Baked Eggs in Maple Toast Cups

Yet another from the "150 Best American Recipes" that has made it to my frequently cooked category. As in, I make it a couple times a month. So easy, and it looks really fancy, but I don't even need the recipe anymore. So instead of typing it word for word...

1 1/2 Tablespoons butter melted
1 1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup (the real stuff please!!!)
6 slices of bread with crusts cut off (regular store bread works great)
3 slices bacon cooked till crisp and crumbled
6 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400, butter 6 muffin cups, or 6 ramekins, or use silicone cupcake cups

Combine maple syrup and melted butter

cut off crusts from the bread slices, and flatten with a rolling pin. brush both sides with the butter/maple mixture, and stuff down inside the muffin cup.

sprinkle some bacon on top of the toast (i never seem to have the bacon on hand, and it's just wonderful even without it) then crack an egg into each cup.

Bake until eggs are set, start checking after about 5 min, but if using individual ramekins it's more like 15 min.

Serve in the ramekins, or tip them out and they hold their shape. So fun! We love them!

Chocolate Ice Cream Taste Test

Two expert Ice cream eaters were put to the test. Which chocolate ice cream is indeed the best? Haagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry's, or Breyers? The subjects were blindfolded, provided with pallet cleansing water in between brands, and the result? Haagen Dazs was the favorite, mostly for the texture, with Breyers as a close second for flavor.
Now you know. Thanks Josh and Joel.

If Cake and Fudge Had a Baby...

it would look like (and taste like) this. "Isn't that just a brownie?" you might ask. No, in fact, it is not a brownie, but a strange yet delicious cake-flavored-fudge-textured hybrid. Another winner from the "150 Best American Recipes" book my friends and I are cooking through. The best part: FOOL PROOF, cause when it comes to cake, I'm definitely a fool. So easy. Read and find out. I love that the recipe suggests you cut the leftovers into cubes, and freeze to be used with ice cream at a later date. I think it might look prettier baked in a round form, but it would lend itself well to all sorts of shapes I imagine. Also, it looks small, but trust me, all you need is a tiny piece, so don't fret about making enough for a large group of company.

Grandmother's Creamy Chocolate Cake
from "The 150 Best American Recipes" cookbook

16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter cut into pieces
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature (oops, didn't do that, but it still turned out)
1/4 cup flour
Whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and set a rack in the middle level. butter an 8 inch square baking pan and line it with foil.

Melt the butter, chocolate, and sugar in a medium heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stirring almost constantly until well blended. Remove the pan from heat and let stand 3 min.

One by one, whisk in the eggs. Sift the flour over the mixture and stir in. Rap the sauce pan on the counter to deflate any air bubbles and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Put the baking pan inside a larger pan and fill the larger pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan.

Bake for 35-40 min (was more like 50-60!) or until the cake tester is set on top and a knife inserted int eh center comes out streaky but not wet. Lift the pan out of the water bath and place on a cooling rack. Let come to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least one hour before un molding.

When the cake is cold, gently turn it over onto a serving platter. lift off the pan and carefully remove the foil. Serve cold or at room temperature with whipped cream, cream fraiche, or ice cream.