Easter break

There are few things in life sweeter than the realization upon waking that you don't have to jump out of bed to dress for work because you're on holiday. This morning was pure bliss. When this dawned on me, I burrowed deeper into my pillows with a groggy smile for a short snooze. Then I finally got up to make breakfast. I celebrated the start of my 5 day Holy Week/Easter break with a yummy breakfast in bed of yogurt & berries with agave syrup and a glass of OJ. I loved that I wasn't rushing through breakfast like I normally do on the weekday. I enjoyed every lazy minute and morsel of it.

But now I need to finish packing as I'm spending my holidays in Dumaguete. Yay! I'm extra excited this time to be going back because many of my friends from Manila and old friends from Cebu are heading there as well. So for sure I'll be back with lots of stories and photos. Until then, I wish you all a Happy Easter and safe travels if you're going anywhere! :)

Ouefs en Cocotte or Eggs Baked in Ramekins

Oeufs en Cocotte. Such a fancy name for such a simple dish. I can't even begin to pronounce it, so when my family asked what I was making, I simply said "eggs baked in ramekins" as that it is precisely what they are. Ouefs is the French word for eggs, and Cocotte for ramekin.

I have a fondness for eggs, especially the small farm-fresh organic eggs delivered by our friendly organic farmer every other week. They're smaller, the yolks are bright orange, and they have a fresher and richer taste. Once you've had your first organic egg, you are spoiled for life.

My inspiration to make eggs baked in ramekins came about while reading Julie & Julia. While I am known to possess delusions of grandeur from time to time, I have no aspirations of trying some of what are, in my opinion, insanely tedious recipes found in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Having said that, there are many that are defintely doable and that I would love to try my hand at someday.

But this, well this was just so simple! And so perfect for a quick breakfast or brunch meal. I love me some weekend brunch! I decided to make three variatons. One ramekin for the classic recipe, another with sauteed mushrooms, and because I had some smoked wild Sockeye salmon ( a lovely gift from a friend in Vancouver), I made one with that too. They all turned out marvelously, and I couldn't pick a favorite! We all had a taste, mopping up the last of the remaining dregs with our bread and we couldn't get enough of it. I wish I had made more.

Classic Oeufs en Cocotte

1 egg
1 Tbsp cream
a knob of butter
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 C.

Grease your ramekin with some olive oil or butter. Carefully crack one egg into the ramekin. Top with a little cream, a knob of butter, then season with salt and pepper.

Place the ramekin/s in a baking or roasting tin and pour hot water around it until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 8-10 minutes if , like me, you like it runny. About 2-3 minutes more if you prefer the eggs to set. Remember though that the egg continues to cook inside the ramekin even after you remove it from the oven.

Let is rest for a couple of minutes and serve with your favorite bread.

For the Oeufs en Cocotte with Salmon; I chopped up some smoked salmon, mixed it with chopped leeks, and placed it at the bottom of the ramekin then layered everything else on top.

And voila, that's it!

You may experiment and create your own variations. Just do some layering, placing the heavier ingredients like meats on the bottom and the herbs such as chives or leeks on top of the egg. I'd like to try it next time with bacon or ham, chorizo, and spinach.

The breadcrumb topping here looks like a fantastic idea, too!