Posts tagged brunch

There was one recipe from Bon Appétit’s January issue - the Sunny Side Up Eggs on Mustard Creamed Spinach - I just couldn’t get out of my head. I wasn’t sure if it was the photo that got me or the daydreams I kept having about the creamy, mustardy spinach topped with a sunny side egg.

I love eggs. They are pretty much a perfect food - a little fat, a lot of protein, and countless preparation possibilities. Though most associate eggs with breakfast, I often find myself eating them for dinner.

The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen recommended serving this dish with breadcrumbs for a lighter option to toast. Great idea! But I knowing I would miss my toast, I made croutons versus breadcrumbs. And then I added bacon. So much for a lighter option. My favorite addition to the recipe was adding pickled mustard seeds into the mix. Pickled mustard seeds are a trick I stole from David Chang who stole it from Tom Colicchio. They are great in salad dressing, as an addition sauces for meats, and get this - to make your own tangy mustard! Make them, love them, and use them in this recipe!

Recipe, Notes, and Nutritional Information via sarahmcsimmons.com. 

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups white Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon basil
• 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
• 9 Eggs, hard boiled and thinly sliced
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, fried and crumbled
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• Olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and brown slightly. Add in 1/4 cup of milk and stir with a wooden spoon until the milk is absorbed.
• Slowly add in the remaining milk and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.
• Add herbs and cheese, stirring until the cheese melts.
• Pour 1/3 of the cheese sauce into the casserole dish. Add eggs and bacon and pour the remainder of the cheese sauce on top.
• Smooth the sauce to completely cover the eggs and bacon and then sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
• Spray breadcrumbs with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until the top is browned.

Note: The Carolina Collection cookbook is one of the best cookbooks I’ve ever read. It’s out of print and really hard to find, so if you can ever get your hands on a copy - grab it while you can!