I didn't know an egg could do that (Sauteed Mushrooms & Croutons)

January 15, 2010

Well, I finally had a mini-disaster. This wouldn't be any fun without something going wrong, right?

Last night I made Baked Eggs Over Sauteed Mushrooms and Croutons, which was absolutely delicious, but I screwed up the eggs. Now, I really want to make this again to get the eggs right. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I can't seem to get the camera ready at the same time as the dish coming out of the oven. Maybe I should put George in charge of that.

So, here's the basic recipe. It serves 2 but can be multiplied for serving more people.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil or butter small dish that can go in the oven. I made this all in one dish, but next time, I'm going to try putting it in individual bowls that can go in the oven. Cut 2 slices of bread into cubes. Melt 1 T. butter over low heat and toss bread cubes in butter. Let brown (8 minutes or so.) Put croutons in oiled dish (or dishes). While the bread is browning, chop 2 small or 1 large shallots, 1 T. parsley, 2 t. rosemary, and half a pound of crimini mushrooms. Melt another tablespoon of butter and 1 T. of oil in the same pan. Saute the shallots for a couple minutes, then add the mushrooms and herbs and saute until mushrooms start to brown. Add 2 t. tomato paste and 3/4 cup red wine. Simmer until only a couple teaspoons of liquid remain. Put sauteed mushrooms in with croutons and mix a little. Break an egg or 2 over each dish and bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Here's where I went wrong. After 15 minutes, it looked like the whites weren't cooked, so I turned the oven to broil to finish cooking the eggs. The eggs got this hard skin on top that resembled plastic and was inedible. The yolks were beyond hard boiled, but the whites were still edible. What I thought was uncooked egg white was just too thin to turn white. Since the egg white goes down into the nooks and crannies, some of it is just very thin over the croutons and mushrooms.

Anyway, it was SUPER yummy. The rosemary made the whole house smell wonderful. Despite the egg problem, George said this was his favorite dish so far. I could just imagine how this dish would taste if it had the addition of egg yolks running into the bread and mushrooms. It seems like it would work just as well and be faster to just fry a couple eggs and put them on top of the mushrooms and croutons, but it wouldn't be as pretty as the sunny-side-up eggs. I don't think this would make good leftovers, so plan for about a slice of bread, 1/4 pound of mushroom, and one egg per person. Along with a salad and a hearty red wine, this is a fairly quick and easy weeknight dinner. I would definitely make this for guests because it is just so incredibly tasty.

This meal still took me an hour to prepare, including making the salad and setting the table. I think you could probably make the dish itself in about 40 minutes, including the 15 minutes of baking time. Maybe even faster. I made a spinach, endive, red cabbage, goat cheese and pecan salad with a dijon vinaigrette, which stood up nicely to the hearty mushroom dish. The recommended wine was a "working man's red", so I just pulled something out of the wine pantry - a nice spicy zin. Of course, this is the wine I used in the dish, too.

What I'd do differently if I made this again:
- Bake for exactly 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven and just trust that it would all work out.
- Use separate serving dishes for each person

Approximate cost:
- 2 slices of bread (the good stuff from the local bakery) - .50
- 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms - $3.00
- herbs - $.20
- 2 eggs - .50
- 3/4 cup wine - $2.50
- shallot - .30
TOTAL without wine - $7.00 for 2 people

You've got to try this one!