Liberace’s Special 15-Minute Eggs

Eggs, butter, cheese, cream…  How could it be anything else but delicious?  And delicious it was!  Yinzerella over at Dinner is Served 1972 was celebrating Liberace’s birthday all week, and I decided to join her from across the Atlantic. Does Liberace deserve a spot beside all the greatest stars of Hollywood’s golden era?  I say yes, purely and simply because of his performance in The Loved One (1965) – possibly the weirdest movie I have ever seen.

I am exceedingly jealous that Yinzerella has a copy of the original Liberace cookbook.  I am waiting for a windfall – the cheapest one on abebooks at the moment is going for £86 not including postage from the USA.

It amuses me greatly that if you put – liberace kaftans – into google and look at the images, the very top one is Yinzerella and her mum, and a bit further down, there is me on my way to see Behind the Candelabra. Next next row down there is a snap of me drinking a Liberace cocktail at Heather’s house.  The internet is a weird, weird place…

Today is the first day of my HOLIDAY.  I can’t remember the last time I had a proper lengthy holiday.  It’s been a decade of mini-breaks, so to have a whole week off seems completely decadent.  Mersea Island here I come. 

But if you are a burglar reading this, don’t even think about breaking into my flat because

a)     it’s in such a mess you’ll think someone has already broken in.

b)    there is nothing to pinch.

c)     I have left a big dog with sharp teeth (Ringo) protecting the place.

So Yinzerella is right about Liberace’s eggs.  This is a perfect “single girl special” – I always, always love to have eggs on a spinster Saturday and still love seeing those magic words beside a recipe: “serves 1”.  So instead of concentrating on packing for my holiday I treated myself to this. 

Liberace Special 15-Minute Eggs (serves 1)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Warm a baking dish about 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. Put in a little butter. Then break in the eggs. Pour over the half-and-half or cream, which should almost cover the eggs. Dot with remaining butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 7 or 8 minutes until the whites are set.

I wholeheartedly agree with Yinzerella’s findings about oven temperature and cooking time.  I whacked the oven up to 200 C / 400 F and I reckon mine were in the oven for 15-16 minutes before they were set.  Actually the yolk was fully cooked, like a hard-boiled egg would be, so maybe I over cooked, but I hate runny egg white so I wanted to be sure.

It was delicious and now I am ready to pack.  I’ll be taking a few outfits along these lines…