2011 Colorado Cross Cup Awards

Going to a party is always fun, and going to one with food and awards is even better.

On Saturday we went to the 2011 Colorado Cross Cup (cyclocross) awards party where Ellie got to hang out with her friends from the team. She also won two awards - Best All Around Racer and Best All Around Team in the Junior Women 15-16 division.

One of my favorite thing from the evening was the fun from one of the adult teams who opted to dress up. One guy worn a fez, a red cape and a fun, animal print jacket. He happened to be the only one who showed up for his set of awards on the podium. As each other competitor was not on the box, he would jump to that box and pump up the crowds. A woman on his team wore wild black and gold sparkly tights with a gold lame and Superwoman style gold boots.

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On a completely different note, here's a recipe that my family recently enjoyed.

Parmesan Baked Eggs
via: Pinch of Yum

1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon oil
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 eggs
1 tablespoon heavy cream
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan, heat butter and oil. Add shallot and saute until soft and fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Add herbs and salt; remove from heat and stir to combine. The mixture should be somewhat coarse and just a little buttery.
Preheat the oven to 375. Place a small pat of butter (about 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each of 3 ramekins. Place in oven until butter is melted.
Remove ramekins from oven, add 1 teaspoon of cream to each, and crack 2 eggs into each ramekin without breaking the yolk. Sprinkle the herb mixture over the top of each ramekin and return to the oven. Bake for about 7 minutes.
Turn up the heat to the broil setting and let the eggs broil for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven when egg whites are just set and yolks are still soft. Let stand for 3-5 minutes before serving. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes
Author's notes - I found the timing of this to be really important – down to the minute. The eggs might look like they aren’t done if they are runny on top, but that can just be the cream rising to the top of the ramekin. If you cook these too long, the yolks get hard and they aren’t as good. (I think my eggs might have benefited for about another minute in the oven.)

Also, if you want the cheese to be melted on top, add the cheese before putting the ramekins in the oven. I didn’t do this because it made it trickier to see if the eggs were done or not.