It has been quite the winter, at least the past week or so. With unprecedented low temperatures and heavy precipitation, we have had several snow storms the last few days resulting in 10-12 inches of snow here on Camano Island.

For us that means – we ain’t goin’ nowhere! We live on a hill, with a steep drive way, and even though Mr. C. shovels the snow off the driveway daily, there is no way we are going to risk life and limb just to fishtail to the grocery store, or wherever, even for the sake of a vast amount of bragging rights!

So what to do with the time? Of course we could have done some deep cleaning on our house. Right, like that’s going to happen! (We didn’t want to set some kind of snowy weather precedent, after all!) Or we could spend our time recovering from surgery (me), recovering from the horrible cold/flu that’s going around (both of us), reading books (both of us), researching recipes (that would be me) or working on Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert piano sonatas (Mr. C. for sure). So that’s what we did.

For me, it was re-reading for the umpteenth time, many of the Rex Stout books featuring my favorite detective Nero Wolfe. I love Nero. And I know. I shouldn’t presume to call him by his first name. But since I feel that I know him better than most, thanks to Archie Goodwin, and share a couple of his most characteristic traits (being round and worshipping excellent food), that he would forgive me this tiny indiscretion. All of which brings me to this recipe.

I have known for a long time that there are really no subjects that haven’t in some way been covered on the internet. But even so, I was quite surprised when I decided that I would like to try preparing a couple of Nero’s favorite dishes. (Like a fictional character is going to be the author of gourmet recipes!) But on my first search, right there in print, was an invitation to purchase the Nero Wolfe cookbook. Holy cow. And I must say, I was sorely tempted.

But then the practical side of me took over (pfui) and I realized that as much as I admire haute cuisine and love hearing Nero and Fritz (his cook/chef) discuss dishes like Bacalhau (Portugese Salt Cod), the chances of me ever preparing most of the dishes in the cookbook was somewhere between slim and nil! So I tucked my credit card back where it belonged, and searched other posts for simpler and more modest recipes from the cookbook. Which of course I found. And this is one of them. Hopefully, more to follow.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, and both of us long ago decided we would not celebrate Hallmark holidays (no gifts or cards exchanged), I never-the-less fixed this recipe for breakfast this morning. (OK, I still have a bit of romance in my soul.) But you can bet your bottom dollar, I’m not going to wait for a special occasion to serve it again.

So next time you feel like a little something fancy would brighten your otherwise normal first meal of the day, give this recipe a try. It truly is delicious and very easy to prepare.

And just for Mr. C. because he asked, shirred eggs, also known as baked eggs, are eggs that have traditionally been baked in a flat-bottomed dish (shirrer) which is another name for a ceramic or porcelain ramekin.  

unsalted butter

4 breakfast link  sausages, fully cooked

2 T. half & half

4 tsp. dry sherry

4 lg. eggs

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

paprika

1 tsp. chopped fresh chives

Generously butter 2 shallow baking dishes. (I use small oblong Corningware French White dishes.)

Place 2 cooked sausages in each dish. Add 1 tablespoons half & half and 2 teaspoons dry sherry to each dish. Carefully add 2 eggs to each dish (don’t let the yolks break), then sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, paprika, and chives.

Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 14 to 17 minutes or until the egg white is set and the yolk is still runny (or cooked to desired firmness). (I used convection the last 3 minutes.) Remove from oven and serve immediately with toast.

Enjoy the dish.