The other day I was at Goodwill and these cutie patootie ramekins were squealing to me “buy us, BUY US!!” But what the heck was I going to need ramekins for?…the next Monday with Miah (MwM) potluck of course!

Yesterday’s MwM theme was “Ich bin ein Tomate Soße” – JFK, essentially tomato sauce, but Miah likes to be witty. (C-Man usually has to explain to me what the reference means ) I googled for something simple with tomato sauce using ramekins and came across this great recipe for Baked Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce from Tasty Kitchen.

There were only two ramekins for sale at Goodwill so I bought four more at Cost Plus, darn my weakness for cute little kitchen helpers. I will have to try other ramekin recipes in the future…or use them to serve fruit/ice cream.

Tasty Kitchen’s recipe is below with a few minor changes.

TK’s Baked Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/3 of medium onion)
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1/4 of medium bell pepper)
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 3/8 tsp red pepper flakes (quite a kick, adjust as desired)
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup (packed) chopped basil (additional for garnish)
• 1/8 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/8 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup goat cheese (about 4 oz. log)
• 8 eggs at room temperature
• 8 slices of toast, cut into triangles

1. Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat and saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.

2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cover and bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.

3. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple minutes. Blend ingredients using an immersion blender in the pan or transfer the sauce in batches to a blender. Be sure to allow the hot air to escape while blending to avoid explosions. (I left the spout on my Ninja open and lightly covered the opening with a towel while blending.)

4. Spoon sauce into each of the 8 ramekins about 1/2-3/4 full, then add a slice of goat cheese to each ramekin. (I used 6 ramekins and saved the extra sauce for another day).

5. Crack an egg into each ramekin, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in a preheated oven at 425F for 10-15 minutes, until whites have set but yolk is still soft.

6. Optional: prepare bread for toasting in the oven while the eggs bake. Spray baking sheet with cooking oil. Place sliced bread flat on baking sheet and butter the top side of each slice. Bake with eggs for 8-10 minutes.

7. Garnish baked eggs with fresh basil chiffonade and serve with toast triangles.

C-Man is in charge of naming the dishes—Goat Tomato, Goat Tomato (you get it?? one of his cheesiest thus far).

Semi-DIY tips:

• Use jarred tomato sauce to eliminate steps 1-3.
• Using room temperature eggs reduces the amount of sauce that peeps through while baking.
• This dish is best served immediately, i.e. not ideal for potlucks. It coagulates after about 10-15 minutes, making it challenging to poke at with a toast triangle.

These turned out kinda pretty and were tasty for about 5 minutes. Definitely something easy that I’d try again for a quick brunch/snack, but maybe using my toaster oven to bake two at a time for a smaller crowd.

This is Studloverman, the bf of L. This meal was really excellent and she didn’t freak out as much as usual making it.  This blog needs some testosterone so I’ll offer some comments every once in awhile. Also, I will never use phrases like “cutie patootie”.