Since my kids are doing those dratted standardized tests at school this week, I've been aiming to give them heartier breakfasts these mornings to help them feel they've been properly armed for the day ahead.
Can I just take a moment for a Fiesta de Pity? I'm actually quite busy right now in my personal life and now's when I'd like to actually throw them a Pop Tart and be done with it.
But this morning I made them Birds in a Nest, which I can remember eating At Home from time to time. Not often. And, I have to say, my rebellion about going to "effort" for breakfast on a busy morning was a total waste. I made them on the griddle on my stovetop and the four of them fit perfectly. It was done in ten minutes and I could fuss with the girls' hair while they cooked. The eggs were cooking. Not the girls.
Now it seems fairly ridiculous to call this a recipe or to walk you through it... but in case this is a midwestern breakfast, I will do a bit of explaining for my friends in the east. I used the rim of an upturned glass to cut holes out of the center of each piece of bread. (It wasn't homemade bread this week. Cut me a break.) I put the pieces on the hot, buttered griddle and cracked an egg into each. I'm sure my mom used salt and pepper to season it, but my mouth was looking for seasoning salt this morning. My girls like "dippy" yolks, and I managed to get the heat right, so that they were only solid on the bottom when I flipped them. I didn't let them cook long on the other side and they were just right.
As soon as I started lifting the "nests" off, I had room on my griddle for the rounds of the bread removed from the centers. I buttered them and browned them a bit and they made nice crustless toasts to dip in the yolks.
Ten minutes! And I had a really good tantrum brewing, too!
I made those once for my kids but had a hard time getting the yolk runny and the white not so. Don't know why. I have no trouble frying regular ol' eggs that way.
ReplyDeleteDon't the Brits call this Toad in the Hole or some such typical thing? I do occasionally make toast soldiers in honor of our English brethren. Aden loves it. So deliciously militaristic.
I did a google search and much of what I found under "toad in a hole" was a dish of sausages in a Yorkshire pudding batter. But continuing my search, I DID find some of what I call Birds in a Nest listed under the name Toad in a Hole. I also found that some call them Bullseyes and One-Eyed Jacks.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your toast soliders? My google search indicates that they are strips of toast for egg dipping?
Yup. Narrow strips of buttered toast.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always cut toast in 1/2 from top to bottom because when she was little she thought only town people cut toast on the diagonal.
We call these "Eggs in a Nest." My mom made them a lot for us when I was little, but I've never made them for my kids. Dunno why not, so perhaps I will now!
ReplyDeleteRebecca, how funny about your mom's little girl toast!