Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The last month has been about fun and excess.  Our trip to Alaska, Vancouver Island, Washington and Oregon was everything we could have hoped for.  It was a trip of a lifetime and David has fulfilled his thirty-year-long dream of riding his bike to Alaska and the Arctic Circle.  We are back home.  Life goes on.

Getting back into the kitchen has been something I have relished.  Our small garden is maturing and the peace and quiet of the lake has been a balm to our travel weary souls.  I needed to start out simple just to come down from our sometimes over-indulgent habits.  I went to my farm source and bought a dozen fresh eggs.

While cruising the blogs looking for new egg recipes, I found a blog I did not know.  Imagine that!  Home Cooking in Montana had a recipe for egg nests.  She found the recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes.  What a revelation to me.  Why haven’t I thought of this simple preparation?  To make it even more appealing,  the recipe appeared first in a French children’s cookbook called La Cuisine est un Jeu d’ Enfants or Cooking is Child’s Play.

I have made eggs nestled in bread slices (Toad in a Hole), muffin cups with Prosciutto or hashbrowns, but never thought to nestle an egg yolk into it’s frothy beaten white.  I love this presentation.  To make it even better the egg white can be flavored with cheese and/or herbs.  Give this a try.  You will love it.

EGG NESTS

2 eggs
Salt to taste (1/8 to 1/4 tsp)
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a rack in the middle.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.  If using parchment paper grease it lightly.

2. Sepearate the egg yolks from the whites.  Make sure there are no little pieces of egg yolk in the whites or you will have difficulty getting the whites to beat properly.  Place each egg yolk in a seperate small bowl.

3. Place the egg whites in a very clean mixer bowl.  Add the salt and beat the egg whites with a whisk attachment (or hand mixer) until stiff peaks form.

4. Gently fold in the grated Gruyere cheese, taking care not to deflate the egg whites.

5. Create two mounds of the egg white mixture on the lined baking sheet.  Form the mounds so they look like nests, with indentations in the center.

6.  Place in the oven for 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes, open the oven, pull out the pan and gently add an egg yolk to the center of each nest.  Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for 3 more minutes.  Serve immediately.

Printable recipe