It’s Day 3 in our Week of Julia Child and I thought, what better recipe to bring you on a glorious Sunday morning than one for Shirred Eggs. I love nothing more than having a leisurely breakfast or brunch on the weekend, something I definitely do not have time for during the week. In fact, I’m lucky if I squeeze in a bowl of cereal before I’m off to work (I know, bad habit).

Shirred eggs – or Oeufs sur le Plat or Oeufs Miroir if you want to dazzle your honey with your fancy French – is where an egg is broken into a small buttered dish, cooked partially on the stove, then quickly finished under the broiler. Like a poached egg, the result is a liquid yolk and whites that are softly set, yet tender. I love adding fresh herbs and cream for a beautiful, rich and tasty dish. Serve with a good toasted bread – buttered just so – and some fresh fruit. Maybe even a nice Mimosa.

Why not? It is the weekend after all! And we are celebrating Julia! Let’s give her a little toast.

Click below for this easy and delicious recipe:

Check out these other wonderful breakfast/brunch recipes:

A delicious Garden Breakfast of zucchini potato pancakes from Eat Close To Home
Try this version of Shirred Eggs with Salmon from French Cooking For Dummies
A lovely Creamy Mushroom & Onion Omelette from 80 Breakfasts

Above Photo by: SauceSupreme

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Legend has it that during World War II American soldiers in Rome would bring their Italian friends eggs and bacon and ask them to make a pasta dish, thus becoming pasta alla carbonara. Another legend claims that carbonara, a derivative of the word carbon in Italian, was made for charcoal workers. Who really knows how eggs and bacon became transformed into a distinctively Roman pasta dish.

One thing is for sure, with the bacon grease that’s used it is certainly a meal hearty enough for a soldier or charcoal worker. So if you’re on a low-fat or low-carb (or both) diet, you may as well stop reading right here. Shut your computer down and go get an apple. If you love bacon, then take my hand and let me lead you down the long path of gluttony. It’s a fine journey.

In Rome salted pork jowl is usually used, but as it’s difficult to find in the States, pancetta or a smoky bacon works just as well.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
For 6 servings.

½ pound pancetta or bacon
4 garlic gloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine
2 large fresh eggs
¼ cup cream (optional- we didn’t use it but you could add it if you want extra creaminess)
¼ cup romano cheese
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 ¼ pounds of spaghetti
3/4 or 1 package peas (optional – I know it’s not traditional to add peas, but I thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit).

1. Cut the pancetta or bacon into ¼ wide slices.
2. Lightly mash the garlic with the flat end of a chef’s knife, enough to split it and loosed the skin, which you want to toss. Put the garlic and olive oil into a small sauté pan and heat over medium high until garlic turns a deep golden brown. Remove and throw away the garlic.
3. Put the pancetta slices into the pan, and cook until lightly brown and crisp at the edges. Slowly add the white wine, and let it cook a minute or two until the alcohol burns off.
4. Break the 2 eggs into the bowl in which you will be serving. Beat them with a fork then add the grated cheeses, a healthy grinding of pepper, and the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.
5. Briefly reheat the pancetta over high heat then remove from heat.
6. Add a small amount of the pancetta drippings to a small amount of the just cooked spaghetti and mix well. Add to the bowl and toss rapidly, taking care not to cook the eggs. Toss in the rest of the pasta, cream (if using), pancetta with its drippings, and peas, and toss thoroughly.
7. Serve at once.

I prepared this recipe without the added cream. If you prefer a creamier sauce add the cream or another egg or two.

Note: I’ve never had problems using raw eggs, which can transmit salmonella, as I’ve always used the freshest ones I can find. But if you are concerned, or will be serving to young children, elderly people or those with a weakened immune system, you may wish to skip the raw eggs and add cream instead.

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It’s Easter Sunday, and as I write this I sit aboard my dad’s 1958 Beechcraft Bonanza bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico via Phoenix, James Taylor singing in my ears. The beautiful clear skies that surround us conjure up memories of past Easter Sundays.

My very first memory, in fact, is of Easter Sunday 1970 and I was 23 months old. I remember it as clearly as yesterday. My little pale pink knit dress with tiny pastel flowers (I still have it), my itty bitty white leather shoes, and I think I actually remember wearing diapers, although I may be making that up. My memory begins on our patio in Lafayette, California, my tan Easter basket in hand. I was beyond excited. I can see a magenta egg in a wine barrel flower planter and I run toward it. I see another under a bush, another right there in the seam of the concrete patio. Then I remember my older brother, then four and a half, crying his eyes out because I found more eggs. So I put some in his basket to even it out. It really was an unfair advantage when I think about. I mean, little girlie girl placed amongst a bunch of brightly colored eggs. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance. If mom had hid little green Army men he would have whupped my butt hands down.

I looked forward to Easter and I counted down the days when I was a child. (I still do! You’re never too old for an Easter basket, right?!) I was enamored with the little silver, blue, pink and pale green foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. As a child my mom always included a sugar egg, the kind with the little peep window with the baby chicks inside. I never ate it (well, maybe a lick here and there) I just peered inside at those little chicks. Do they still make those today? I also loved Robin’s Eggs, the tiny pretty colored hard candies. And, the malted chocolate covered eggs. Another favorite part of Easter was eating the Deviled Eggs made from our findings. I loved how the whites were always stained blue, pink and whatever other Paas coloring with which we used to dye them.

As an adult what I most look forward to is Easter Dinner. The planning, the preparation and the sharing with loved ones. My Easter menu is fairly simple:

Lamb: a rack or beautiful butterflied leg, perhaps marinated in balsamic or rubbed with lots of garlic and fresh rosemary.

Potatoes: the bit of Irish in me needs them! Nice creamy scalloped potatoes or a gallette.

Salad: baby greens, maybe toasted pecans and grapefruit supremes with a simple vinaigrette.

And, finally, Easter Bread. What’s better than a sweet, warm braided loaf right out of the oven?

Note: We encountered technically difficulties in Mexico (hard to believe, I know!) so I was unable to publish this on Easter Sunday.

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