An ode to moms + eggbakes and how I used my turkey eggs

On Christmas morning, my mom used to prepare eggbake and cinnamon rolls.  It was a comforting eggbake that consisted of seasoned croutons, cheese, and bacon bits.  
Now, I am able to look forward to special occasions when Jake’s mom prepares her eggbake with ham and fluffy, caramelized, pull-apart cinnamon rolls.
This week, my goal was to chip away at my dozen turkey eggs.  Jake and I find our massive turkey eggs intimidating and neither of us has developed the gall to fry or scramble them.  I’m not sure why this version of a poultry egg freaked us out, other than to assume we must be culturally conditioned to eat only chicken eggs.  Therefore, I determined to transform them into an eggbake.  
I adapted a recipe posted by MsMaryMc on Chowhound:  http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/689496
Ingredients
  • 1 pound of sausage (or diced ham) – I used a ground breakfast sausage from the Farm on Wheels vendor at the St. Paul Farmers Market
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • Drizzle of honey
  • Sliced green onions
  • 6 cups of cubed french bread – I used a baguette from New French Bakery
  • 1/4 pound of grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 pound of grated swiss cheese
  • 6 chicken eggs–or 4 turkey eggs – bought from the Blue Gentian vendor at the Bloomington Farmers Market
  • 1 1/2 cups of 1% milk
  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream
  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • At least a tablespoon of mustard – I used both both a creamy and whole grain Dijon.  I accidentally squirted in a large dollop of mustard past the teaspoon the original recipe called for and it was delicious.
  • Worcestershire sauce to taste – Recipe called for a quarter teaspoon.  I probably added over 2 teaspoons.  

Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 X 13 inch baking dish
  • Brown the sausage in a pan.  Add red pepper flakes, most of the green onions, and a drizzle of honey and saute for a few minutes. 
  • Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, handful of leftover green onions, salt, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. 

  • Spread out the bread cubes in the greased dish.
  • Cover the bread with the grated cheese.
  • Cover the cheese layer with the sausage.
  • Pour the liquid evenly over the pan and lightly press on the top to make sure all of the bread has absorbed some liquid.  

  • Cover and let the dish set in the fridge.  I only let it set for about 1 1/2 hours.  You could let it set longer, or freeze the whole dish to bake later. 
  • Let the dish sit in room temperature for about 20 minutes and then bake for about 50 minutes. 
  • Cut into pieces and serve.

Eggbake reflection
I have never been let down by a recipe posted by individuals on Chowhound boards.  This eggbake turned out well and has an addicting quality.  I love dipping bites of the eggbake into an extremely hot, green salsa.  I thought the french bread provided a pleasantly chewy texture and am satisfied that I only let the eggbake set for a short period of time because I enjoyed the variety of soft, chewy, and crunchy textures.  In addition, I am glad I added more than the called for 1/4 teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce and mustard.  
Forward thinking
In the future, I might mix the bread, cheese, and sausage instead of layering, and would also use less meat.  I would have been content with 1/2 the meat, and would try ham instead.

2 Comments

  1. JustinM

    Hey there – I know it’s off the subject but I just wanted to let you know that the vegetable bird’s nests are NOT gone from TJ’s – they only took them off the shelves for a couple months to retool the packaging!

  2. Jen

    thanks for the good news!!

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