CLASSIC EGG-IN-A-HOLE

Winter is in full swing, which means it's time for a hot breakfast again! Today's recipe is one of my go-to's throughout the week: the Egg-in-a-Hole! It's easy, quick, super tasty, and pretty much a perfect, all-in-one breakfast.

I will confess something though. It wasn't until about a couple of years ago that I started really enjoying an egg with a runny yolk. Whether it was a sunny side up, fried egg, or poached, I pretty much thought a runny yolk was the grossest thing growing up. For most of my life, the scrambled egg has been my absolute, go-to egg breakfast. BUT, when I moved in with my now hubby, that's when things changed.

It all started one morning when I offered to make breakfast for my boyfriend (now hubby) for the first time. I asked, "What would you like to have?" His response: "An egg-in-a-hole would be great!" A what-in-a-what? I had never heard or seen anything like that before. He then showed me a picture of it online, and immediately I thought: Oh man, it's a runny yolk. Being the nice girlfriend that I was, I rose to the challenge, printed out the picture, had it by my side the whole time, and tried to recreate exactly what he had requested. In the end, I completely failed by cooking the egg too long, which resulted in something like a hard boiled yolk bread, and vowed to never make it again.

But then, about two years later, I found myself curious to try my hand at making the elusive egg-in-a-hole once again for breakfast. To my surprise, it turned out great, and it tasted even better. At that point, I was pretty much sold on it as my next favorite breakfast besides the classic scramble that I loved. As they say, the rest is history!

Make it stand out

CLASSIC EGG-IN-A-HOLE
Yield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS
1 slice of buttermilk bread (you can sub for any particular kind you like!)
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp ground Herbs de Provence

INSTRUCTIONS
Using a circular cookie cutter or even a small juice glass, cut out a hole in the center of your bread slice. Set the bread round aside. In a small, nonstick skillet, melt the butter on medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, place the slide of bread (now with a hole in it) in the center of the skillet to soak up a little bit of the melted butter. Then immediately flip the bread slice to the other side. Next, take the egg, and crack it directly into the center of the hole in the bread. Make sure to not get any egg shell in the center, and ensure that it doesn't leak out at the bottom. Let cook on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes, until the egg white starts bubbling and firming up on the bottom and the bread is toasted. Then, when ready, flip the entire slice of bread and egg over onto the other side. Let cook until the egg center firmly bounces to the touch, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, and serve immediately with fresh ground pepper, a pinch of salt, and Herbs de Provence on top. For additional fun, you can also toast the bread round that was cut out in the same skillet that you used for the egg-in-a-hole, and serve it with the rest of the dish.