I don't know what to call these...except delicious

 

Well, that's not entirely true - we did come up with a name...

...crunchy pig bowls.

Which admittedly may not resonate with all. But name aside, they are delicious. And ingenious. A bowl made of prosciutto, into which you can put any number of things that will subsequently be permeated with salty pork flavor as it bakes.

My friend Marika sent me some delicious looking recipes from Coastal Living magazine, which arrived in the mail last week (thanks Marika!). All looked scrumptious, but the 'individual prosciutto-and-spinach pie' recipe looked so good I had to make it immediately. We had no prosciutto on hand, so I substituted thinly sliced uncured ham, which worked terrifically (better than the prosciutto even). We enjoyed our first crunchy pig bowls at dinner time with a generous side of green beans.

They were so delicious that I made them again for breakfast this morning: this time with prosciutto (pictured above). The original recipe is for 12 pies (made using a muffin tin). While this would be perfect for a large brunch, 12 pies is a little silly for two people. So my version makes 2 in my Le Creuset Croquettes (ramekins would also work). I put in way more spinach than called for (the original recipe calls for a cup for 12 - I put in a little more than that for 2). And the addition of a splash of milk makes them oh so creamy. That recipe follows.

Tonight, I will bake our mac and cheese in individual prosciutto cups. I'm pretty excited.

Individual Baked Spinach Eggs in a Pig Bowl
Serves 2

4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto (or 2 thin slices of ham)
two handfuls of spinach, chopped
1/2 c. sharp cheddar (I used a white english cheddar), grated
2 eggs
a little less than 1/4 c. 2% milk
freshly ground black pepper
a generous pinch herbs de provence

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place prosciutto slices into the bottoms and up sides of two ramekins, overlapping in a crisscross pattern.  Toss spinach with half of the grated cheese. Put half of the spinach-cheese mix into each ramekin.

Break eggs into a bowl. Add milk, pepper, and herbs de provence. Whisk well. Pour egg mixture over spinach, dividing between the two ramekins. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake 18 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil 2 minutes.

Remove from oven. Allow to sit for 2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently loosen your individual pies from their dishes and place them on plates to be served. Enjoy!