Egg in the basket

Description

The dish consists of a slice of bread with an egg in the middle, fried with butter or oil. It is commonly prepared by cutting a circular or square hole in the center of a piece of bread, which may be buttered. The bread is fried in a pan with butter, margarine, cooking oil, or other fat. At some point, an egg is cracked into the hole in the bread. When the egg is added to the bread determines how well-done the egg and bread will be relative to each other in the final product. The pan may be covered or the bread flipped while on the heat to obtain even cooking. A waffle or bagel (with a large enough hole) can be substituted for the slice of bread.

Names and origins

A recipe for "egg with a hat" appeared in Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook in the 1890s. Italian immigrants to the US cooked a similar dish called uova fritte nel pane.

There are many names for the dish; some discussions include as many as a dozen, and one writer reported finding "close to one hundred".

The name toad in the hole is sometimes used for this dish, though that name more commonly refers to sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter.

The dish has made many appearances in film and television. The dish is also known as Guy Kibbee eggs, due to its preparation by actor Guy Kibbee in the 1935 Warner Bros film Mary Jane's Pa. In the 1941 film Moon Over Miami, it is prepared by Betty Grable's character and referred to as "gashouse eggs". It was also featured in the 1987 film Moonstruck, the 2005 film V for Vendetta, and a 1996 episode of Friends.

Author Roald Dahl wrote numerous times of his fondness for the dish, which he referred to as hot-house eggs.

References

References

1. Books, Madison. (November 2007). "1,001 Foods to Die For". Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.
2. Schrank, Rita. (1998). "Science, Math and Nutrition for Toddlers: Setting the Stage for Serendipity". Humanics Publishing Group.
3. Morgan, Jodie. (2004). "The Working Parents Cookbook: More Than 200 Recipes for Great Family Meals". Chronicle Books.
4. AEB.org page: "[http://www.aeb.org/KidsAndFamily/recipes/FriedEggToast.htm Fried Egg in Toast recipe] {{Webarchive. link. (2009-04-11 .")
5. AuntiBagel.com: "[http://auntibagel.com/2009/02/15/the-elephant-egg-bagel/ The Elephant Egg Bagel] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-07 .")
6. (19 February 2016). "The Ambiguous History of 'Egg in a Hole'".
7. (17 November 2012). "A Way with Words - Names for an Egg in Toast Dish".
8. Serious Eats. (22 June 2009). "Egg in Toast: What Do You Call It?".
9. Fredrich, Lori. (2024-12-31). "Egg in a hole: This polyonymous dish might be the best breakfast ever".
10. Honaker, Carrie. (2 August 2024). "Egg In A Hole".
11. "D Is for Dahl".
12. "Roald Dahl's Even More Revolting Recipes".
13. (November 1, 1991). "Memories with Food at Gipsy House".