Welcome to the 2nd edition of Makeover Mondays, where popular B&B recipes are taken to new heights (including substitutions of healthier ingredients and/or infusions of unexpected flavor), in order to ensure Mondays are never ho-hum again. Click here for our first Makeover Mondays’ recipe.
Today’s Makeover Monday recipe comes from the Kate Shepard House B&B, located in Old Dauphin Way Historic District, midtown Mobile, Alabama. The oldest B&B in Mobile, the following recipe, Shepard Eggs with Dijon Cream Sauce, was graciously shared alongside other inn favorites on the B&B’s website.
A vegetarian makeover of Customized Breakfast & Brunch Bundles, what makes this recipe stand out is its homemade Dijon Cream Sauce. What’s that? Don’t like the flavor of Dijon? No worries! Omit the mustard entirely and substitute 1-2 teaspoons of your favorite Cajun Seasoning (great for those who like it spicy). Don’t like the idea of going meatless? No problem! Add a small layer of chopped ham or crumbled sausage before adding your egg. Viola! Shepard Eggs any way you like them.
Another no-hassle tweak? Instead of croissants, try substituting your favorite bagel or bread and see what variations you can come up with. I subbed our family favorite, everything bagels, in a few of the cups and they were a huge hit (the bagels added a heartier, yet chewier texture and more robust flavor than that of the croissants).
Shepard Eggs with Dijon Cream Sauce are the perfect, go-to recipe for spring breakfasts and brunches—tasty eggs, cooked to any desired level of doneness (easy, medium or hard), lightly salted and peppered, then layered in a “nest” of your choosing. What could be more appropriate or delicious than that?
Shepard Eggs with Dijon Cream Sauce
(featured on Inn Cuisine’s Makeover Mondays, recipe from the Kate Shepard House B&B, Mobile, AL)
for the baked Shepard Eggs in a nest, you will need
- a standard muffin tin(s)
- large eggs (1 egg per muffin cup—according to the number of guests you are serving)
- croissants, bagels, or your other favorite bread
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffin tin(s) with non-stick cooking spray. Cut croissants (or other breads) lengthways, and press firmly into each muffin cup (number of cups depends entirely on how many guests you are serving). Overlap bread as necessary to create a firm, flat, circular cups that are molded against the shape of the muffin cups. Crack one egg in the center of each bread-lined cup. Salt and pepper each egg to taste. Bake at 375 degrees F for 16-21 minutes, depending on the accuracy of your oven and the preferred doneness of your egg (easy, medium, or hard). When eggs are cooked to your liking (the jiggle test works well here—more jiggly for easy eggs, less jiggly for hard), remove muffin tin(s) from oven and carefully run a butter knife around the edges of each egg & bread nest in order to release the bread from muffin cup(s). Carefully lift and remove cooked nests from the cups using a knife, fork tines, or tongs if necessary. Serve upright with Dijon Cream Sauce.
to make the Dijon Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/4 cup half & half
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
While eggs are baking as directed above, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well mixed. Whisk in half & half, watching carefully so as not to boil. Add remaining ingredients, whisking often. Sauce will slowly thicken.
Variation on the Sauce:
If desired, omit the Dijon and salt & pepper, adding 1-2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning instead (great for those who like it spicy).
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
These sound like a perfect way to start any day to me Sandie. I love all the options you suggested.
I think these look wonderful! Now I need to have a brunch!
I love the sound of this, would love to have this for breakfast. Maybe I will try making a diet-friendly version.
I wouldn’t change a thing! These not only look beautiful but sound delicious. I can’t wait to try them!
This is my kind of breakfast!
These are so fun!
i would never expect something so attractive to be so simple to accomplish! these are delightful, sandie–thanks!
Makeover Mondays! What a great idea. That’s a good way to take something classic and make some twists to get something new! Let your creative juices flow!
Val – Options are essential when cooking, and sometimes lead to the best results
Mental P Mama – Too bad you didn’t live closer, I’d invite you over!
Kayln – What would you substitute in place of the bread/bagels? My curiosity is piqued!
Susan – Thank you. I hop you enjoy them as much as we did.
Crepes of Wrath – You & me both!
Maria – Fun: isn’t that the way breakfasts or brunches should be?
Grace – That is the best part of this recipe: not only is it delicious to eat, but amazingly simple (and quick) to prepare.
Krissy – Thank you. I hope you’ll join me on future Makeover Mondays as well!
Ouch! I tried these with minimal success.
I’d admit to being somewhat of a novice in the kitchen, so perhaps I’ve made a mistake somewhere.
I used pop can croisants and large eggs. I somehow came out with over hard yolks, but sunny side up eggs!! The edges of the croisants that overlapped the muffin tin were crispy and too hard to eat.
As for the sauce, I followed all of the measurements, but I think there may have been too much flour. It was extremely thick and tasted doughy. I ended up having to separate out a small portion into another pan and add milk (I did use half&half originally, but I was out by this point) and more mustard until I found a suitable consistency and flavor. Once I got there, I also added some honey.
The kids enjoyed it, but I still found it to be a touch floury.
Where did I go wrong?
Bex – Thanks for your questions. It’s frustrating to attempt a recipe that doesn’t work out for you. Without being in the kitchen cooking along with you, it’s hard for me to pinpoint why this recipe didn’t work for you, but I can try.
First of all, did you use croissant dough & not baked croissants? I’m confused by “pop can croissants” reference and am not sure what that is. I’m thinking you mean those refrigerated rolls of dough that must be baked before you eat them? Regardless, the bread used in this recipe must be pre-cooked bread—ready made croisssants, bagels, or any other type of bread you might use—as long as it already baked and ready to eat.
I’ve made this (type of) recipe multiple times, using multiple types of bread and never had overlapping edges get too cripsy, so I can’t comment as to that—just make sure bread doesn’t rest on top of the muffin cups. It should only be pressed into the tin, where it can overlap with no adverse effects.
Also, depending on exact oven placement & accuracy of oven temps, I’ve also never experienced over hard yolks with sunny side up eggs. Depending on cooking time and rack placement, you can easily control the doneness of the eggs—easy, medium or hard—but the yolks and eggs have always cooked to the proper consistency. In the last photo pictured with this post, you can see that these eggs cooked to about medium doneness, i.e. harder at the bottom with a slightly runny yolk in the center.
As for the sauce, sauces can be tricky. In my opinion, this one falls into that category—it starts rather thin, and thickens with time and heat. If you wait too long, the sauce will get thicker and thicker—too thick and too floury. You can avoid this by judging cooking time and pulling the sauce off the heat before it gets too thick. It will still thicken some as it sits, so pulling it off the moment it reaches the consistency you desire or just before is the best practice (or risk having to add more half & half, or milk, later to thin back out a bit). As is common practice with these types of sauces, adding more half & half, or milk, is often done to compensate as needed.
I do hope that helps!
This is a great breakfast. Do quick and easy, I’ll have to try these. The sauce is a great selling point!