Who are you calling an oaf?

Oeufs En Cocotte -- Eggs in Ramekins

Thanks to a comment posted by my new Facebook friend, Francoise, she gave me a wonderful tip for some variations on Oeufs En Cocotte (eggs cooked in ramekins) which I couldn't wait to try. Francoise recommended a video posted on YouTube by Chef Jacques Pepin that shows how to prepare these eggs, plus some other variations. Sorry Julia Childs, you'll always be my number one instructor (well, for now at least) but you've got some competition.

I don't seem to be able to successfully post the link to the video here but if you'd like to watch it, just go to YouTube and search for "Chef Pepin Ramekin" and you'll see it right away. I've also included the link down below to Francoise's blog, Francoise's Kitchen, where you'll find some wonderful French recipes and cooking tips. She is certainly much more accomplished than I and her pronunciation is right on -- I suppose it helps that she is French? Oui!

This was a quick and easy breakfast to make and, unlike Julia's method of cooking them in the oven, I found it much faster and simpler to cook because the pan is left on the stove top and not put in the oven.

The ramekins were lightly buttered and then herbs were sprinkled around the inside of the ramekin (I chose to use dill). After that, an egg was added to each ramekin and they were ready to cook. A pan was filled with enough water to be about 3/4-1" deep when the ramekins would be added. Before adding the ramekins, however, the water was brought to a boil. Then the ramekins were sat in the water and the lid put on top for about 3 minutes while the water gently boiled.When the eggs were done they were removed from the pan and any water that had collected on top of the eggs from the steam was poured off (there wasn't much).

While the eggs were boiling I prepared some nice round toast. Sorry Francoise and Chef Pepin but I was in a bit of a hurry and just used some English muffins instead of trimming bread to the same size as the ramekins. A quick word about English muffins. I hope you know the proper way to split an English muffin -- do not use a knife! Sticking a fork into the side of each muffin and gently prying is the perfect way to split the English muffin. Inserting, prying, removing the fork, moving to the side, and reinserting over and over again will split that English muffin and leave lots of little peaks and valleys. Much better than cutting with a knife!

The English muffin halves were toasted and then the eggs were gently separated from the ramekins and gently placed upside down on the toasted muffin. That was it! A nice little breakfast treat that took less than 10 minutes to make and tasted great. This was a great way to start to day and my daughter-sous-chef Kathryn and I both give it two thumbs up.

Thanks for the tip Francoise!

Bon Appetit!