Back to green...potted eggs and asparagus

The fact that DH was on a businesstrip to Paris and would not be here to share Mother's Day with us turned out very very positive for me after all! The twins woke me with a little breakfast tray at 8.00 am (told me they couldn't wait any longer)... and we did the usual lazy Sunday things, read books, played games, had a little lunch and around 4.00 the kids cheered: Dad's home!!

Half an hour later I danced around the table as well, my Mother's Day present: 5 of these Le Creuset petite casseroles or in French: les mini cocottes en gres! A different color for each family member. Isn't that totally cute? He had secretly sought out cookware stores in Paris on the internet (thank you Chocolate and Zucchini for providing addresses, his list was made through your post!). On Saturday he went to E. Dehillerin first and then to Mora, oh how I wish I would have been there with him! (Of course to be in Paris with your husband is wonderful but those stores...) I wonder what his colleagues are thinking now...
Anyway, I didn't wait long to use them and the little booklet that came with the casseroles had this recipe:

Oefs en cocotte aux asperges:
(sounds a lot better than baked eggs with asparagus don't you think?)

serves 4
Oven 180C/350F
Fan Oven 170C

250 gr asparagus
butter
4 large eggs
175 ml cream
1/2 ts dried tarragon (used fresh)
1/2 ts dried sage (used fresh)
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese for garnish (Oops I forgot that one!)

Depending on whether you use white or green asparagus, clean and trim as needed (green ones don't need peeling, just trim away the course ends). Blanch in lightly salted boiling water for 2 minutes (white asparagus need some 5 minutes). Drain and rinse.

Butter the four cocottes (love that, they mean casseroles but you knew that). For ease of handling stand them on a baking tray. Divide the asparagus between the dishes.

Break an egg into each cocotte. Beat together cream, herbs and plenty of seasoning. Pour this equally over the eggs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cream is bubbling and the eggs just cooked. Garnish the tops with a few shavings of Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Of course you can use your ramekins for this dish. Equally good. But not as beautiful heehee!!
And for the kids that don't like asparagus...I used carrots. The Husband rocks!!