Guest Post: Julie’s Eggs and Herbs!

Can you imagine a more perfect guest post? Julie over at Eggs and Herbs has shared this fabulous Eggs and Herbs recipe: Oeufs en Cocotte aux Fines Herbes (Eggs Baked in Ramekins with Fine Herbs). Enjoy!!

Hello! I’m Julie and I blog over at Eggs and Herbs and my fabulous friend Beth has invited me to guest post on The Food Adventuress today.

One of the very first things I learned about Beth when meeting her just over a year ago was that she loves all things FRENCH! She even speaks French! Having grown up not too far from several French-speaking areas of Canada, French was my language class of choice when I was in high school. Although I only remember enough that I was able to find bathrooms and direct taxi drivers while in France, this connection was the first clue to the kindred spirit I would find in Beth.

So when Beth said she wanted me to guest post and that I should do something with eggs and herbs (heehee) I knew I needed to make something French.
French cuisine is based largely on what is fresh and readily available and eggs and herbs were (are) easy to get, common ingredients. The abundance of fresh eggs inspired French cooks to develop and perfect dishes such as the souffle, quiche, omelettes, and crepes. I have 26 laying hens so fresh eggs are always just a few feet away out my front door.

My nephews Silas and Salem collect fresh eggs!

My chickens are foragers. I only supplement food in the winter (December – February) so the other nine months out of the year they have free roam on our 200 acres eating what God intended them to eat! My chickens lay beautiful eggs with the most yellow, almost orange, luscious tasting yolks you will ever have. If you can’t raise your own chickens I HIGHLY recommend finding a local farmer with free-range eggs and working out a deal that will keep you in supply!
The herbs in France vary by region and season but tarragon, rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, lavender and marjoram are popular throughout France. Today I am using rosemary, thyme, lemon balm and a bit of basil because it is what is available in my garden. While I am not a huge fan of tarragon, I do love cooking with lavender and one of my favorites recipes is Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream. It’s a great starter recipe if you have never used lavender in food before.

Knowing that I was cooking with eggs and herbs was the easy part. What exactly I was going to make was yet to be decided.

I consulted my very well loved kitchen companion, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. MtAoFC is truly one of the best cookbook investments I have ever made and I have made many recipes out of it over the last few years. In it, Mrs. Julia outlines quite a few egg recipes and I settled on one for baked eggs. Are you ready? Let’s make it!

Oeufs en Cocotte aux Fines Herbes (Eggs Bakes in Ramekins with Fine Herbs)

(From Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child)
For each serving

• 1/2 tsp butter
• 2 Tbs. whipping cream
• 2 eggs
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh herbs
• Special Tools:
• 1 ramekin, per serving
• Heat proof dish with 3/4 inch of simmering water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter each ramekin and place into the dish of simmering water. Add one tablespoon of cream to each dish along with the freshly chopped herbs. When the cream is hot break two eggs into each dish. Add the remaining 1 tbs. of cream to each dish and top with a dot of butter.

Place the whole pan containing the ramekins into the middle of the hot oven. Bake 7 to 10 minutes. The eggs should be set yet still tremble slightly when done. Be careful not to overcook the eggs as they will continue to cook slightly after they are removed from the oven.

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh herbs for garnish before serving.

The baked eggs were creamy, buttery and so flavorful because of the herbs. Such a simple yet elegant dish! I like to use my talent in the kitchen to show people love and I served this dish to my mother-in-law for her Birthday brunch along with sausage links and toast smeared with homemade strawberry freezer jam. To make it even more special I served this sunny non-alcoholic mock sangria:

I’d like to thank Beth for inviting me to be a guest here on The Food Adventuress.
Julie Kohl | www.eggsandherbs.com
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