Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Gruyere

Each Thursday, Emily Vikre (a.k.a fiveandspice) will be sharing a new way to love breakfast -- because breakfast isn't just the most important meal of the day. It's also the most awesome.

Today: A breakfast to sustain anyone -- even a new mom.

Have I mentioned I have a 7-week old baby at home? Since having him our lives have been turned topsy-turvy, as lives with a newborn are wont to be. It’s great fun and hugely exhausting and every minute is, shall we say, a learning opportunity. After the storm of the first couple weeks with him, I’ve started to get back to cooking us dinners. Just barely. On the other hand, from the very first day we got home with him, breakfasts were imperative.  

I’ve never felt so hungry as each morning when I get up, or should I say “get up,” after having spent a good chunk of the night awake and nursing. Mornings have been punctuated by an even more intense than usual need to replenish with a hardy breakfast (nursing really takes it out of you!). Compounded by the fact that I’m never sure when or if I’ll manage to fit in lunch.  

Basically this has meant eggs even more often than usual. Eggs cracked over some leftover cooked vegetables then showered with cheese, drizzled with cream, and baked until they are velvety and just barely runny really fit the bill. I especially like this combination with sautéed mushrooms that give the dish meatiness and go nicely with the appealing funk of Gruyere. It can seriously keep you going all day, especially if that whole day is spent on your feet bouncing a little baby boy! 

Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Gruyere

Serves 2 to 4

1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces of mushrooms (any sort you want), sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
4 eggs
1/3 cup shredded Gruyere
2 tablespoons heavy cream

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Emily Vikre