BRUNCH (continued)

As I said, every brunch should contain at least one dish with eggs. I have many of them in my army of brunch recipes but this one is new and very good. I tried it recently on a brunch for 12 and all my guests raved about it and several asked me for the recipe.

Since the recipe calls for hard-boiled eggs, I'm including an easy recipe for those, which you can use any time you want hard-boiled eggs. The steps described help to prevent that ugly green line around the hard-boiled yolks, and make peeling the eggs easier. It might also be helpful to know that fresh eggs are harder to peel than eggs that are a little older.

M J'S EGG CASSEROLE

8-10 servings (but you can stretch it to 12)

I ripped this recipe out of a Wednesday Dining section of The New York Times. The only laborious part is peeling 18 hard-boiled eggs; my thumbs still hurt. Instead of cooking a pound of bacon, I used Costco's pre-cooked bacon, which I had on hand. When, at the last minute, I found I had no marjoram, I begged a quarter teaspoon-full from my waitress at Jimmy's in Fells Point where I usually go for breakfast on weekends. (I left her a larger tip than usual.) And I forgot to bake the casserole covered but it didn't seem to matter. If you do cover it, as the recipe instructs, the steam will cook the eggs without the risk of making the yolks rubbery. Be sure to stir the cheese until it's fully incorporated. And buy the already-shredded kind at your grocery store in the two cup package. There's no need to skin your knuckles on a hand shredder and bleed into the dish!

4 T butter, plus extra for buttering the casserole dish

1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 C cream

1 C whole milk (don't use skim or low fat)

2 C shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 C chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 t dried marjoram

1/4 t dried thyme

1/8 t garlic powder (if you have it)

pinch of cayenne

18 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and thinly sliced

1 lb bacon, cooked crisp, drained of fat and crumbled

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or glass casserole dish.

2. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it foarms. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Lower the heat and slowly pour in the cream and milk, but all at one time. Heat until steaming, whisking often (to prevent the flour from lumping). Add the cheese and whisk, until fully melted. Add the parsley, marjoram, thyme, garlic powder and cayenne.

3. In the prepared dish, make layers of egg slices, bacon and sauce, ending with sauce. Cover and bake 40 minutes. (To make ahead, refrigerate covered casserole overnight - I covered the dish with a buttered piece of aluminum foil, buttered so the aluminum wouldn't react with the exposed egg slices). Remove from the refrigerator one hour before baking and add 20 minutes to baking time. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Note: the next time I make this, I may put a thin layer of bread crumbs, or finely shredded Parmesan cheese, on top.

HOW TO HARD-BOIL EGGS

Put the eggs in a large saucepan in enough cold water to cover them. Paritally cover the saucepan and bring the water to a rolling boil on high heat. Turn the heat to low, cover the saucepan completley and cook the eggs for 30 seconds. Let the eggs stand off the heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Put them in ice water for five minutes, then peel. They should be perfect for however you're gong to use them.