Friday, May 15, 2009

Nest Egg

May 2009 064 Have you ever eaten eggs you plucked yourself from beneath a chicken? This was a first for me. See those eggs in that bowl above still clinging to some straw and dirt from the chicken coop? I snatched them from beneath Jane, a Wyandotte hen owned by a friend of mine. 

My friend, whom I shall refer to as chicken lady since she’s violating our borough laws by keeping hens in her yard (We wouldn’t want the chicken cops to come after her, now would we?) has eight hens in total – three Wyandottes, three Red Stars, and two Plymouth Rocks. Look at them scurry in their pen – running around like, well . . . like “chickens with their heads cut off.”May 2009 046They’re all scurrying except Jane, who prefers to sit inside the wooden chicken coop “broody as a hen,” sitting on eggs – not just hers, but everybody else’s.  The other chickens put all “their eggs in her basket,” climbing into her box to lay their eggs and have her sit on them. Talk about the maternal instinct! May 2009 044I felt like a “tough old bird” reaching in and taking those eggs away from her. But I did it anyhow, knowing she’d just be sitting on more the next day. Jane was truly a “good egg.” During the summer, the chickens produce between five to eight eggs daily, not exactly “chicken feed.”  Speaking of which, they are fed nothing but organic feed and vegetables that chicken lady would otherwise compost. They have room to roam in the sunlight too, something that’s “rare as hen’s teeth” in commercial egg production. So you know these eggs have got to be healthier than what you buy at the store. May 2009 189 I wanted to honor these eggs properly by making a dish that really gives them top billing. So I made a dish inspired by The Barefoot Contessa’s “herbed baked eggs.” I changed it, omitting the cream, but adding a few dabs of ricotta cheese and pieces of tomato, in addition to the herbs and parmesan cheese. Be careful when broiling if you like your eggs runny. They’ll need only a few minutes under the broiler, which you should preheat to get really hot before putting in the casseroles.  Since we’ve got an “empty nest,” (hey, I’m no “spring chicken”) I used only four eggs for the two of us.May 2009 195 Herb-Baked Eggs

For each person, drop two eggs in a buttered small casserole dish. Add 1/2 of a fresh red tomato, cut into bits. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dot with a tablespoon of butter, a couple of dabs of ricotta cheese, a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped herbs. I used freshly chopped thyme, oregano, chives and parsley. Place under a preheated broiler for two or three minutes.

This could be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We ate it for dinner, along with some garlic bread fresh out of the oven and a green salad. But have it any time of day you or whoever “rules your roost” wants it.

P.S. I hope I don’t have too much “egg on my face” after all these “fowl” expressions. But it is interesting how all these chicken terms have “come home to roost” in our vocabulary.

16 comments:

  1. Simple and perfect, I wish I could taste it!!
    Back to the source, best way!

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  2. Don't you think that fresh eggs have a different taste than store bought.
    Great dish.

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  3. I love fresh eggs, there is nothing like them!

    Can I come over for breakfast?
    My eggs are store bought and a week or more old. I am sad.

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  4. This looks healthy and protein packed! The perfect way to start off or finish a day of meals!

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  5. This chicken lady sounds like my sister! There is nothing like fresh eggs. My mother kept chickens too. That's where our scraps went and the garden loved what the chickens left!

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  6. can you sense my seething jealousy -I want fresh eggs like these - there is this little farm near woodstock but thats just too far to drive...

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  7. A gorgeous dish! There's nothing better than fresh eggs from the yard!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  8. Wonderful egg bake! Fresh eggs are the best, we used to vacation on a farm when I was little and get the fresh eggs right off the nest. We just drank them out of the shell - still warm and delicious!

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  9. Fresh eggs are so great! I don't get them very often because of the cost, but they're quite a treat.

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  10. Fresh eggs are always a treat. This dish looks great.

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  11. Nothing like fresh eggs.. gosh this look so delicious Linda!

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  12. Wow. Your eggs look great! What a treat to collect perfectly fresh eggs.

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  13. Nothing beats a broody hen in the coop. Fabulous dish!

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  14. My grandmother used to have many hens in her backyard, so I'd always pick my own eggs while I stayed over. Those free-range, organic eggs were something out of this world! I want to hens myself, but I'm scared of the chicken cops :(
    What a great recipe showcasing eggs!!

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  15. Fresh eggs are the very best! My grandmother had chickens and I loved collecting the eggs when I was a child. Only organic free range eggs come close to how they atste.

    Love this recipe and will try it soon!

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  16. I only ever had one laying hen, and her eggs, while on the small side, were the best ever compared to store-bought ones. How I wish we could raise hens at our place (not enough yard space and the dogs would have none of it!)

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