Œufs à la Suisse :-Choose a fireproof dish, and butter it liberally. Pour over the bottom of the dish a layer of cream a quarter of an inch deep, over that shake a coating of well-grated cheese an eighth of an inch deep, set this to cook in the oven for a few minutes; when the cheese and cream have amalgamated, take out the dish, and if wide enough to hold them without crowdiug, slip in one by one as carefully as you can—to avoid breaking a single yolk—six eggs; give them a dust of black pepper, and salt, and gently pour a little more cream over the surface, coating it over again with grated cheese. Replace the dish and let it remain in the oven until the eggs are set without being at all hard—the time will depend upon the state of the oven, from three to four minutes probably—brown the surface by passing a red-hot iron backwards and forwards over it, about an inch above the cheese, and serve.
The number of eggs obviously depends upon the size of the dish and the number of people who are to partake of them. As a rule a plat of four eggs will be found suitable for the little home dinner.
The part cooking of the under layer of cream and grated cheese before the insertion of the eggs, is a special point, for it prevents the eggs being overcooked. This was communicated to me by Monsieur C., chef to the Viceroy of India.