Anytime of the Day Meal: Mushroom’s, Fried Bread, Baked Egg’s in a Red Wine and Cream Sauce

I’m having a love affair with this dish… Don’t worry, The Chef is well aware.

Yes people, I- The Wife- created this little accomplishment BY MYSELF! The Chef loved it. The first time I made it, he asked for it again the next day. This doesn’t happen very often. He is not a fan a leftovers, and usually has to have a break of the same dish for at least a week or two before he wants it again. The best thing, it makes you feel like your eating at some cute little bistro in paris, yet it’s so darn simple. Pump your fists in the air, we have ourselves a winner.

I read a recipe in my Martha Stewart magazine that had a mushroom skillet with flatbread and baked eggs and I thought “I could do this.” And boy did I do this. I modified a tad though. Her recipe calls for white wine.  I like red wine with mushrooms better, and who doesn’t like cream?? This dish is pretty friendly for versatility, so even your lovely selves can makes some changes, if you prefer. Instead of red wine you could try a dijon flavor, or just cream. I might even try that myself….

The earthiness of the mushrooms pairs so perfectly with a drier, full body red wine (merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chianti, etc.). It starts to mold into some type of meat-esque flavor, which “beefs” up the whole dish. (Pun intended…) The fried bread soaks up some of the wine/cream sauce and it gathers the flavors into this little pocket of heaven. And the egg adds a velvety richness that always makes your fork go for another bite before you finish the last. Mmmmm scrumptious!!! 

What you’ll need:

8-10 oz Baby bella mushrooms-sliced or quartered (shitake mushrooms or big portabella’s would work too. Just cut to a good eating size.)

2-2 1/2 C. Large chunk bread- measure once cut

4 Eggs

2 or more Tbsp cooking oil

2 Cloves of garlic

3/4 C. Red wine

1/2 C. Cream

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425˚.

To start out with grab some bread that you need to use up, preferably an artisan bread/baguette. (What works really well is The Everyday Chef artisan bread that you made and you need to use up the last little bit.. Link found here) Cut the bread up into large chunks. 

In a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and heat to med-high. Toast until browned on almost all sides. Put aside in bowl.

In the same skillet, heat up 1 Tbsp of oil. Peel and cut the garlic into large minced pieces. Cook in oil until tan. With the mushrooms already sliced- add to oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Caramelize mushrooms, being careful not to crowd the mushrooms. Crowding just steams them. I asked Jason how many is too many and he said when they are on top of each other and don’t have any room to move. The amount in the pictures is just on the verge of too many.

When the mushrooms are nicely browned, pour in the wine– deglazing the pan. Get all the flavorful browned bits off of the bottom of that pan!! Then add the cream. Mix it all together. Add in the fried bread.

Drop the eggs on. Put the whole skillet in the oven and bake. The time depends on how well you like the egg yolk. If you like it runnier, check it after 3-5 min. More if needed/you like a more done egg. With a runnier yolk, it creates another level of sauce that mixes in splendidly with the red wine and cream.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and you are ready to serve! This feeds anywhere from 2-4 people.

Oh man it’s so yummy. I seriously can’t wait to make this again.

Please let us know how you like it! Did you stick to the recipe or did you wander down your own path? We’d love to hear other varieties and how they turned out!!

Happy tummies everyone!

The Wife (and The Everyday Chef says hi)