Oeufs en Cocotte (Eggs in a Casserole)

I just remembered my sister telling me about these awhile back, so figured that since I had all of the ingredients I would give it a try. Otherwise known as oeufs en cocotte, this delicious treat doesn't take any time to prepare and the results are amazing. You can use anything you have on hand and since they are single servings everyone in the family can enjoy their own.

Here are the ingredients I used for this recipe:


You want to preheat your oven to 375º F. Butter your ramekin dishes then add about a tablespoon of cream or milk.


Next, add whatever type of filling you'd like; sautéed mushrooms, peppers, onions, bacon, sausage etc.
Here I used peppered ham and spring onions:


Then crack an egg into each ramekin. I topped mine with boursin cheese but you can use any type of cheese you like. I recommend to shred it for best results.


You just top it off with a touch more cream & pepper. Since the ham & cheese I used here are both salty I didn't add any extra salt, but you might want to do that now.


Now you are going to place your ramekins in a bain marie or water bath. Fill the water half way up the side of the ramekins.


Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the egg whites are set & the yolk is still nice and runny. If you like a harder egg feel free to bake it for a longer time. Once they come out of the oven carefully lift them from the water bath & serve.

I enjoyed mine with crunchy toast & a mixed green salad. Enjoy!!!



Please feel free to share your experiences or comments here. Let me know what you think!

xo diane

Quickie Recipe: Basmati Rice Pudding

So last night I made a delicious dinner of rockfish with a brown butter/orange sauce, braised fennel, basmati rice scented with cardamom & orange and steamed shelled edamame. As I've stated in the previous post, it's hard to cook & take photos by myself. This was a new recipe too, so I wasn't sure exactly how it was going to turn out...well, I was pleased.

Well, my quickie recipe here stems from the left over basmati rice that I had made. It's a quick one so no need for extra photos here...



Start by placing whatever amount of rice you have into a saucepan (I had roughly 2 cups) and I just poured milk onto it until it was almost covered. (About 2 cups) I had some heavy whipping cream around so I splashed a tad of that in there too for richness. Added about 1/4 C of sugar, 1/4 tsp of freshly ground cardamom and a handful of raisins. (optional of course!)

Just simply heat the contents slowly while stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn on the bottom. You want to be sure the mixture gets creamy and the rice is nice and soft. This is different than regular basmati rice which I like to be a bit more on the firm side.

I garnished mine with clementine zest to bring out the already beautiful orange essence that I cooked into the rice in the first place. The citrus also cuts the richness & compliments the sweetness.



Hope you get a chance to try this one for yourself! Share with me your comments & how you like your rice pudding...

xo diane

New Year...new ideas.

I have been just kicking myself for not updating this blog more often. I absolutely love cooking, but to take all the photos whilst doing it can become cumbersome. Alas, I have decided to put aside any negative feelings about it and just do it. :)

So please comment on the recipes you see & if you are making them please let me know how they turn out!

Coming soon, my favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup!

cheers!
xo diane