But, Mom, Everybody Else is Doing It

I've heard this called a couple of different things, Toad-in-the-hole is the most commong but I've also heard it call Campfire grilled eggs.  The premise is easy. Take a piece of bread, tear out a hole in the middle, butter both sides, grill it with an egg in the center to whatever degree of doneness you want, flipping it once.

I had some really nice home-made bread leftover, and since I didn't sleep well, this seemed the perfect thing to start my day. Plus, I've seen at least two, if not three other blogs making this and I simply craved it. 

The only difference I have in the way I make mine is that the little perfectionist Glenna comes out of me and forces me to use a small juice glass to twist the hole out of the center, as if I were cutting out biscuit dough. What can I say? I like the perfect edges. Then I grill the center piece of bread along with the rest.

One of the blogs I read cooks the egg hard (I hope) because she uses this as a breakfast sandwich to eat in the car.  I like my fried and poached eggs as soft as the yolk can be if the white is completely cooked.  I can imagine me walking out to the car with my version...or more accurately, I can imagine the first bite of my soft cooked egg sandwich in the car. And then the act of turning around so I can go home to change clothes for the day.

Comments

[trishinomaha]

Glenna - This looks so yummy. I've been reading your blog for awhile but have never commented. I've saved several of your recipes to try. This will be on the menu for breakfast tomorrow after church! Keep up the good work - Trish in Omaha

[Kalyn]

In my family we call this popeye eggs. The eye popping out, not Popeye the sailor!

[Chris Davies]

Glenna, we just called in "Egg-in-a-Window."
FOX

[sher]

We call it Toad In A Hole, and it's one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast. Love it!!!!

[gattina]

whatever you call it, it goes right down to my tummy! But I'm more interested in your bread... boy! It's so thick and toasty, I like it!!!

[Glenna]

Trish--Thanks so much for both the compliment on the dish and the compliment of your loyalty--I really appreciate that! Happy after church lunch today. Let me know how you and the family like it, okay?

Kalyn--Popeye--totally makes sense! Hey if we served it on a bed of fresh spinach then we could call it the other Popeye.

Chris--Egg-in-a-window--that makes sense too! There are a million names for this but it seems to be one of those things a lot of people are familiar with.

Sher--I have to say it's one of my favorite things too. It's like having your toast right there on the plate already mixed in with your egg.

Gattina--Thanks! Well that was home-made bread left over from dinner and it was fabulous with the egg. The porous texture was perfect for a soft egg. Yum!

[Lisa]

Oh, yes! My mother called this an "egg in a frame" and made it often on weekends. Funny how many names for it there are. She always used a shot glass or a small juice glass to punch the hole, as well (as do I). Did you know this little dish shows up in the movie "Moonstruck"? One morning Cher's mother is making it, and they show it frying in the pan (along with some roasted red peppers on the side, which I keep meaning to try). I always thought it was just a "Little Italy" thing, but obviously others have found out about it!

[Auntie Miranda]

Well, at my house it's called Egg-in-a-Hole and it's one of the few things your Uncle Paul can actually cook. Pete Herschend taught him before we were married (37 years ago) so I guess it's been around for awhile, huh? (I'm not sure which came first - Egg-in-a-Hole or Fire-in-the-Hole.) We have a probably 35 year old Vienna Sausage can we use to cut out the center. He serves it, like everything else, with fried potatoes and onions.

[Glenna]

Lisa and Aunt Miranda--I love this! There are so many names for it and, yes, apparently it's been around for a long time! Very cool. Love that Uncle Paul can do it. MMMM....fried potatoes with onions...nothing I would make a vomit face at! :-)

[Laura Florand]

It's Egg-in-a-Bucket! Christened by my brother Paul when we were little. But he just renamed it because he discovered it at Cracker Barrel and refused to be a "copier" and use their name: Egg-in-a-Basket.

We use sourdough bread, which is an important factor in the flavor.

[Glenna]

Laura--love both of those names! Sourdough would be fantastic. I used a regular white but it was much better being homemade and cut into a thick slice. Yum!

[Laura Florand]

Homemade bread would make it perfect. But when I have homemade bread, I eat it all up before I can cook with it.

[Glenna]

Laura--LOL! Yes! Us too, usually. I'm surprised I had any left but it was yummy.

[cookiecrumb]

This post really touched the nostalgia nerve!
We called 'em Cowboy Eggs.
My husband grew up deprived of this worthy dish, but a couple of months ago he decided to surprise me by making some. Well, he hadn't quite grasped the idea that the hole is just egg-yolk sized, and he tore out a hole big enough to hold the whole egg.
Man, that just wasn't the same.

[Glenna]

Cookie--Snort! That's funny! That's when you have to grill the hole on the side to have something to dip your egg in. haha! Love the cowboy eggs name.

[Glenna]

Cookie--Snort! That's funny! That's when you have to grill the hole on the side to have something to dip your egg in. haha! Love the cowboy eggs name.

[Zoli]

"Egg in a nest"

"Toad in a Hole" is herby sausages and Yorkshire Pudding

[Glenna]

See? Another name. I love that there are so many names for one universal dish. Very cool.