The dishwasher is fixed – by which I mean, it has been replaced by a functional dishwasher. It was quite a thrilling moment for me, to load up a dishwasher and hear it fill with water and then stay full of water and, apparently, spray said water on the dishes. I literally stood there and watched it wash dishes.
No, you can’t really see what’s going on in my dishwasher. Yes, I really stood there, staring, enthralled, at a stainless steel rectangle making humming and splooshing noises. I’m easily entertained, and I’m okay with it.
At the end of the cycle, I removed the silverware and put it away next to the other silverware – the stuff that came out of the old dishwasher when it operated in Manual Mode (ie, I filled it with a bucket of water). Suddenly, my silverware was oh-so-shiny – possibly more shiny-seeming in light of the fact that the rest of my silverware, well, wasn’t. The casual observer might think my cleanliness standards are not up to par.
In the midst of my dishwasher woes, I had a houseguest, who I wanted to cook for; yet, I also needed to keep the dish-washing to a minimum, and I was confounded in my initial fallback position (I know – I’ll grill!) by a nonfunctional grill.
My guest, knowing my appliance woes, insisted a banana for breakfast was fine – don’t go to any trouble.
It’s true, a banana doesn’t require a clean plate to be served on, and thus no plates to be cleaned up after; nor does it dirty up any cooking pans, or mixing bowls, or anything really. But the whole idea left me thinking that the appliances had won the battle, and I refused to go down without a fight.
I found this simple little breakfast recipe for baked eggs with chives and cream over on the Fine Cooking site, and it looked like a winner, in part because it only involved one dish per person: the ramekin in which the eggs are baked and then served. The problem, of course, is that I didn’t own a ramekin the right size, but it was only a matter of time before I started buying clean dishes, so I solved that problem with some new FiestaWare.
These baked eggs are a superb brunch dish, with just a few ingredients and minimal mess. Just toss it in the oven, then broil to cook the top. The richness of the cream and the flavorful chives make the dish special, but the delivery of the sizzling dish makes for a wonderful, yet easy, presentation. I’m hoping to make them again, and play with different herb and seasoned salt combinations.
I overcooked these slightly at my guest’s request, but have reproduced the recipe here for a softer center. Keep in mind that the eggs do keep cooking for a bit after leaving the oven, and take them out just before the desired doneness.
- 2 tsp butter
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper
- 1½ tsp chopped fresh chives
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven. Butter two 6-inch gratin dishes.
- Break two eggs into each gratin dish. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle chives on top. Drizzle 1 tbsp of cream into each dish, starting with the egg yolks and working outward.
- Bake until the eggs are bubbly and browned on the edges but not quite set, about 5 minutes. Turn the broiler on, leaving the eggs on the center rack, and broil for another two minutes.
- Remove eggs from the oven; they will continue to set. Serve immediately.
, and then simply toss in whatever cheese and vegetables I have on hand. In my house, it’s usually Gruyere cheese, except Costco stopped selling my favorite variety, and since I haven’t found anything that comes close to it, I’ve been forced to start looking for a new standby cheese. I had some aged Cheddar from Trader Joe’s, which was marvelous, and paired well with the spinach and red pepper that I bought to make a salad with and … well, didn’t.
