Just call me V!
First off, special thanks to Josh Eckert for helping me with the bitchin' new header you currently see at the top of your screen. As I'm slightly challenged when it comes to graphics, photoshop, and so on (something I'm trying to work on), his ideas and talent were a tremendous help. Be sure to check him and his work out on the above link while you're here - you'll thank me later. Much appreciated, my friend!
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Those of you who have seen the film V for Vendetta probably remember the scene where V makes Natalie Portman breakfast. His dish is later referred to as "Eggy in a Basket", but this popular breakfast item is also known as simply "Egg in a Basket", "Egg in a Frame", "Toad in a Hole", "One Eyed Toast" and other names. Seeing how delicious it looked in the movie got me in the mood to attempt one of my own - after all, it seemed simple enough. How hard could it be? Not very, it turns out, but there are a couple things to keep in mind when making it, so I'll give you a brief rundown of the steps:
1. Take a slice of bread and cut a whole in the middle. Some websites say to use a cookie cutter or shotglass, which is good advice, as the hole with my first attempt (cut with a regular butter knife) was way too small and ended up being dwarfed by the egg I cracked inside. And before you say anything, yes, I'm aware of how dirty that last part just sounded - let's try and stay mature, people (then again, maybe I'm just the sick one).
2. Butter both sides of the bread. I recommend using a bread that's thicker than normal and has some yield to it, as the regular, thin white bread I used was especially flimsy when attempting to butter it (the hole in the middle didn't help, either - perhaps I should've cut it out afterward). After practically hacking the bread to pieces and coming face-to-face with my stupidity (apparently I can't butter bread), I concluded that this problem could be avoided a few different ways: Again, use a thicker bread, toast the bread first (I myself don't own a toaster/toaster oven, but I do have a Foreman Grill and regular oven - jank, I know), soften the butter beforehand (it can be a little on the hard side just after leaving the fridge), or butter the pan/skillet, rather than the bread itself (but then you run into an issue when flipping, as one side will have used most of it up - that's your call, I suppose). Wow, I can't believe I just typed that much for such a simple step - perhaps I'm overthinking it a bit, no? Let me rephrase: Step two - butter the bread.
3. Melt some butter on your low-heat skillet (eh, even if you chose to butter the bread already, go for it - you can never use too much) and then place the bread down. Give it a few moments before...
4. ...taking an egg and cracking it into the middle of the hole.
Adding salt and/or pepper is optional here (I opted for it, as you can see). Wait until the egg begins to set before...
5. ...flipping it. Keep doing so until the egg's cooked the way you want (not very long for runny/over easy, a little longer if you want it more firm, and so on).
You're done! That's basically it, really, although I read a recipe that mentions "as a slight variation, you can put a slice of your favorite cheese and/or a deli thin slice of ham about a minute before it's done cooking. Do not flip once you've put the cheese on." Personally, I just prefer the simple method - when it's finished, you can essentially pick it up and eat it like a sandwich with minimal mess, save for a few crumbs. Don't sweat it if you botch the first couple attempts like I did (although it's safe to say you'll probably fare a little better) - you can just scramble it into a buttery, bready, eggy mess and chow down. No, it's not gonna win any awards for presentation or anything, but you'll get the flavor all the same. Good luck, and for inspiration, here's a couple more pics for the road, as well as one of Natalie. Now, if I could only get her to come to my apartment...
