BAKED EGGS WITH CRAWFISH AND MUSHROOMS IN HAM BASKETS

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Yields: 6 Servings

Comment:
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This dish includes all the ingredients necessary to create a complete meal. It is simple to prepare and comes from my latest cookbook, After the Hunt: Louisiana’s Authoritative Collection of Wild Game and Game Fish Cookery.

Ingredients:
12 eggs
½ pound crawfish tails
¾ pound diced mushrooms
12 slices sugar-cured ham
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1 cup diced onions
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced yellow bell peppers
2 tbsps minced garlic
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste
2 tbsps Creole cream cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onions, celery, bell peppers and minced garlic and sauté 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated. Add crawfish tails and cook 3 additional minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Remove from heat then stir in cream cheese. In a lightly-greased muffin pan, place 1 slice of ham in each cup allowing ends to hang over edges. Divide mushroom and crawfish mixture evenly among cups then crack 1 egg into each ham basket. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Place on middle oven rack and bake 15 minutes or until egg whites are cooked, but yolks are still runny. Remove and serve with your favorite hash browns or home fries.