FAIL: Martha Stewart's Egg, Prosciutto & Lemon in Baguette

Sometimes recipes just aren't that good. And here's one of them. After seeing Martha Stewart on the Today Show telling Matt Lauer what an incredible combination lemon, parsley & Parmesan are, I downloaded her recipe to give it a try. And while on paper (and TV) it looked pretty good, the results weren't there. The teaspoon of lemon zest overpowered the entire sandwich. You couldn't taste the eggs, cheese or prosciutto at  at all. It took a lot longer to cook than the time listed in the recipe. And while it looked good, it lacked any redeeming qualities.

But we learn a lot from failed recipes. A few takeaways that I will keep...the idea of baking something inside a hollowed out, fresh baguette is a good one. So perhaps we'll try a cheesy ham sandwich, a meatball sub or a chicken Parmesan this way since the bread did crisp up beautifully and it's a nice presentation.

I am sharing the recipe here.

Recipe: Lemon, Parsley, and Parmesan with Bread, Prosciutto and Egg

Martha Stewart Living, January issue

Ingredients

·         1 baguette (15 inches long)

·         5 large eggs

·         1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

·         3 tablespoons whole milk

·         1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

·         4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto (2 ounces)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice ¼ inch off the top of the bread, and hollow out bottom, discarding the crumb (soft interior) of the loaf. Cut top into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, zest, milk, parsley, and parmesan. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in ½ cup bread pieces.

Place hollowed-out bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place prosciutto slices along inside of bread to cover. Slowly pour egg mixture to the brim. Bake until eggs are puffed up and cooked through, 30 to 33 minutes. Slice into 2-inch pieces. Serve immediately.