The Incredible Edible Egg --- In a Hole

Yesterday, Ree of The Pioneer Woman posted an “Egg In The Hole” recipe (7/24/08) that just about caused me to swoon. I love eggs. Fried, scrambled, baked, stuffed, frittata’d, you name it. Hard yolks, soft yolks, runny yolks … I’m not picky. I am picky, though, about what eggs I buy. It’s hard to find farm fresh eggs where I live, so like most suburbians, I purchase my little protein powerhouses at the store. I’ll be the gal opening carton after carton to make sure I find a dozen or so that aren’t cracked or otherwise unusable. Plus, is it just me, or do commercially produced eggs seem to be getting smaller and smaller? I buy organic, free range, no hormone eggs, and they seem to be a little better in the size department and a whole lot better in the taste department.

NOTE: Check out Ree's post! Her photos are a zillion times nicer than mine, although I think it's cool that she and I both have blue plates. That was pure coincidence! I followed her instructions, and posted similar photos to show that if I can do it with a 12 year old sous chef, anyone can do it. See my comment #835 (yep, that 8-3-5) on her original post. Total credit for this recipe goes to The Pioneer Woman.

Anyway … my oldest gal likes eggs for breakfast. As soon as I saw Ree’s post, I knew my girl would love this. Since hubby man had already left for work, and the other two peeps were sleeping in this morning, it was just me and my girl for breakfast. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to teach her how to make Egg In The Hole. I’ve been woefully bad about teaching my kids how to cook, so I seized the day. She did a marvelous job. See for yourself. (And check out my cast iron skillet! It’s about a month old, and I adore this baby. Hmmm … maybe it’s time for a 2^nd installment of favorite kitchen tools!)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Egg
1 Slice of Bread (I used potato bread)
Season salt, salt, pepper, or whatever you put on your eggs.

Using a biscuit cutter or glass, cut a hole out of the center of your slice of bread. In a heavy skillet, melt a healthy 1 ½ tablespoons of butter.

When butter starts to sizzle, add bread. Let it toast for about 30 seconds.

Then crack an egg into it.

Season it.

Let it cook for about 1 to 2 minutes until the under side of the egg is set, and the bread is toasty golden brown.

Using a spatula, flip it over and cook the other side, again about 1 to 2 minutes … more it you want firmer yolks.

Done!

Yuuuummmm! The bread has a great fried crunch to it, very different than if you just used a toaster or baked in the oven. The eggs are cooked just perfect and are fun to have surrounded by a bread moat.

All Gone. Sob! Eggs. Must have Eggs-In-The-Hole!

Couple things. 1. Cooking this is very easy. However, since I usually fry eggs using olive oil instead of butter, we kept a close eye on the butter so it wouldn’t burn. If you are used to cooking eggs with butter, this will be a piece of cake for you. 2. The bread takes up a lot of room in the pan, so this was perfect for making breakfast for one or two people. If I had to make this for a larger crowd, I’d probably dig out my OLD, OLD, OLD oblong electric skillet to handle the job. I think the cast iron skillet produces the best result, particularly for the bread/toast.