Caprese Baked Egg Cups | How Sweet It Is

Caprese Baked Egg Cups.

July 27, 2011

I learned five things yesterday.

1. Having a cocktail after making a freakishly giant mess in the kitchen helps calm the stress of cleaning up AND makes it go faster… or just makes you forget how long it takes?

2. Making your husband a happy hour cocktail [a manjito?!] greatly decreases the chances of him helping you clean the freakishly giant mess in the kitchen and enormously increases the chances of him passing out on a chair in the family room while watching Hannah Montana. [<-- Truth]

3. iChatting with loved ones in another state after a big cocktail (oops I know… I left out the part about how big it was in #1) is awesome. Then pointless because, really… you don’t remember any of it.

4. We should absolutely start a Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey support group. You mean to tell me I’ve been going through this depression alone the entire time?

5. I actually enjoy baked eggs, though being previously skeeved out by the only-looks-complicated-but-is-soooo-simple breakfast dish. Plus side: toasty, buttered Talonica bread. Do this thing.

Geez. I learned a lot yesterday! My brain hurts.

All hangovers and unrealistic, dreamy 2002 relationships aside, these baked eggs are where it’s at. Unlike J. Simps, I do know if it’s chicken or fish that’s coming out of the can. But that doesn’t mean I know how to bake eggs. I mean… eggs?! Who wants to bake those? I bake cookies. I barely bake cakes unless they are of the cup variety. Eggs are something that we fry and scramble and make 8000 times more delicious by adding bacon grease. Sometimes we put them in burritos and other times we add them to rice. Baking them would make them gummy (Mother Lovett’s favorite word!) and rubbery and just… blah. Right? RIGHT?!

Well, I totally thought that and I was totally wrong. Mark this day down on your calendars folks because it’s not often that I admit my wrongdoings. Of course, that’s because I rarely have wrongdoings. Ha. Ha. Ha. Seriously though. Get out your pen and your Lisa Frank notebook. Write this recipe down! You will want to eat it. Literally.

Caprese Baked Egg Cups

makes 4 cups [2 x 3 1/2 in ramekins]

4 or 8 eggs (depending on if you want 1 or 2)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

3-4 ounces mozzarella cheese, chopped (I used marinated mozz from Trader Joe’s, hence the seasoning)

8-10 fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons cream or milk

salt and pepper

softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter each ramekin and fill with a few pieces of tomato, cheese and basil. Crack one or two eggs into each and season with salt and pepper, then add 1/2 teaspoon of cream to each egg to prevent them from drying [used this tip from Ina Garten]. Add a few tomatoes, cheese and basil on top and set on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, then turn on the broiler and bake for about 5 minutes more [this resulted in slightly firm yolks for me, broil less if you them runny]. Watch carefully to determine how runny/firm you want your yolks. Serve hot with toasted, crusty bread.