**$50 Sur La Table Giveaway ends at midnight tonight!**I nearly burned our building down a few months ago when I tried the self-cleaning mechanism on my oven for the first time and forgot about a teeny tiny pot of oil for deep frying in the back of the top rack. The initial fumes didn’t worry me…I knew it was incinerating all the baked on muck and turning it into ash. However, when the smoke started to darken, and our eyes started to burn, I ran to the oven to find smoke billowing out of the oven and “F10” flashing on the digital display. Needless to say, my stovetop was out of commission for several days until it was replaced. This was tricky for me, as fried eggs and oatmeal (alternately) are the most common  breakfast foods in our house. Then, one day, I remembered Ina Garten’s herb-baked eggs, and I thought, I could definitely make these in the toaster oven. Now, I don’t have individualized gratin dishes, and I don’t imagine many people do. But I did have these creme brûlée dishes I got as a wedding gift that don’t get used nearly as much they should. So, I buttered them up, cracked a couple of eggs into them, sprinkled with salt, and voila. Breakfast was ready in 10-11 minutes. No babysitting a fried egg on the stovetop, or worrying about breaking the yolk. Use any oven proof, small, shallow bowl you have. Feel free to throw your toast in there as well, halfway through the cooking process. Remember, it will keep cooking even after the timer goes off. So, leave it in the toaster oven for another minute or two, letting the ramekin/gratin dish/creme brûlée dish cool a bit while the egg sets.

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing
• 2 eggs
• a pinch of salt
• chives or parmesan for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Butter your baking dish generously. Crack two eggs into it, taking care not to break the yolk, and sprinkle with salt (and pepper if you like).
2. Insert into toaster oven and set the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Leave in toaster oven for another minute or two while the eggs set. Serve with a garnish of chives and/or parmesan. Eat immediately!