I don’t know why I call the breakfast dish with an egg cooked inside a piece of toast a ‘Toad in The Hole’… the name itself doesn’t even make sense. But for some reason it’s what I call it. Some call it ‘Eggs in a Nest’ which makes WAY more sense than ‘Toad in the Hole’. Eggs come from nests and toads have zero to do with the kind of eggs I want to be eating. Some call it ‘Eggs in Toast’. Basic, right to the point, no points for creativity, but I know what I’m getting there. I’ve heard it called ‘Goldmine Egg’, ‘One Eyed Pirate’ (now that just sounds dirty), ‘Popeye’… ‘Sunshine Egg’ is a good one, it makes complete sense to me, plus it’s pretty and happy. In the movie, Moonstruck they call it ‘Egg in a Trashcan’, or uova nel cestino (not happy). It’s been ‘Egg in a Basket’, ‘One Eyed Egyptian’ (I can’t be certain, but that feels racist to me), and one of my favorites may be ‘Peek-a-boo Eggs’. Now that’s just damn adorable. ‘Rocky Mountain Toast’ is another, but I only think of bull balls when I hear anything Rocky Mountain.
My husband’s father apparently called it ‘Egg in the Middle of The Toast’ when he made it for his boys, which is perhaps even more adorable than Peek-a-boo Eggs.
However you call it, you’ve probably made the ‘egg cooked inside a toast hole’ dish before, or been served it before. It’s so simple. So good. It can be a breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner…
My husband made it last weekend with my homemade sweet sourdough. IT’S JUST SO GOOD.
But you know how I like to mess with shit, so I made a grilled cheese version!
YES MA’AM.
If you like gooey, buttery grilled cheese and you like goopy eggs, then I don’t know what would keep you from liking this. It’s like a hug to your insides. And don’t we all deserve more hug feels these days? You can make your initial grilled cheese however you’d like – the possibilities are endless with what goes well with melted cheese and buttered bread. But here are some yummy ideas :
- extra sharp cheddar + pepper jelly
- havarti + caramelized onions + caraway seeds
- extra sharp cheddar + roasted red peppers / pimentos
- mozzarella + basil pesto + tomato paste
- sausage crumbles + extra sharp cheddar + maple schmear
- add fresh herbs!
- just change out the type of bread and use a sweet one!
I hardly want to insult you with a recipe for grilled cheese here, but here’s how you can make this delectable beauty. Like most things worth it in life, this really only requires a fair amount of patience, kindness and a whole lot of love.
It really doesn’t get any simpler than that 🙂
EGG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRILLED CHEESE
Assemble your sandwich with the desired fillings.
Butter one side and place in a buttered skillet / griddle on medium heat. Butter the exposed side. Allow the down side to brown and the cheese to begin to melt inside.
Take a metal cookie / biscuit cutter and make the hole for your egg, placing that toast round to the side to continue cooking on both sides (it’s your bonus sandwich!). The hole needs to be around 3 inches or slightly under.
Flip the holey sandwich and turn the heat down to medium-low, or low if you have an angry stovetop like mine. You’re shooting for a slower and lower cook on this other side because you want to not burn the bottom while also cooking the egg all the way through.
Make sure the hole has butter underneath it so the egg doesn’t stick to the pan. Crack a large egg into the hole. Salt it.
Watch it. Be patient with her, she’s delicate and temperamental all at the same time. She’s magical. If you need to adjust the heat, do so. I don’t know your stove, but use you intuition to guide her to her best self.
Last step : Enjoy your creation that feels oh so very good hugging your insides.
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love yall . thanks for reading x
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