Crustlesss Ham and Egg Tarts

I had seen this recipe a while back and was going to make it for the last family brunch, however, my sister doesn’t like ham, so I filed it away.  When I decided to have a brunch for six but knew I’d have very limited prep and cooking time, I pulled this one back out.  It has to be one of the easiest and most impressive looking brunch recipes I’ve ever seen!

You get sliced ham from the deli (go for the better stuff since it’s a big part of the dish) and lay it into greased muffin cups.  My ham was a bit thin, so I doubled up slices to prevent breakage.

Then you crack an egg in each and place a tomato in each cup.

Sprinkle with cheese.

And bake!  Voila!

It not only looked great, but it tasted great!  It looks so fancy, so it’s perfect for brunch, but it’s so quick and easy that it could definitely be an anytime breakfast!

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RECIPE
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Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil  (cooking spray also works well)
12 thin slices ham
12 lg. eggs
12 med. cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. chives, finely chopped (I didn’t have any so I went without and they were just fine)
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil all cups in a 12-cup muffin pan with olive oil.

Line each muffin cup with a slice of ham. Leave the ends of the ham sticking out over the top slightly.

Break one egg into each ham-lined muffin cup. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with one cherry tomato, a sprinkle of Parmesan, and a sprinkle of chives.

Bake 18-20 minutes until egg has set.

Let cool 5 minutes before removing tarts from muffin tins. To remove, run a knife around each muffin cup to loosen. Serve.

Note: Another way to do this easy brunch recipe is using scrambled egg in place of the whole egg. Simple mix eggs as normal and pour into ham cups. You might want to make half of each please all your guests.

Steak Frites

On various days, Mike and I will walk through the city in a single direction while looking at menus until something sparks our interest.  We’ve been pretty lucky in our “stumble upons” and Steak Frites on Varick at Clarkson (West Village) was no exception.

Since the inside was mostly red, I already liked it.

We were there right around late brunch time (it could have been linner by then) but we both still went for variations on egg dishes.  My dish was unbelievably good, with the exception of the egss being overpoached (why is this so common when mine turn out perfectly almost every time? Ok… I’m not a chef in a restaurant… maybe I shouldn’t say anything).  I think it was a special, since I can’t find it on their menu, but it was a parmesan (perfectly crispy) thick piece of toast with spinach, tomatos, poached eggs, bacon, hollandaise and shaved parmesan.  The blend of flavors was impressive.

Mike went with the steak and eggs, which seemed to be quite enjoyable (though also with overpoached eggs).

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10