Baked Eggs

I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, my sister's all-time favorite celebrity chef. She uses herbs in her's, but I didn't have any fresh ones in the house. I think this recipe has the potential to be great, but to master it is harder than it looks. This would be an awesome thing for a brunch, but make sure you try it before serving it to anyone. She, I assume, uses the broiler in her oven or stand alone broiler. I use the broiler in my toaster oven because it was able to heat up faster and my oven is electric too, so I figured I wouldn't gain much by using the full-sized oven. I found that it did not cook evenly and that could be the cooking appliance, or something else. Also, I couldn't figure out how you were supposed to know if the eggs were done other than breaking into that beautiful crust that formed. Next time I think I will try putting it in a hot water bath and then put it under the broiler since it was too liquidly on the bottom.
Now that I have throughly convinced you not to make it, let me tell you what I like about this recipe. I love the salty crust that forms on the eggs from the parmesan cheese and salt sprinkled on top. It would have been great with herbs, as Ina suggests. I think this could be a great way to serve well-cooked eggs to the masses at a large family brunch, for example. It is also very fun and cute for everyone to have their own ramekins.

Baked Eggs

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 13 mins
Total Time: 16 mins

Ingredients
2 whole eggs
small sliver of butter
1 tsp milk
1/2 T grated parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional:
1/8 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp fresh minced thyme
1/8 tsp fresh minced rosemary
1/2 T fresh minced parsley

Directions
Preheat broiler on high. Place a rack 6 inches below the broiler.
Place milk and butter in the bottom of a 4 oz ramekin. Place under the broiler until it begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekin and crack 2 eggs into it. Top with salt, pepper, parmesan and herbs (if desired). Place back under the broiler for 5-10 minutes.
You may need to rotate the dish if the eggs are not cooking evenly. Once removed from the oven they will continue to cook a little. The whites should be throughly cooked while the yolks should be moderately runny. Serve with an english muffin or toast and fresh fruit.