I know that Mother’s Day was last weekend for most of you (and a few months ago for those who celebrate “Mothering Sunday“), but I didn’t have time with all that was happening last weekend to post this recipe.
And, technically, it’s still Mother’s Day in our house, as we served this meal to my lovely step-mother last weekend (and my Dad—he was invited too, naturally), and we had another brunch for The Husband’s mother this weekend, as she just moved back in to town.
Prepping the sausage and the polenta.
This is the part when I can say “Hello!” and “I love you!” to both of them, because of course they’ve subscribed to my blog. And not because I forced them to. (Whew!)
This recipe would be super easy to vegetarianize, but not as easy to veganize, because of the egg taking center stage. But I know that I have many a creative vegan blogger friend out there who could figure out a tofu-scramble-type-thing that would work wonders as substitute, and you can always just omit the cheese or use some Daiya.
Vegetarians, all you need to do is use some veggie sausage crumbles or Soyrizo and you’re good to go!
These little molds worked so well, which was a nice surprise!
I was so happy I remembered that I had four heart-shaped springform pans out in one of my external storage areas, because it made these little guys (a) perfect for Mother’s Day and (b) absolutely adorable. Being able to take them completely out of the baking pan also made them easier to eat, as usually you need to dig them out of a ramekin with a spoon. Which is its own kind of fun, of course, but this just worked wonderfully.
There’s not a huge or complicated recipe here, it’s mostly assembly and oven time.
Cheesy Polenta Egg Bake
Serves 4
POLENTA:
1 cup polenta
3 cups of vegetable stock (preferably mushroom)
4 oz. goat cheese or vegan cream cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A nice, aged manchego cheese is a lovely topper for this dish.
Get the stock up to a nice boil and pour in the polenta, stirring well with a whisk. It will thicken up pretty quickly, and once it does, turn it down and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Make sure to have a lid on it, because it splatters a lot, and when it does it’s like napalm on your skin!
When it’s done cooking, add the goat or cream cheese and stir well. Season to taste.
SAUSAGE:
While the polenta’s cooking, cook up your sausage in a frying pan. We used Mulay chorizo, but you can use Italian sausage, veggie crumbles or Soyrizo. Really, use whatever sausage is your favorite. You could even substitute it for some chopped, sautéed Swiss chard or spinach, or even mushrooms. If you’re using sausage, drain on some kitchen towels when it’s cooked.
EGGS:
We had a chopped avocado and salsa salad on the side.
Use the best eggs you can find, and make sure that they are room temp before you start. Line your ramekins or dishes with a quarter of the polenta, top with the sausage (or substitute) and carefully crack an egg over the top. This recipe is for a kind of poached egg on the top, but feel free to scramble or break the yolk if that’s what you prefer.
Place all the ramekins on a baking tray. Carefully slide into a 350°F oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the eggs; at this point they should be starting to firm up. Top with some grated manchego or cheddar cheese and return to the oven. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until egg is at desired doneness.
These are great served with a side of sautéed greens or a little fruit salad. And Bloody Marys or mimosas, of course!
tinykitchenstories 
Heart shaped eggs! That is adorable, I think both ladies will have greatly appreciated the effort you went to for them both, no doubt you’ll get requests for this recipe again! I’m loving the chorizo mince as I’ve only seen it in sausage form here, mulay chorizo, is that in regards to the region or the type? 🙂
Mulay is a brand, actually, from Colorado. I don’t know if they’ll ship as far as Australia, but maybe? It’s totally WORTH IT! All of their sausage is amazing!
And thanks for your kind words 🙂
Oh, and the stepmother said it was the best breakfast she ever had! Yay!
That is awesome!!!
I know, right? 🙂
This really looks delicious!
Thank you! I’ve made it a few times with great success! I hope you like it too.
Thank you so much! It’s super easy, and now my “go-to” brunch dish. And it’s never bad to have one in your back pocket… 😉
I’m sure both mothers felt very loved. Great idea to use the little springform pans!
