Slow Christmas

Two of my favorite dishes, Baked Eggs and Baked Alaska, are perfect candidates for your Christmas feast.  If you’re a family that makes a big breakfast or brunch Christmas day, Baked Eggs are your man.  If, however, you’re more of a traditional ham or turkey dinner, end the meal on a high note with Baked Alaska. They both have that ideal effort to impressiveness ratio:  they look incredible, but require little to no effort.

Italian Baked Eggs

any old casserole dish (individual ramekins or petite gratins if you want to go upmarket)
Italian sausage, meaty dark mushrooms, or soysage
10-12 eggs (make them local or free range organic if you don’t normally splurge)
1 can whole tomatoes
fresh spinach
parmesiano reggiano cheese (grated from a little chunk, try to avoid the Kraft green cylinders)
fresh herbs (you pick, the Italians work well:  basil, thyme, oregano…)

Cook the sausage in a skillet, you can cook it with onions if you want but not necessary.  In a large pyrex, or individual ramekins, put a layer of sausage/soysage on the bottom.  Scatter whole tomatoes on top of that layer, with a little bit of their juice.  Put a thick layer of spinach on top of that (it’ll cook down a lot).  Sprinkle some parmesan, and some of the herbs.  Place more whole tomatoes on top of that, and maybe more parmesan, and then crack eggs on top of everything.  The whole tomatoes will stick up taller than the rest, so I kind of crack the eggs into the little valleys between tomatoes, trying to keep the yolk intact like you would a fried egg.  Stick in the oven between 350 and 400 degrees, and bake until the tops of the eggs look a little shiny and have the occasional brown spot.  Could take anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes depending on your oven.  You can also put them under the broiler at the last minute if you want the eggs more well-done, almost hard-boiled, but don’t overdo it or the eggs will get dry and crackly.

Serve with crusty bread.

Baked Alaska

[Note: Here is an authentic recipe, from the Time Life Books Foods of the World Series, American Cooking recipe book, 1968. I am not wild about their cake recipe, so feel free to use any cake recipe you like. Also, Baked Alaska comes in all kinds of shapes, so feel free to experiment. You can use a round cake pan, you can also mold the ice cream into a glacial peak. Finally, the choice of ice cream and jam combination is up to you -- I like french vanilla and marmalade, but chocolate cake and raspberry jam would also be delicious. Just make it your own.]

2 tbsp soft butter
4 egg whites
pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup orange marmalade or apricot preserves
1-2 tbsp orange juice
1 quart vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
wax paper
8 egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
3/4 cup superfine sugar
slivered almonds and maraschino cherries (optional)

Brush a tablespoon of soft butter over the bottom and sides of an 11×16 inch Pyrex pan. Line the pan with wax paper and let the extra paper extend over the ends of the pan.  Brush the remaining butter over the paper and scatter a handful of flour over it.  Tip the pan from side to side to spread the flour evenly.  Then turn the pan over and rap it sharply to dislodge the excess flour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until they form soft, wavering peaks. Add the sugar, two tablespoons at a time, and beat until the whites cling to the beater solidly when it’s lifted out of the bowl. In another small bowl, beat the egg yolks for about a minute, then add the vanilla.  Mix a large tablespoon of the whites in the yolks, then pour the mixture over the remaining egg whites. Fold together, adding the 1/2 cup flour, two tablespoons at a time. [Note: this is more an art than a science, don't get hung up on the Fifties precision of it all.]

Pour the batter into the pyrex pan and spread it out evenly.  Bake in the middle of the oven for about 12 minutes, or until the cake draws slightly away from the sides of the pan, and a small knife inserted in its center comes out dry and clean. Turn the cake out on a sheet of wax paper, then gently peel off the top layer of paper.  Let the cake cool and cut it in half cross-wise.  Spread one layer with the cup of marmalade or apricot preserves (if it is too thick, whisk into it 1 or 2 tablespoons of orange juice) and place the second layer on top.  Mold the softened ice cream on a sheet of aluminum foil into a brick the length and width of the cake.  Wrap in the foil and freeze until solid again.

About 10 minutes before serving, make the meringue. First, preheat the oven on broil.  Then, beat the egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks.  Still beating, slowly pour in the sugar, and continue to beat for about 5 minutes, or until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and place it on top of the cake on a flat, ovenproof baking dish. Mask the cake and ice cream on all sides with the meringue, shaping the top as decoratively as you like. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top of the meringue.  Slide the cake under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, and watch it carefully, it burns easily. The meringue should turn a pale golden brown in 2 to 3 minutes. Decorate with maraschino cherries if desired. Serve at once before the ice cream begins to melt.