Eggcellent Brunch!
Sweet Cherry Kugel – serves 12 (normally made in 13x9 glass pyrex)
See Entomology of Kugels at the end of the recipes and enjoy!
1/2 pound fine noodles, cooked per instructions (all of the 12 oz. bag will work as well)
1 c sour cream
4 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c sugar
2 c cottage cheese - small curd
1 stick margarine
1c cherry pie filling (or use whole can if you like) - apple pie filling add cinnamon or pie
spice, or pumpkin could work.
Preheat oven to 350. Melt margarine in glass baking dish while preheating, making sure it
doesn’t burn.
Mix all ingredients together in large bowl except for margarine and filling. Add mixture to
melted margarine in baking pan and spread out. Bake 40 min. at 350. Spoon filling on top
and bake for 30 min. more. Cool and when set, cut in squares.
Baked Eggs in a Cup – Two Ways
Bird’s Nest Breakfast Cups
serves 3 (increase for 8 or 12 muffin tins if desired)
Approx 8 oz. of thawed frozen hash brown potatoes (either from a bag or patties broken
up)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 eggs
1/2 tablespoon water
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled - divided
1 C shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease muffin tins.
Mix hash brown potatoes, salt, black pepper, olive oil, and 2/3 cup shredded Cheddar
cheese in a bowl. Divide mixture into greased muffin cups and use your fingers to shape
potato mixture into nests with hollows in the middle.
Bake in the preheated oven until hash brown cups are browned on the edges and cheese
has melted, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove hash brown nests.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Drop one egg into each potato nest, season with
salt and pepper and sprinkle each with bacon crumbles and 1 tsp. of shredded cheddar. If
you prefer scrambled eggs (we did not do this on the show), you can whisk eggs and water
in a bowl until thoroughly combined; season with salt and black pepper. Pour equal
amount of egg mixture into each nest; sprinkle with bacon crumbles and 1 tsp shredded
Cheddar cheese.
Bake in the oven until eggs are set, 13 to 16 minutes. Let cool in pans and remove by
sliding a knife between potato crust and muffin cup.
Baked Eggs in a cup with Proscuitto, Asparagus & Crème Fraiche
serves 3, increase for as many ramekins as you wish
Butter (for the ramekins)
6 slender stalks asparagus, tough ends snapped off
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T crème fraiche or sour cream—one per ramekin
2 oz. prosciutto, torn into ½” strips
3 large eggs
Set oven to 350. Butter ramekins (1/2 cup capacity each) and set in a baking dish.
Cut tips off asparagus stalks, then cut in half lengthwise. Slice stems ¼” thick.
Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus stems, return to a boil and
cook 1 minute. Add asparagus tips and cook 1 minute more. Drain and rinse under cold
tap water until they are cool. (Carlos microwaved the asparagus which he finds easier).
In a bowl, whisk sour cream with a pinch of salt and generous pepper. Divide the
prosciutto among the ramekins forming a cup for the egg to go into. Make a slight well in
the center of the ramekins and carefully crack an egg into each. Spoon sour cream around
the yolk to cover the white. Place asparagus rounds on top and around the yolk, then add
the tips.
Pour about 1” of boiling water into the space between the ramekins in the baking dish.
The water should come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake in the center of oven for 16-20 minutes, depending on how runny you like your
yolks. Let rest a minute. Eggs will continue to cook after removal from oven so take them
out just before they bake to desired doneness. Serve with crusty bread or toast.
Veggie Egg Skillet w/Leek Hash, Swiss Chard, Eggs & Fingerling Potatoes
serves 4
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (evoo)
2 C sliced leeks (about 2 large – bottom part only)
12 oz. fingerling potatoes cut in half lengthwise (about 4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 tsp Spanish smoked paprika divided (we used Sumac)
½ t salt, divided
½ t coarsely ground pepper, divided
4 c thinly sliced trimmed Swiss Chard (about 1 bunch, no stalks)
4 large eggs
¼ c (1 oz) shredded Gruyere cheese or other similar
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Add leeks; cook 8 minutes, stirring
frequently. Add potatoes, garlic, cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring
occasionally. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika or sumac , ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Add chard;
cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Using spoon, push potato mixture aside to make 4 egg-sized spaces. Crack 1 egg into each
space, sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper and paprika or sumac over eggs.
Cover and cook 3 minutes; sprinkle cheese over potato mixture. Cover and cook 2
minutes or until egg yolks are lightly set.
Origin of “kugel”
The name comes from the Middle High German kugel meaning "sphere, globe,
ball"; (compare to German Gugelhupf—a type of ring-shaped cake).
Nowadays, however, kugels are often baked in square pans.
History
The first kugels were made from bread and flour and were savory rather than
sweet. About 800 years ago, cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with
noodles. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese
and milk created a custard-like consistency common in today's dessert dishes.
In Poland, homemakers added raisins, cinnamon and sweet curd cheese to
recipes. In the late 19th century, Jerusalemites combined caramelized sugar and
black pepper in a noodle kugel known as Jerusalem kugel,"
Kugel is also a traditional Romanian dish known in certain villages as "Baba
Acolo". It is made with or without cheese, but it most always includes raisins.
Savory kugel may be based on potatoes, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, spinach or
cheese.
A similar traditional Belarusian dish is potato babka.
In Lithuania, this dish is called Kugelis. It is baked potato pudding. The main
ingredients are potatoes, bacon, milk, onions, and eggs. It may be spiced with
salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and/or marjoram. It is usually eaten with sour
cream, with a topping of fried fatty bacon (usually belly bacon) and diced
onions.
You can experiment at home, sweet or savory, cheesy or full or raisins and
cinnamon…or potato and onions.