Egg Bake

Grease 9 x13 glass baking dish. Preheat oven to 350F.

Sauce:
Over medium heat melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, when foaming, add flour and whisk until smooth, slowly pour in the milk while constantly whisking until smooth. Sprinkle in the chicken bouillon; slowly add a packed ¼ cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese (the canned Parmesan makes it gritty). Slowly, while whisking constantly add the shredded Swiss. Bring to a simmer and whisk until thick. Remove from heat and whisk occasionally so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Crouton topping:
Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet. When foaming add the cubed bread and stir quickly to evenly coat with butter. Let them toast in the pan, stirring, so they don’t burn. This happens quickly. Remove from heat and sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan over top and stir.

Eggs:
In a large non-stick skillet sauté ½ cup of onion in 3 Tablespoons of butter. In a large bowl, whisk a dozen eggs until combined and add chopped ham to eggs. Add egg mixture to onions and butter and cook until lightly set (very lightly set – remember they are still going in the oven and you don’t want rubber eggs!). Pour eggs into a greased, 9” x13” pan (preferably glass, metal tends to turn any leftovers green). Pour waiting sauce over the eggs and sprinkle all over with croutons. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 10 minutes. May possibly need 15 minutes, depending on the oven. When it’s done it should look set on the sides, even though the sauce my jiggle a little on top. Enjoy!

Sauce and croutons can be make in advance for quick assembly in the morning. If you do this, very gently re-heat the sauce to a more liquid form – lukewarm and then spread over eggs. Croutons can be made, cooled and put in a bag, with the end left open – otherwise they get soggy. This is really good left over and warmed in the microwave (unusual for eggs!)