IT’s amazing I remembered them. It’s easy to forget them buried outside! If you come up with an egg/tofu sub, please let me know!
Lovely!
ღ˚ •。* ♥ ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 。 ღ˛° 。* °♥ ˚ • ★ *˚ .ღ 。*˛˚ღ •˚ ˚…Sending sprinkles of Love to You: Happy Mother’s Day! ˚ ✰* ★˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥* ✰。˚ ˚ღ。* ˛˚ ♥ 。✰˚* ˚ ★ღ ˚ 。✰ •* ˚ ♥
Wow, how wonderful! Thank you!
You silly heart you! Love the lil’ heart shaped pans, very cool! Where’d ya get ’em???
I ont some <(not a typo). So great to have a Sis-in-Law like you. I have so much fun when we get together! The post-Mom's-Day Brunch was fun today, can't wait to see you both again tomorrow nite! Love T. ❤
I think I got them at TJ Maxx, can’t remember now, but I’m glad I have them! Looking forward to dinner tonight too–thanks SIS! xoxo
Celebrating Mother’s Day at one of my daughter’s home is very special for me. All three treat my wife, their step-mother, with love and special attention. Makes a Dad proud my girls grew up with grace and character. They can cook too!
Dad Dennis
Thanks, Dad! I think you’d better whip this recipe up for Nanette again…she really seemed to like it! xoxo
Lovely !
Cendriani
Thank you! And thanks for commenting! 🙂
I love that you used Mulay chorizo!! 🙂 Agree that your heart-shaped springforms make this one extra special! Best breakfast she’s ever had?! Score!
We LOVE Mulay! It’s not always easy to find over here, so The Husband has the back freezer stocked. 😉 And yes, that was a wonderful comment. She wanted my dad to make it for her every day…he’ll have no excuse now. Hee hee!
Anything with ‘cheesy’ and ‘egg’ in the title gets my vote, this looks particularly yummy.
Also, aren’t heart-shaped pans and utensils the BEST thing ever?! I love getting girly in the kitchen 🙂
Thank you! I also am fond of anything cheesy and eggy. 🙂 I invested in these heart-shaped pans, and I’m glad I did! I’ll have to look for some other girly kitchen items… 🙂
I adore polenta! Good job.
Thank you! It’s such an easy recipe to impress people with. 😉
Gorgeous meal! What a perfect presentation, and I adore anything made with polenta 🙂 Awesome!
Thank you! Isn’t polenta just so comforting? I’m craving it again just thinking about it… 🙂
yum. SO TEMPTING. Nom nom.
Thank you! I think “nom nom” is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. Cheers! 🙂
Okay, when my son gets married, he’d better get a wife that can cook like you.
I want one of these for my Mother’s Day, lol! Excellent!
I’m really not kidding about that wife thing… 🙂
You are so sweet! Well, at least you can direct the fiancée to my site and see how she does before they get married, right? 😉 This might be a good recipe to test her on….for Mother’s Day! Thanks for such a wonderful comment. 🙂
How cute and perfect for Mother’s Day. This would definitely be a great brunch item any time of the year.
Thank you! And I must admit, I have made it for non-Mother’s Day brunches and it goes over just as well. We had my stepmother over on Sunday, and she was still talking about how good it was! Yay!
I can see why…it sounds delicious.
🙂
I’ve so got to try polenta! I guess i’ve never really found a recipe to make me want to try it…I think you just changed that for me! This looks wonderful, especially since i have a weakness for chorizo!
I hope you try it! It’s super easy, and a great one to impress guests even without the little heart-shaped pans. I’ve done it in ramekins and little balti pans too. Enjoy! 🙂
This is seriously too adorable! Love the heart shaped pans! And the chorizo sounds delicious for a holiday spread, yum.
I can’t believe I remembered I had those pans. Seriously, it’s usually three days after, then I’m kicking myself! It’s always a crowd-pleaser. Thanks for the comment! 🙂