Oozy Egg Cups

It’s Easter weekend…And, there’s a new pope. So, it’s like a totally important Easter weekend.

Thumper – The Mother To Be

One thing about Easter that always confused me is the mystical Easter Bunny who brought eggs to us on Easter morning. I mean, rabbits don’t lay eggs. I’m certain of this because growing up we had bunnies…lots of bunnies. It started with Snuggles and then we added Thumper. The guy that sold us the bunnies assured us that both Snuggles and Thumper were males…and, we naively believed him.

But soon we had many mini Snuggles and Thumpers living in the rabbit hutch in our back yard. That’s right, Snuggles may have been male but Thumper was definitely female and the proud bunny mama to many little bunny pups.

We were young when we the bunny breeding began and watching the miracle of life in our own back yard was pretty cool. At first, we didn’t know what was going on…Thumper was lethargic and seemed to be gaining weight. ‘He’ spent a lot of time in the covered part of the hutch and didn’t want to be held. Meanwhile, Snuggles hopped around all boasty and proud…The, one day when we went out to feed the rabbits we noticed four tiny bald bunnies peeking out from under Thumper’s fur. What? The light went on: Thumper was a lady rabbit and now the mother of four.

Like I said, we were young. We had heard about rabbits reproducing like, well, rabbits. But didn’t really know exactly how that all happened. One thing was certain, however, these bunnies were definitely not hatched from eggs.

So, I don’t really get the Easter Bunny who brings Easter Eggs. I’m sure I could Google the origin of this magical egg-bearing rabbit – but, I’m not going to ruin the mystery.

In addition to the Easter Bunny and silly flowered bonnets, Brunch is synonymous with a traditional Easter celebration.

If your brunch guests are multiplying like rabbits you’ll want to serve an easy yet impressive and traditional meal.  Serving rabbit at Easter Brunch just seems wrong. But eggs, now that’s a different story.

Individual Easter Egg Cups (serves 6 if this is all you’re serving, but most likely there will be an Erik Estrada aka Egg Strada, a fruit salad, a frittata and maybe even a ham)

Tips for tiny apartments of any size:

1. Buy extra slices of prosciutto; you will inevitably tear one or two during the prep and you may even want to snack on a slice or two
2. Use your cup cake tin…not your Texas tin – if you’re lucky enough to have room in your tiny kitchen for both
3. Temperate (bring to room temperature) your ingredients…everything works better this way

Ingredients (why am I moved to start saying ‘ingredientses’ like Teresa Giudice – pronounced this season as Ju-DEE-chAY)

• 12 eggs at room temperature
• 1 10oz package Birdseye frozen chopped spinach
• 2 Cloves Garlic minced
• 1/2 Shallot diced
• 3 TBSP of heavy cream at room temperature
• 14 slices of prosciutto – sliced thin
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1. In a microwave safe bowl, defrost the spinach – remove from packaging, place in bowl and microwave for 6-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through

Thawed and Smokin’

2. Squeeze the excess water from the defrosted spinach. Wrap the spinach in a kitchen towel and squeeze the water out. Don’t worry about staining the towel. Spinach is organic and the green residue on the dish towel will wash out. Best to rinse the towel immediately following the squeezification and then throw it in the wash.

Post squeezification

3. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat heat two tablespoons of Olive Oil

4. Throw in the minced garlic and diced shallot and saute until fragrant – about 2 mins

Saute Til Fragrant

5. Add the spinach and stir to combine

6. Heat through – about :02 mins

7. Turn the heat down and pour in the heavy cream. Stir to combine

Creamy Goodness

8. Take one piece of prosciutto and line each cup of a 12-cup cupcake tin. Don’t worry if the pieces tear a little…just make sure the sides and bottom of each cup are covered with the salty meat

Line with prosciutto

9. Layer on a tablespoon of the cream spinach to the prosciutto

Layer in the Creamy Spinach

10. Crack one egg on top of each prosciutto – spinach cup

I crack the eggs into ramekins and then pour into each cup cake well

11. Bake in the oven for :15 mins – until the eggs are set, but yolks are still runny. You may want to turn the pan halfway through the cooking process so that all eggs are uniformly baked. But, then again, you may have runny egg eaters and more done egg eaters. Your call.

12. Using a large spoon, gently lift each Easter Egg Cup out of the tin and transfer to a serving plate.

Easter Egg Cup Service

13. Serve. If perfectly prepared, the yolks will be runny and delicious and the prosciutto will be somewhat crispy and hold its cup shape.

Perfectly runny baked egg

Bunnies don’t lay eggs. And, the Egg-Toting Easter Bunny is still a mystery to me. All I know is that if a bunny breeder promises you the two rabbits he’s selling are male – it’s probably a lie. And that these Easter Egg Breakfast Cups are an easy way to impress your Easter Brunch guests.