The Gouda Life

Weeks of planning, days of prepping food and organizing the apartment and it’s done in a matter of hours (so maybe it was 8 hours in our case, but the eating part of that was a mere 40 minutes). Thanksgiving is gone as quickly as it crept up. 

This past Saturday, as we’ve done for the last 3 years, we invited 12 of our closest friends to join us in our tiny spare room around 2 fold up card tables dressed with plastic tablecloths, mismatched stemware, a motley crew of seating and every fork, knife, pot and pan we own for Friendsgiving. Though the decor left much to desire, the food and, most importantly, company was the real draw for the evening. As we get older, busier and less likely to spend our Saturday nights congregating in each other’s parents’ basements, it’s times like these that offer us the opportunity to catch up, laugh hysterically as we poke fun at each other and scream across the table fighting to be heard over the inharmonious choir of voices. I never laugh as hard or feel as at ease as I do when I’m surrounded by this group of friends I’ve known for 15 years. To sit and look around the table at all their faces is to know what joy truly is. We ate, we laughed, we drank far too much wine, and we fell into bed around 3am. 



The rest of the weekend was a blur as we cleaned up from the Friendsgiving party, zipped to Mr. GL’s family Thanksgiving dinner, made pies, headed over to my Dad’s dinner and finally fell into bed around 9pm last night, groaning as we held our bellies so glutted with turkey dinners we could hardly roll over to seal the weekend with a goodnight kiss. Overindulge is an understatement in this case. The only thing huskier than our own bellies was the fridge packed with leftovers from THREE dinners. What can I say, we (er…I) don’t know how to say no to free food. Can you blame me? Can you!? 

I woke this morning with salad on the brain, assuring myself it was time to smarten up and get back on track, but when I opened the fridge and laid eyes on the container of leftover Apple/Fennel/Sausage stuffing and root vegetables, I lost control and threw this Baked Egg dish together. But…um…. I did it for you guys? So you could make new use of your leftovers? Because I’m not really a fat kid, just really, super kind? Yes, let’s go with that.

 
Eggs Baked in Thanksgiving Leftovers
serves 2

Be creative here! No stuffing? Use some torn up dinner rolls or leftover bread. No cooked root veggies? Throw in some herbs and roasted potatoes. If you decide to use cubed bread, add a good splash of milk or cream to keep things a bit moist (not soggy!). 

1 tbsp oil or butter
4 eggs
1 cup leftover stuffing 
1 cup leftover roasted vegetables or potatoes
1/2 tbsp fresh herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary)
1/2 cup turkey, cubed (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan or Old Cheddar (optional)
Cranberry sauce, to garnish (optional) 

Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl, toss the stuffing, vegetables, herbs, turkey (if using) and cheese. Butter or oil two 1 1/2 cup ramekins. Split mixture into the ramekins and use the back of a spoon to make 2 small indents in each ramekin on top of the mixture (for the eggs). Crack eggs, one at a time, into the indents. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until egg whites are set and yolks are still a touch runny. Serve with leftover cranberry sauce for a sweet kick.