Dispensing Happiness

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.-Elsa Schiapirelli

That's me, the magical good cook.

Borrowing from my friend Dexygus, I've created my own food blog.

Read of my exploits in the kitchen! Salivate over the descriptions of fabulous desserts and savory meals I've concocted!

No, seriously...go ahead. It'll make my day.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Wartime Wednesdays: Eggs Au Gratin

.



Eggs Cooked in the Shell

HARD-COOKED (Coddled)---Place the eggs in a saucepan of cold water and heat slowly until the boiling-point is reached. Set the container on the back of the stove or reduce the heat so that the water will not boil again and let stand twenty to thirty minutes before removing the eggs. Another method of regulating the temperature is to cook them in the double boiler.
SOFT-COOKED (CODDLED)---Use one pint water for each egg up to six eggs, one-half pint for each additional egg, and use a small deep saucepan so that the water will cover the eggs. Bring the water to the boiling-point in a vessel that can be covered closely. Put the eggs in at once, cover, set off the fire and let stand in a warm place for four to six minutes, depending on consistency desired. In this way, the eggs will be cooked equally well in every part.---The Victory Binding of the American Woman's Cook Book, Wartime Edition; 1943.

This egg dish was a lunch-time treat for myself. I had no idea how it would taste, if it would texturally impossible to consume, or a nifty surprise.

Three steps. Obviously, boil eggs. These are sliced and placed in an oiled baking dish, seasoned with salt & pepper, and covered with a medium white sauce (butter, flour, milk, salt & pepper; heat milk, blend in {already mixed} butter and flour, stir constantly till thick, cook 3 minutes, add seasonings and blend), sprinkled with grated cheese (I used Jarlsberg) and buttered breadcrumbs. Bake, at 350, till the sauce bubbles and crumbs are browned.

With some apprehension, I took that first bite. And it was, indeed, a nifty surprise. Rich, creamy sauce went well with the eggs, that bit of cheese added some flavor, and there was a nice crunch from the breadcrumbs.

It was so good...I ate the whole thing. It was my lunch and dinner.



Tagged with: + + + + + + +

8 Thoughts for food:

At 10:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OOH OOH OOH!!!

That is one of my favourite recipes from that book!

I make that for myself when I need good old comfort food and serve it on slices of baguette.

To jazz it up a bit, I put cumin in the white sauce. It adds a little pizazz.

 
At 2:44 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

It is pretty wonderful, isn't it?

Ooh..slice of baguette; I like that idea.

I was thinking a pinch of paprika would be nice in the sauce; sort of a deviled thing going on. But I'm definitely making this again!

I love that you can follow along; makes it more fun!

 
At 11:15 PM, Blogger eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Looks yummy!

 
At 10:12 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Thanks, js! It was really, really good.

 
At 1:51 PM, Blogger barbie2be said...

this sounds pretty yummy. i can't wait to try it. :)

 
At 4:18 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Barbie, it really was. And pretty simple, too!

 
At 7:21 PM, Blogger Jeanne said...

Hah - my mom used to make this when we were kids! My brother and I HATED it... Well, OK, we ate it, but for some reason we always thought we hated it a lot more than we did. When we had friends round and my mom said we were having this for lunch, my brother and I would gag and moan so much that by the time the dish came to the table, the poor friend was usually terrified!! But actually it was pretty OK and my mom was always generous with the cheese... which is the best part!

 
At 1:37 AM, Blogger Stephanie said...

No kidding!!?? I would have LOVED getting that for breakfast, especially on a freezing cold Pennsylvania morning.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home



[ Previous 5 Sites | Skip Previous | Previous | Next ]

This RingSurf Food~n~More Ring Net Ring
owned by Stephanie.

[ Skip Next | Next 5 Sites | Random Site | List Sites ]

eXTReMe Tracker