For the Love of West Virginia Ramekins

For the longest time, I had no idea what a ramekin was -- no inkling of the individually sized fun I was missing out on. Then, one day at Old Tyme Treasures, I ran across these lovely things.

Oh! Custard cups, I thought. And with a teal-colored stripe yet. They were a surprisingly reasonable price, so I bought the lot of them. There are six. One is in the dishwasher as we speak.

When I got them home, I flipped one over.

Local pottery!  Well, sort of. Maryland and West Virginia run neck-in-neck after all. A portion of my misspent youth occurred in WV, but that's a story for a different blog. I was intrigued enough with my new restaurant ware (have I mentioned how much I love restaurant ware?) to Google the company. This is how I discovered my custard cups were actually ramekins.

I love epiphanies.

These are actually marked NcNicol, but the only information I could find on a pottery company out of Clarksburg, WV, was actually D.E. McNicol. The plant opened in 1914 and manufactured white and patterned hotel ware up through 1954, according to the West Virginia Encyclopedia.The Clarksburg plant was a second location for the company that originally  formed in East Liverpool, Ohio.

There is a photograph of the actual plant on Topix.

I'm intrigued as to why my ramekins are stamped with an N instead of an M, but I doubt I'll ever find out. If anyone out there knows, or if I'm barking up the wrong pottery plant entirely, please let me know.

I have no idea what Sexton is either. Sexton Sunshine Kitchens maybe?

Regardless, This is what you do with a ramekin, in case -- like me -- you've been ramekin-deprived all your life.

Make creme brulee in them, like Kate did, at The Little Loaf

Sweet, crackly goodness of creme brulee from The Little Loaf

Make Jessica Seinfeld's squash-ridden egg puffs in them, like Dee did at the Deestroyer blog. I've actually made these and they really do rock.

Jessica Seinfeld's butternut squash egg puffs are mighty tasty, served in ramekins.

Fill them with condiments for dipping chips and/or chicken nuggets into, like John did at Kitchen Riffs. Well, the tasty chips were his idea, but here at The House, we're all about our chicken nuggets.

John at Kitchen Riffs uses his ramekins for chip-dipping goodness.

Or, you can collect them. Like me. What's more lovely than white dishes on white dishes on white dishes?

Do you love ramekins as much as I do?