Eggs in a Window
Intro: Eggs in a Window
This is a very easy dish to make that has very few ingredients, and can be taken with you and eaten on your commute to work in the mornings. I used to make this for my son when he was a little boy over a decade and a half ago, and had forgotten about it until just recently when, as much as I hate to admit it, started missing him. He's flown out of the nest and has gone away to college to become an electrical engineer (or so he says now).
STEP 1: Ingredients...
The ingredients are your basics:
Bread
Eggs
Margarine, Butter or Vegetable Oil
Spices (Salt, Pepper, Garlic, your choice here)
You'll need a heat source, such as a stove, and a frying pan large enough to hold the slice of bread that you'll be using. A tight fitting lid helps the cooking time along, but is not necessary.
You will also need to cut or make a hole in the middle of your bread slice. A cookie cutter works great here, and you can make fun shapes with them. I have chosen to use a penguin shape for this instructable. If you don't have cookie cutters, just use a knife to cut a shape out of the center of your bread slice. This can be a circle, a square, a triangle, a heart, a star, a rhombus, a hexagon, a decagon... you get the idea.
STEP 2: Make Your Window...
Place the cookie cutter on your slice of favorite type of bread and press down firmly on the cookie cutter, using a flat surface underneath your bread slice (cutting board or counter top). Flip the slice of bread over. When you see all of the cutting edge from the opposite side, remove the cookie cutter and it's cut out piece. Place the cut out piece to the side and decide what you want to do with it later. I usually throw it at the dog (she'll catch it and swallow it all in one motion), fly it in the back yard for the birds or fry it up in the pan with the left over butter and spices.
STEP 3: Time to Start Cooking...
Pre-heat your pan on medium low heat. Place your choice of oil (I use butter) in the pre-heated pan and swirl it around, coating the bottom. Add the slice of bread and slide it all over the pan, trying to get all the oil into the bread. This helps the browning process.
Crack an egg into the center of your bread slice, or "window" cut out. If you want, you can scramble your egg before this step, or eliminate the yoke if that is your thing, then pour it into the "window".
Add whatever spices you desire. I keep it simple and just use salt, pepper and garlic powder, but feel free to use whatever seasoning you like.
Cover the pan with a lid. This helps to cook the top of the egg a little and helps when it comes time to flip the slice of bread over.
You guessed it. When the bread is starting to brown up and the egg is about half way cooked, flip it over and continue cooking until your desired doneness.
I like my yokes semi-cooked so that I can pick up the slice of bread and eat it as opposed to using utensils.
STEP 4: Ta Da! Egg in a Window.
Eat and enjoy.
STEP 5: Hi, My Name Is Bert, What's Yours?
... Looking good...
31 Comments
shizumadrive 9 years ago
hmmm my indian wife's family has a somewhat similar recipe and they call it "fish" , which they dont eat.
rhernandez227 10 years ago
My Dad called it “Egg in the Nest”. So that’s what I call it
when I make it for my kids.
I toast the bread first so that it can soak up more butter. The
hole is made with a cookie cutter or sippy cup. The cutout goes in the pan and
is fried with the rest until crispy. If we’re
in a hurry, I’ll flip it to make is easy over instead of covering it.
This is my kids favorite breakfast next to animal shaped pancakes.
My kids are both in college.
philclowes 10 years ago
The US has this as 'Toad in the hole' but the *correct* (LOL) recipe is here..
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_engli...
Awelowynt 10 years ago
Very nice!
My mother used to make the same recipe, but called it "toad in the hole." She also fried the leftover bread from the hole at the same time and then sprinkled that with a little cinnamon and sugar.
mirrorclick 10 years ago
toad in the hole is rather different. you use sausages, and batter in a baking tray (2inches deep or so) pop it in the oven till its nice an crispy an the sausages are brown. That is Toad in the Hole...
Awelowynt 10 years ago
mirrorclick 10 years ago
Its a English dish as far as I know, being a British expat its something I remember dearly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_in_the_hole
Snidely70448 10 years ago
We used to call these Popeye eggs.
emerson.john 10 years ago
Ha! Now I'm hungry! Tomorrow morning...
Tumunga 10 years ago
HA! I remember these! My mom cooked them for us when we were kids. We called them "holy eggs". We used to cut the centers out with old Smucker's jelly glasses. My mom didn't hard cook the eggs, leaving the yolk runny. The leftover bread circles didn't get fed to the dog, they got fried up with the holy eggs, and we used them for sopping up the yolk.
restonoriginal 10 years ago
Nice 'ible. My Dad called them 'Gas House Eggs' - Hadn't seen that one listed in the comments. :)
pscott2 10 years ago
Hey, I used to get "eggs in the hole", and now I am an electrical engineer.
Coincidence? I think NOT!
(congrats!)
M0nkeyb0Y 10 years ago
We've always called it "Egg in a Basket"
I fry the cut-out shape as well and serve it as a 'lid' - the kids love it
mckeephoto 10 years ago
We called them "elephant's eyes."
I never put the lid on , tho. Will have to give that a try next time I am in charge of dinner.
The Angry IT Guy 10 years ago
juiceman74 10 years ago
NotAPot2PN 10 years ago
In my younger years, this was called "Eggie in a Basket." Yours is prettier. Thanks. {Now I'm hungry. Sigh.}
ukionz 10 years ago
Thank you for sharing. Those left over will be nice looking French toast.
skylane 10 years ago
The penguin shape is great!
I just made some for Mom... she's 90... never had them before.
They went over great.
(Toad in a hole, Eggs in a nest, Soldier in a foxhole and other names I can't remember.)
ntaulbee 10 years ago