Having summer houseguests is one of the great pleasures of living on Cape Cod. But as anyone can tell you, the line between communing with old friends and feeling overscheduled and hosted-out can be thin, especially as the summer progresses.
I am usually the cook around our house and therefore the meal-planner, and I enjoy doing both. Sometimes I forget the amount of work required to carry out certain ideas, though. Assembly-line preparations like individually cooked omelets may sound like a good idea at first, but as I flip my seventh or eighth one, I start to feel like the beleaguered omelet chef at a Marriott buffet.
Many years ago, when we were visiting a friend in upstate New York, she made the first baked eggs I’d ever tasted. They were cooked perfectly — jammy yolks that were not too runny, with a hint of dairy and butter, combined with herbs and smoked fish.
It’s a simple preparation that, unlike an omelet, can be created all at once like a frittata but still delivers the charm of an individual serving. Maybe it comes from childhood, especially if you are from a large family like I am, but I think most of us enjoy being served food in our own little containers. It feels reassuring and special.
The only challenge with this recipe is to make sure that the eggs don’t cook hard. That’s why my friend always adds a bit of milk or cream and a little butter so that even if the eggs get somewhat firm, there will still be liquid in the dish.
It is also essential to cook the eggs in a bain-marie, which in this case is nothing more than ramekins set inside a larger dish or roasting pan that’s filled with boiling water. It’s the same technique you’d use to bake custards. The surrounding water creates a gentler, more even cooking environment than you’d have placing the ramekins directly on the cooking rack.
This preparation also benefits from being endlessly adaptable. Most anything that would go in an omelet works well here. Sometimes I go à la française with ham or sliced mushrooms, chives, tarragon or thyme, and Gruyère. Or Mexican with jalapeño, cilantro, sliced mushrooms, and cotija or goat cheese. Or vegetarian with tomato, basil, scallions, peas, and Parmesan. Or whatever you have left over in the fridge from dinner the night before: diced cooked potatoes or other roasted vegetables. You can omit the dairy for anyone who is intolerant, but pull those ramekins from the oven earlier so they are soft.
As a historical sidenote, I had always thought that a bain-marie must refer to something about the Virgin Mary, but the name comes from an alchemist known as Mary the Prophetess who lived in Alexandria at some point during the first to third centuries C.E. She is credited with inventing the steamy, indirect method as a way to gently heat materials during her alchemizing experiments. I would argue that her main legacy, turning eggs into custard, is a form of alchemy.
Out here, 60 miles in the Atlantic, we are in our own kind of bain-marie. Surrounded by the mollifying temperatures of the ocean, our springs arrive slowly, and our summers extend well into the fall because of the lingering warmth of the water that surrounds us on three sides. For the same reason, I can grow plants in the same 7B horticultural zone as one can in New York City, a five-hour drive south, which in itself is another kind of magic.
SMOKED SALMON BAKED EGGS
Serves four (but easily doubled)
8 eggs for a two-egg version, but you can also do 3 eggs for each person
½ to 2/3 cup lightly shredded hot-smoked salmon or other smoked fish
1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped scallions, chives, or onion
1 Tbsp. chopped dill
Splash of milk or cream (optional)
Small pat of butter (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste (use less salt if making with smoked fish)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put a kettle of water on to boil.
- Crack one egg into each ramekin (I use an 8-ounce size) and add the smoked fish, scallions, and dill.
- Crack the second egg on top and add a splash of milk and/or the butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Put the ramekins in a low casserole dish large enough to accommodate them without their edges touching so that they cook evenly. Make a bain-marie by pouring boiling water into the pan until it comes two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekin.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how runny you want your yolks. Pull them from the oven and remove the ramekins from the water on the earlier side, since they will continue to cook in the hot pottery. Serve immediately with toast and salad.
