A Child Of Atom

This, ladies and gentleman, is my new favorite Sunday breakfast, Eggs Al Forno, it is such a simple dish you that barely call it cooking, but it is packed with flavor and looks fancy enough to be impressive.

This is one of those "whatever you have on hand" type dishes, very little about it is set in stone.

This works best in a monkey bowl, but could be done in any oven safe dish with a flattish bottom, like a small casserole, a large shallow ramekin, or Corningware bowl.

First cut a piece of nice bread, a baguette, or some sort of rustic loaf, (we used a hunk of a semolina loaf) to the general shape and size of the bowl. Rub a little olive oil on the bowl to keep the bread from sticking, then lay the bread in and drizzle a tiny bit more oil over it.

Here's the "what you have on hand" part. Cube some cheese, and medium bodied cheese will do. We used swiss, but you could also use Fontina, edam, even cheddar I suppose. Anything that will hold a cube shape , and melt nicely. Sprinkle a good handful of the cubes (they should be on the smallish side) around the sides of the bread. Top that off with some grated parmesan.

Over that sprinkle whatever else you like: chopped onion, chives, garlic, or any fresh herb you have around. Even some chopped ham, or (cooked) bacon or proscuttio would do nicely. We used some yellow onion and fresh rosemary.

Crack one or two eggs (depending on what you want) and lay the eggs over the bread. Top with just a pinch or two more parmesan and salt and pepper.

Put the whole thing into a very well pre-heated oven at 500º. Bake for about 8 minutes, then begin checking to see if the eggs are done to your likeness. 8 minutes should leave avery soft eggs, with a runny yolk, and each minute after that will firm it up more. About 12 minutes will give you a yolk the consistency of a boiled egg.

Easy-peasy, pretty to look at and delicious to boot. Make it for your next one-night-stand.