Boiled Eggs on English Muffins with Asparagus and Cheese Sauce

One of my favorite spring breakfasts is so terribly simple, that it appears I've never blogged it.  I see the photos on my Pinterest board and on fb, but when I checked the blogs--no eggs on muffins!  So here it is:  a meal perfect for Easter when you have lots of boiled eggs to use up, but also perfect any other time or for any meal, come to think of it.   If you have a plethora of eggs, as does my friend Cathy (we're trading my granola for her backyard eggs this week), this is a fine use for them.  My own kids had this every Easter for years.  Well, I served it anyway.  Whether or not they ate it is beside the point!

Won't make cheese sauce?  Grated cheese will work admirably and is even better if you slip the eggs under the broiler tooty sweetie to melt the cheese.   No asparagus?  It's quite delicious without it. (I provide a link to a tasty cheese sauce recipe, but also include my easy one down below.)

I feel a tish odd writing this out as a recipe, but I'm doing it anyway.  Here's how:


boiled eggs on english muffins with asparagus and cheese sauce
  serves 2

• 4 eggs boiled, cooled, peeled, and sliced
• 2 whole-wheat English muffins, split, toasted, and buttered
• 4 stalks asparagus, trimmed, chopped, and cooked briefly in the microwave (1 min on full power)-- optional
• 1/2 cup cheese sauce  (or grated cheese)*
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

To assemble:  place warm, buttered muffins on plates and top with eggs.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Gently lay asparagus pieces on top of the eggs and drizzle cheese sauce (or sprinkle with grated cheese) and again dust with salt and pepper.  (If you've used grated cheese, you might want to put the egg "sandwiches" together on a broiler-safe baking sheet and place them under the broiler for a minute or so, plating afterward.)

*Easy Cheese Sauce:  In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon flour until smooth.  Add a pinch each:  kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne, and dry mustard or nutmeg.  Let cook two minutes, stirring, and then whisk in 1 cup barely warm milk.  Bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook until sauce begins to thicken.  Stir in 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  (If you like thicker sauce, you can whisk together a little more flour in a 1/4 cup of flour and stir it in before adding the cheese... or  just begin with double butter and flour to start with.   The traditional flavorings here are onion and nutmeg.  If you'd like to use onion, mince a teaspoon and cook it in the butter before adding the flour and making the roux.)

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce