Hash Brown Egg Cups

Christmas Eve at our house. Sean's mother arrived Friday afternoon. Sean's sister brought her. They came straight from Worcester. Grace hugged Sean for a long time at the door. He did not cry. She did. He held her. That was the exchange.

We went to the 4 PM Mass at St. John's in Quincy instead of the 11 PM at St. Brigid's. Sean could not do a late night. He did the early Mass. He sat in the pew with me and the kids and Grace and his sister. He stood for the gospel. He kneeled for the consecration. He took communion. Liam sat next to him and held his hand for most of the Mass, which Liam had not done before in my memory. Liam is four and a half. He has started holding hands during certain things because he has figured out that hand-holding matters. I do not know who taught him. Maybe Sean. Maybe Maureen. Maybe it is in the blood.

Christmas morning. Sean got up at 7 and went downstairs with me. He wanted to make pancakes. I set up the stool. He sat. He mixed the batter — buttermilk, blueberry, the recipe he had perfected — and he flipped pancakes from the stool for twenty minutes. Liam and Nora came down at 7:30. They sat at the table in their pajamas. Sean gave them pancakes. He gave me pancakes. Nora said "pancake, please." She said the whole phrase. She ate three. Liam ate four. Sean ate half of one. He had to sit down for real after that, on the couch, which he did, and he watched us open stockings. Maureen and Sean Sr. arrived at 9 for more stockings and presents, which we did in waves so that Sean could rest between.

We went to the three-decker at 12:30. Sean made it. He slept in the car on the way. He was wheeled from the car to the front door in a borrowed wheelchair — a thing he had agreed to for the first time this week, because the walk was too much — and once inside he was set up in the chair in the living room where my father usually sits, and my father sat next to him for forty minutes and they did not say anything but Dad kept a hand on Sean's shoulder. The rest of the family ate in waves around them. The prime rib was perfect. Maureen does prime rib the same way every year and we count on it the way you count on the sun.

Father Donnelly came by at 5. He blessed Sean. He blessed the baby. He blessed the table. He had dinner with us. Sean asked him to stay for a hand of cards and he did. He played for an hour. Sean held cards and nodded occasionally and smiled and was there. I watched from the kitchen with my sister. Meghan put her arm around me. She did not say anything. Sometimes not saying anything is exactly the right amount.

We got home at 8. Liam and Nora were asleep in the car by the Neponset Bridge. We carried them into bed. Grace and Sean's sister stayed up in the living room with Sean until 10, and then Sean came up to bed and Grace and his sister went to bed in the guest rooms, and I came up last. Sean was asleep already. I held his hand. Christmas.

Sean’s buttermilk blueberry pancakes are his recipe and I’m not ready to write them down yet — that feels like something that belongs to him still. But Hash Brown Egg Cups are what I made the morning after Christmas, when Grace was still here and the kids were slow and the house was quiet in that particular way it gets when something hard has passed through it. They’re a breakfast you can make while someone sits nearby. They take care of themselves in the oven, which means you can sit down too.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 12 cups

Ingredients

3 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup diced green onions
Salt and pepper to taste for finishing
Optional: diced cooked bacon or ham, 1/3 cup

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin generously with cooking spray or butter, making sure to coat the sides well.
Season the hash browns. In a medium bowl, combine the thawed and dried hash browns with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until evenly coated.
Form the cups. Divide the hash brown mixture evenly among the 12 muffin cups, pressing firmly into the bottom and up the sides of each cup to form a nest shape. Use the back of a spoon or your fingers to compact them.
Par-bake the shells. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are golden and beginning to crisp. Remove from oven and press the hash browns down again gently if they have puffed up.
Add the fillings. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese and any optional bacon or ham into the bottom of each cup. Crack one egg into each cup. Season each egg lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake through. Return to the oven and bake for 10–12 more minutes, until egg whites are fully set but yolks remain slightly soft. Add an additional 2 minutes for fully set yolks.
Finish and serve. Let the cups cool in the tin for 2 minutes. Run a thin spatula or butter knife around the edges and lift each cup out. Top with sliced green onions and remaining cheese. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hash Brown Egg Cups — The Morning He Made Breakfast From a Stool