Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms

Let me start out with the fact that this recipe hurt. Literally. But it wasn't the recipes fault. It was me forgetting (again, see here and here) that the pan had been in the oven. I was smart enough to use a potholder to take the skillet out of the oven. And smart enough to use a potholder to move the skillet to the table to photograph. But not smart enough to remember to use the potholder when I had the camera in one hand and needed to move the pan to get a better shot. Yes folks, food photography can be dangerous. As evidenced by the photo of my hand in water with blisters on my fingers below. Yes that song went through my head too.

This (without the burned fingers) turned out really good. I think adding the bit of cream to the spinach mushroom mixture worked well. You'll notice one of the yolks is "broken" because I prefer my eggs not so runny. Alas, with the burned finger fiasco and my inattention, all the eggs in the dish were set. Even though it looks like the eggs are easy over there were no runny yolks. It made a really nice presentation. This would work perfect for a nice brunch. Next time I'd be a bit more careful in how I made my "indentations" to get them to be more round.

This recipe came from the June 2004 issue of Gourmet Magazine and was made for this months Gourmet Unbound. Other dishes I had book-marked to possibly try from this issue: Grilled Spicy Skirt Steak with Worcestershire Chive Butter; Mango Sours; Five-Spice Chicken Wings; Florentine-Style Porterhouse Steaks; Buffalo Burgers with Pickled Onions and Smokey Red Pepper Sauce. 

BAKED EGGS WITH SPINACH AND MUSHROOMS

10 oz baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10 to12 inch oven-proof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of the spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.

Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.

Gourmet Note: The yolks in this recipe are not fully cooked. If salmonella is a problem in your area, bake until yolks are completely set.

Note: I used two of the 5 oz pre-washed containers of fresh baby spinach. 

Note: I was going to sprinkle the Parmesan on after taking a few photos of it sans the cheese. Since one hand was in a bowl of cold water shortly after the dish was removed from the oven, the cheese never made it. 

Note: At 7 minutes, the eggs were pretty set. My oven can run hot. You can't go by looks because, as you can see in the photo, even though they are set through they look like they would be runny.

Note: The photo in the magazine had a lot of spinach mixture surrounding the eggs. My spinach mixture seemed to be sparse but it all turned out okay.

Photo of my fingers in the bowl of cold water. Which went on for quite a few hours. Look closely and yep, you can see the blisters on the tips (you can't see the blisters on the side of the palm though they were minor compared to the finger tips).

Comments

[MOM]

Now this is one dish I can do without. Eggs for me have to be well done. Spinach I can do without except in my sour soup. So I will pass on this one.

[The Duo Dishes]

You're not the only one to get that kind of burn! Yikes. Want to take a bite of this, especially if one of the eggs is runnier than the others. :)

[Mary]

This looks really wonderful. I love the combination that you've used. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

[Cassaendra]

Oh my. The pain one endures for art. ;) I'm glad you've kept your humor!

That dish looks delicious! The nutmeg has got me intrigued. Thanks for the great idea.

[grace]

clearly, it was completely the fault of your blog. what a trouble-maker. :)
i think this looks like a darn tasty dish, but i would've pierced my yolk too. yeah, it's less attractive, but much more appetizing and that's what matters. :)

[Barbara Bakes]

So sorry about your burn. I do the same thing way too often. We suffer for our art!

[Chris]

So I'm not the only one to serve recipes with a side of blanched fingers? LOL. Glad it wasn't worse.

At least it turned out to look so great.

[Livin Local]

Oh, my sympathy for your poor fingers. Ouch!

This dish looks like a Northern Cali version of huevos rancheros. Yum!

[Mrs. L]

Mom - I made my eggs well done so that's not a problem, but you don't like mushrooms so this is not for you.

Duo Dishes - Yes, it seems I'm not alone with the burning the hand...makes me feel a bit better...

Mary - Thanks Mary!

Cassaendra - I'm actually surprised how many recipes have nutmeg as an ingredient where I wouldn't have thought it was in there.

Grace - You don't even have to pierce the yolk, let it cook a bit longer and the yolk cooks through and holds it's shape.

Barbara Bakes - LOL, as long as the dish is tasty, a bit of suffering is okay.

Chris - I'm so glad you guys are admitting you do the same thing...I was feeling lonely in my pain LOL.

Livin Local - I've actually been thinking of making huevos rancheros...how did you know? :)

[Yuzu Panicotta]

This Recipe Is Yummy ....But It looks Unboiled....
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viva-Magazine-Your-Premium-Womens-Natural-Health-Magazine/262734921452?ref=ts

[Jan]

Ouch! I hope your hand has healed up.

[Puma Clyde]

Really good article! I was impressed by your literary grace! Blog images are beautiful! Would you like a friend?

[Retro Jordans]

Guys, Great article and very very interesting blog. That’s one thing I’m really looking forward. Looking forward to reading more from you next week.

[Mushroom recipe]

Baked Eggs and mushrooms are my favorite recipe. I love to have such yummy dish now.http://www.vivamagonline.com/index.php I think its a very simple method to follow and im gonna give a try over this recipe. Thanks for the great stuff...

[generic cialis]

I know that may be it is delicious, but I do not like the appearance that its has, so I love the eggs in many dishes such as soups, rice, beans, and in salads, I would like to have the chance to but some ones in my grocery store!!22dd