Egg in the Basket

Picture from wikipedia

There are so many interesting things in English lesson's world that students in my area do not aware. In order to raise their interest in English and make my lesson less-boring, sometimes I tell them about various unique phrases, terms, and customs in English-speaking areas. When I first introduced this term to my students, they all went like “you eat egg-in-the-whaat ? Do you only eat the egg, or you must eat the whole basket ?” And they all went big-eyed or laughed when I told the truth.

Egg in the basket is a type of breakfast preparation, which consists an egg being cooked in the middle of hollowed-out bread (watch V for Vendetta, or just look up in Wikipedia). There are other names for this dish, such as frog in the log, hen in a nest, soldier in the boat, moon egg, cowboy egg, one-eyed monster egg, Rocky Mountain toast, and egg in the hole. This is one standard recipe I got from Food Network Kitchens.

Picture from flickr.com

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

1 slice of bread
Unsalted butter/margarine
1 raw egg
Salt and pepper

How to make :

Cut a hole in the middle of the bread (do not cut too large, maybe about 4 or 5 cm in diameter). Spread a little bit of butter/margarine on both sides. Heat the non-sticky skillet first until it's hot, melt a small size of butter or margarine on the surface of skillet, and put the bread in it. Toast it lightly with small heat for about 1 minute, and crack the egg into the hole, followed by salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown, add the remaining of butter to crisp the bread, and flip it over, carefully so as not to ruin the yolk. Season it again with salt and pepper, then cook for another 2 minutes for a slightly running yolk or little longer for a set egg.

If you like your egg yolk slightly running, you can dip the round-part of the bread in the yolk (or best, just do whatever you like to the round part). Buttered/margarined it first before being dipped. You can add shredded cheese, tomato sauce, or bell pepper if you desire so.

Tips : it will be better if you use a slightly thicker bread, to avoid egg overflow. But it's up to you. And instead of a round hole, you can try to make different types of hole, such as heart shaped. Use your creativity !