Egg scramble.

Happy Father's Day, Sunday brunchers! This recipe is my new favorite guilty-pleasure egg remix (or, scramble, if you'll indulge my wordplay as always). This dish fights my three biggest problems with eggs: 

1. Eggs get cold, fast. Whether you're wrapped up in brunch conversation or waiting for the bacon to finish crisping, by the time you're ready to eat, they're ice cold and rubbery. Unlike with other eggs, these baked eggs stay hot forever thanks to the broiled ramekin
2. Yolks can be hard to cook properly. I love runny yolks, but I've found over the years that some places do it in a way where the yolk still has this raw, sulfur taste. This happens at home when I'm in a hurry and crank the heat in the pan, "cooking" the white and pretty much just heating the yolk. Yolks, if cooked gently, lose that sulfur taste and are still delightfully unctuous. Poaching is the perfect way to achieve this, and now, baking as well -- the hot cream and butter provide a gentle, bubbling bath without rushing the cooking as stovetop stainless steel can (in my impatient hands).
3. Eggs must be properly seasoned. Salt is not the only answer -- for this version, lots of herbs and garlic add flavor.

Be forewarned: the butter, cheese, and heavy cream in this dish make your usual three-egg omelette look saintly, but it's worth every decadent bite. Serve with toast points (and an oven mitt) at your next brunch.

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Herbed-Baked Eggs
(from Ina Garten)
Serves 2
1/4 t minced fresh garlic

1/4 t minced fresh thyme leaves

1/4 t minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 T minced fresh parsley

1 T freshly grated Parmesan

6 extra-large eggs

2 T heavy cream

1 T unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6" below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Crack three eggs into each of two ramekins. (You're going to broil the dishes first with just the butter and cream, and then the eggs go in quickly to finish cooking. This means you'll need to crack the eggs in advance so they can be poured into the screaming-hot dishes and shoved back under the broiler.)

Place two individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet (I only had glass Pyrex dishes, and those worked fine). Place 1 T of cream and 1/2 T of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 min., or until bubbling. Quickly, but carefully, pour three eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then season with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5-6 min., until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren't cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.