SHIRRED EGGS
(SUR LE PLAT ... AU MIROIR ... COCOTTE.)
For this dish (sur le plat) individual china dishes are generally used, although a dish holding several eggs will do. Butter the dishes; break into each one an egg; sprinkle a little salt on the whites, but not on the yolks. Place them on the shelf of the oven so the heat will be greatest on top; baste the yolks several times while baking with a little hot butter. This will give them a glaze. As soon as the glaze appears remove them from the oven, and if not sufficiently cooked, stand them for a minute on the top of the range. Care must be used not to dry the eggs.
Several eggs cooked together in this way in a large dish, then cut into circles with a biscuit cutter, and placed on broiled ham, stewed kidneys, minced meat, tomato purée, or other things, are called eggs au miroir. When baked in individual dishes, they may be varied by sprinkling in the dish before the egg is added a little chopped ham, chicken, mushrooms, or tomato purée, etc. When baked in little pot-shaped dishes in the same way they are called cocottes. These may be varied by lining the dishes with a thin layer of forcemeat or minced meat, the eggs then dropped in and poached by standing the dishes in a pan of water in the oven. When done, a little cream or Béchamel sauce or tomato purée is turned over the top, and sprinkled with parsley. Serve eggs sur le plat and cocotte in the dishes in which they are baked.
MOLDED EGGS
Butter well some individual timbale molds; chop some parsley very fine, and powder the inside of the buttered molds with it. To do this, place a teaspoonful of the parsley in a buttered mold, cover it with the hand and shake it well; then invert the mold, and strike it on the table to free it of all that is loose. Break into each mold an egg, letting it go in slowly from the side so no air bubbles will be held, as they make holes and uneven surface in the cooked egg. Sprinkle the top with salt and butter. Place the molds in a pan of hot water, half covering them, and poach in a moderate oven eight to ten minutes, or until firm enough to stand, but not very hard. Serve them on a flat dish with a spoonful of white, Béchamel, or tomato sauce under each form. This is a very simple way of preparing eggs, and makes a good luncheon dish.
