-and-half, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, and a sprinkling of the scallions.

Bake the eggs for 15 minutes, until set but slightly soft in the center; bake for a few minutes longer if you want the eggs to be firm. (Yes, Judy of Cranberry Morning, I'm noting this just for you, knowing how you loathe those runny yolks!)

Serve hot, accompanied by fruit, bagels, etc.

Makes 4 servings.

National Peaches 'n' Cream Day

Today is National Peaches 'n' Cream Day. What a fabulous thing to celebrate!

There are a lot of culinary matches that were made in heaven -- peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate chip cookies and milk -- and the pairing of lusciously ripe peaches with rich cream ranks right near the top of the list.

But I didn't want to just offer a recipe for sliced peaches with whipped cream, or tell you to simply buy a container of peach ice cream -- those would have been boring.

At the same time, I also didn't want to give you recipes for cake layers, whipped cream frosting, and all sorts of complicated and labor-intensive efforts that would detract from the simple beauty that is peaches 'n' cream.

And so, I offer something ridiculously simple and yet still seductive: a store-bought prepared peach daiquiri paired with vanilla ice cream to make a rich dessert-like drink ... peaches 'n' cream with a kick!

Peaches 'n' Cream Daiquiri

2 cups vanilla ice cream
2 cups Daily's prepared peach daiquiri, at room temperature (available near the freezer section); substitute milk, if desired
1 cup peach sorbet
peach slices for garnish, optional

Place ice cream, prepared daiquiri (or milk), and sorbet in a blender and whir until smooth and frothy. Garnish with peach slices, if desired, and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

National Strawberry Shortcake Day

I really don't need to work at selling this recipe -- is there any summer dessert more beloved than Strawberry Shortcake, that this could possibly need my persuasive assistance??? I think not!

You could buy some pre-made shortcakes at the grocery store, but they're so exceedingly inferior that I can't condone it; if you do so, please don't tell me. And it's so ridiculously easy to make your own shortcakes -- which are essentially biscuits -- that there's just no way to justify not baking from scratch.

The "short" in shortcake refers to the gluten strands, just in case you were wondering. Rather than the high-gluten flours that you want to use for baking yeast breads, which provide the fabulous texture we all crave -- thus making gluten-free breads an art unto themselves, lacking that key ingredient -- gluten is the enemy of a flaky, crumbly shortcake.

Lots of fat (in my recipe, both butter and sour cream ... 'cause that's the kinda girl I am!) mixed into the flour keeps the gluten strands short, making for tender baked goods. I also like to add some lemon zest, for a bright flavor that complements the rich cream and sweet strawberries perfectly.


You could also buy a can of whipped cream, but homemade is infinitely better. Sweeten it just a tad, and also put some confectioners' sugar to use in helping to stabilize it (rather than having it deflate quickly, after you've whipped the air into it).

What more can I say? Stop reading and go celebrate!

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcakes:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
zest of 1 lemon

Berries:
2 quarts strawberries, hulled, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar

Cream:
1 pint heavy cream
4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Shortcakes: Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. With a fork, mix in the butter and the sour cream until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the milk and lemon zest.

Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, and knead just until it comes together. Pat into a rectangle 1/2" high, and cut into 6 portions. Separate the portions, then bake the shortcakes for 15 minutes until golden. Let cool.

Berries: Combine the berries and the sugar in a medium bowl, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cream: Place the cream, sugars and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until the cream holds peaks.

Assemble the dessert: Place a shortcake onto a dessert plate. Top with whipped cream, then top that with strawberries. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Chicken in Creamy Cheese Sauce

I've been staying with Jeremy and, God help me, with his dad -- my ex-husband, Stuart, with whom I actually get along quite well -- for a few days while I figure out where I'm headed now. They're on the Atkins diet, on the buddy system; in exchange for their hospitality, I've not only been cooking but specifically making dinners that meet their dietary restrictions.

And just what are those dietary restrictions??? Fat: bacon, cheese, eggs, chicken, pork, beef, and a token green vegetable every once in awhile. Bleah.

Jeremy raved about it at first, as he indulged in all those foods that most diets forbid. But Stuart's not much of a cook, though he's enjoyed playing with the combination crockpot/pressure cooker his sister gave him for Christmas. Jeremy was growing most weary of seeing slabs of beef on a plate, served with ketchup.

So, when I started to slice an onion and cut up a chicken breast and pour in some cream and grate some cheese -- not to mention checking to see that 2/3 of a cup of peas would only cost 7 of the day's allotment of 20 grams of carbohydrates -- there seemed to be, shall we say, a fair amount of anticipation.

Jeremy just "mmmm"-ed and told me how nice it was to eat "real food" again. Even Stuart smiled sort of sheepishly, having tried hard but not having any particular cooking skills, and told me how much he was enjoying his meal. I was happy ... :)

I'm going to have to approximate the recipe, as I didn't have all of my usual accoutrements for scribbling notes, noting times, measuring ingredients, etc. But with items like the ones I used, you can really hardly go wrong!

Chicken in Creamy Cheese Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2" pieces
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large red onion, halved, sliced
1/3 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup cream
3/4 teaspoon thyme
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken, salt, pepper and the onion; cook -- stirring occasionally -- to brown the chicken. When the chicken pieces are firm and the onion is caramelized, pour in the chicken broth; bring to a boil, then reduce by half. Add the cream and the thyme; let it bubble until reduced by about half. Stir in the cheese until it melts.

Serves 2 generously. Can be served over pasta or rice to serve 4.