Recipe: Baked Ham and Egg Cups

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was great-- as predicted, lots of games and too much food. In other words, perfect.

As we mentioned, we were really looking forward to making Thanksgiving brunch to our family. Our choice needed to fit two main criteria: fairly light (Thanksgiving dinner later!) and easy enough to assemble for 7 people.

After seeing a few variations floating around Pinterest, we made egg cups for brunch earlier this year and decided that they'd fit the bill nicely for  our Thanksgiving morning brunch. We made two variations and were happy with both results, so we thought we'd share! They are so cute and really, really easy... plus, the world is your oyster when it comes to the toppings -- you can really add any combination of ingredients your little heart desires.

Laura went the traditional route and made Denver-esque cups by adding diced peppers and onions with cheddar cheese to each cup. Ali got creative and made the clear winner of the day - she blanched asparagus and added two spears to each cup with a tiny bit of cheddar in the base, then served them with a Hollandaise sauce.

We left the crispy edges but you could trim them or get really crazy and cover them with foil while baking.

In our opinion, this is a handy staple to have in our back pockets for brunch with the girls, for family, or after a particularly long night out. Cheers! (with our ham and egg cups.)

Ham and Egg Cups -

1. Preheat oven to 375.


2. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or lightly oil. (We used popover cups this time because we wanted more room for add-ins, but have previously used muffin tins and it works just as well!)


3. Line each cup with two slices of ham, pressing into the bottom of each cup.


4. Add desired toppings, then carefully crack one egg into each cup.


5. Bake for 25 minutes or until egg is cooked through. Each cup should easily lift from the tin.

24 Hours in Denver

On Sunday night, I flew out to Denver for a meeting Monday afternoon with my company. Though it shortened my weekend, Denver's been on my list of cities to visit for a while now and I'm glad I got a chance, albeit a quick one.

I stayed at the Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton brand hotel. Chicago has a Monaco too, but I've never been inside so I didn't really know what I was in for.

It was amazing. I was greeted by a glass of strawberry mint water and two golden retrievers in the lobby. (In case you were wondering, they were not hotel dogs, though I seriously did ask the doorman that. What is wrong with me? "Um, no, miss - we're just dog friendly." Ah, right.) Then I looked around, took in the hand painted ceiling, crazy light fixtures and chairs with cow-hide pillows and decided I never wanted to leave. The two guys behind the front desk were great too, super friendly and full of recommendations for dinner that night.



The ceiling in the lobby. I need these light fixtures in my future!



Even though my room had a rather sad view of the parking garage, I loved it anyway - the design was so crazy but it totally worked. Check out all of the patterns! (I'm looking at you, Jessie!)



On the recommendation of the concierge, we wandered over to check out the Denver Chalk Art Festival at Larimer Square and I am so, so glad I did this. I'm a sucker for anything with twinkly lights, and the beautiful chalk drawings were just icing on the cake.







Though literally every single entry was ridiculously beautiful, these three were my favorites. Can you tell I like faces?

We wandered into a wine bar called Cru for dinner outside on the patio, and it turned out to be another huge win. I couldn't take pictures of our dinner because I was with work company, but please believe me when I say that it was to die for. The lamb lollipops (I hate that name) were ridiculous and the tuna tartare was amazing too. Paired with a great glass of pinot noir, I was pretty happy despite technically "working" on a Sunday night!



I did manage to snap one shot of Cru's interior - wine bottles all the way up the walls and great chandeliers.

The next day, we had lunch at Panzano in our hotel. Again, no pictures, but phenomenal food. I had the Panzanella Salad - which loosely translated means "the least-healthy salad of all time", but so worth it. I want to go back to Denver just to eat everything I had between Sunday and Monday over again!

It was a whirlwind but a great trip. I'd totally go back with friends for a ski trip (and by "ski" I mean... sitting in a ski lodge drinking hot chocolate with Baileys). Chicago may be the most beautiful city in the world, but it is flat as a board and I am totally fascinated by mountains. I'd love to check out some of Denver's outdoor activities. Who's in? :)