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Eggs a La Suisse
6 eggs 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese 1 cup cream Salt Cayenne Spread the bottom of a baking-dish with butter. Sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over it and break the eggs on the cheese, being careful not to break the yolks. Pour a little cream over the eggs, then more grated cheese. Season with salt and cayenne, and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) until the eggs are set, but not hard. Serve in the baking-dish.
A baked shirred-egg dish that needs almost nothing but attention to the oven. The whole point is pulling it while the yolks are still soft.
- The hingeEggs set from the outside in and carry on cooking in a hot dish after they leave the oven. Take it out when the whites are just opaque and the yolks still wobble; 12-18 minutes at 350F in a shallow dish is the usual range.
- Choose the dishA shallow gratin dish or a 9-inch pie plate is right. A deep casserole makes the cream pool and the whites set unevenly, and the eggs will steam rather than bake.
- CreamAn unqualified "cream" in a book of this period could be thinner than modern heavy cream; heavy or whipping cream gives the richest result. A cup poured over six eggs is generous; half a cup gives a firmer, more cheese-forward result. Half-and-half or milk are likelier to thin out and weep.
- CheeseThe name points to Gruyere or Emmental, both of which melt smoothly and brown well. Cheddar works but throws more fat; keep the quantity nearer the half cup if you use it.
- CayenneA period seasoning used in a pinch, not a spoonful. A scant eighth of a teaspoon across the whole dish is plenty; it is there to lift the cheese, not to register as heat.
- Breaking the eggsCrack each egg into a cup first and slide it onto the cheese. Cracking directly over a hot buttered dish is how yolks break.
- YieldSix eggs serves three as a main course with bread, or six at a larger breakfast. Scale by the egg, keeping the dish shallow and the eggs in a single layer.
- Soft yolksBaked this way the yolks stay runny. If serving anyone who should avoid undercooked eggs, cook until the yolks are firm and accept the change in texture.