Wednesday 19 September 2012

weekend breakfast


I know, it is only mid-week, pardon me for blogging about a weekend breakfast (*^_^*)

For me to be able to post this before the end of the week is already quite an achievement. There are so many things I want need to do, but most of the time, I can't accomplish all that I have planned for the week. Well, I'll have to learn to be less ambitious and lower my expectations for myself.



We don't have the luxury of having a lazy breakfast on a weekend morning as we have to leave the house early. But, over the last weekend, I managed to prepare something extraordinary for my children (at least it was not the usual sandwich slices with nutella). This egg gratin or baked eggs in ramekins dish was almost like a light brunch. My elder child loves eggs...be it hard boiled, soft boiled, sunny side ups, omelette or scrambled, just give him eggs and he will be happy. This meal is prepared specially for him and I know his brother will enjoy it too ;)


I didn't manage to get a picture of the inside...but underneath the 'supposedly soft and runny' egg lies a bed of stir-fried garlic, mushrooms and ham. I over baked the eggs a little, on purpose actually, allowing the yolks to be almost fully cooked through, just to play safe. As a result, it didn't look anywhere close to the photo illustration in the cookbook, which shows a very fluffy, almost pop-out-of-the-page, soft-boiled egg texture. Mine turn out to be as flat as pancake, but the middle of the yolk was still soft albeit not too runny. One special thing to note is, the eggs are cooked over a hot-water bath. I googled and read from here that the purpose is to allow the eggs to set nicely.

This dish is not as time consuming to prepare even though it requires cooking over a stove. As long as you mentally run through the steps involved, this meal can be pulled together in less than 30 minutes, much less if you have extra pairs of hands, but I am too 'kind' to wake up my kids to ask them to help up on a weekend morning.

Both my kids enjoyed the meal, they find the mushrooms and ham fillings really tasty. Of course, I have learned not to over cook the eggs, I am sure a softer and fluffier texture will wake up every single sleepy cell in their bodies ;)



Baked Eggs in Ramekins

Ingredients:
(serves 2)

1/4 yellow onion coarsely chopped (I replaced with 2-3 cloves garlic, minced)
4 button mushrooms, coarsely sliced
2 slices of hams, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I replaced with one knob of butter)
2 eggs
some salt and freshly grounded black pepper
some butter for greasing

Method:

- Preheat oven to 180degC.
- Grease two ramekins with some butter and set aside.
- Heat the vegetable oil (or butter) in a frying pan, add in chopped onions and cook till the onions softened (or saute garlic till fragrant). Add in sliced mushrooms, diced ham and saute till mushroom is cooked. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Divide the cooked mushroom and ham mixture into the two prepared ramekins*. Crack one egg into each ramekin. Sprinkle some salt and freshly grounded pepper on top of the egg.
- Place the ramekins inside a baking pan or baking dish. Pour hot water into the baking pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekin. Carefully, carry baking pan to the oven, position it in the middle rack (note: the ramekins may slide when you carry it). Bake for 10~14 mins or until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Remove from oven immediately as the eggs will continue to set. Since every oven works differently, after 10mins of cooking, check every minute for doneness. Depending on how you want your eggs to be done, extend cooking time for another 1 to 2 mins as desired.   Serve immediately with toast or warm bread.

*size of my heart-shape ramekin: fills /2/3 cup (160ml) of water

Recipe Source: adapted from Cafe Brunch 星期天的料理时光

18 comments:

Angelic Heart~ said...

the heart shape ramekins looks so nice! this is my type of breakfast, yumm...

Maria Luisa said...

I love this kind of breakfast!

PH said...

Wow, what a lovely and delicious breakfast. I love those heart shaped ramekins too.

Dumpling Love said...

I like your ramekins =) I made baked eggs for my Dad and brother one morning. You're right, it's pretty quick and easy even though you need to cook over the stove. I used chorizo and beans with tomato for my fillings. Yummy =) hehe.

Edith said...

My kids will love these as well.

YP said...

It's beautiful and so simple! I must try this for my family too! Did you bake the bread too? Looks really yummy!

Oh, and the heart shaped ramkins are so cute too. Where did you get them from?

The Experimental Cook said...

Wow, an elaborate breakfast. I love the spoons too.

Happy Homebaker said...

Angelic Heart, i love the ramekins too, and cheap too!

Maria, this is certainly a crowd pleaser ;)

Phong Hong, I was lucky to chance upon the ramekins at the local baking supply shop!

Dumpling love, your sounds delicious! Your dad and brother are lucky to have you :):)

Edith, i think most kids will enjoy an egg dish for their breakfast ;)

YP, yes, I make the bread buns, the bacon and olive buns in my previous post. I got the ramekins from phoon huat, but I dont think it is available as I got them at one of the branch when they were moving out to another location.

The Experimental Cook, I got the cheap spoons in Beijing ;)

agapejen said...

This looks so good. I am sure my prince will love this. Thank you so much for sharing

Hearty Bakes said...

friend, i have tried her butter cookies, just posted up, link to yours too :)
just to share with you, yesterday i tried another of her recipe, blueberry crumble bread, i think you'll like it too ;)

Happy Homebaker said...

Jessie, I have bookmarked the blueberry crumble bread!

Anonymous said...

The ramekins look so cute. Which local supply shop did you get those from ? Phoon Huat ?

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, yes I got them from Phoon Huat.

Unknown said...

Hi, Your Baked Eggs in Ramekins looks tasty
You can submit your Baked Eggs in Ramekins pics on http://www.foodporn.net It is a food photography site where members can submit all food pictures that make readers hungry :)
I am already hungry to see these photos btw, LOL

Esther@thefussfreechef said...

What perfect timing, i just bought some pretty ramekins at a sale not knowing what recipes to make, and now i see these lovely baked eggs :) can't wait to try this with my new buys, thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB

Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Baked this for brunch today and everyone loves it!

Fiona

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Fiona, glad to know that you and your family love this :):)

salt exporter said...

Well done!
This breakfast is soooo beautifully presented!
I love the heart bowl!