Eggs In The Hole Food

EGG-IN-THE-HOLE

Steps:

• Cut a 2-inch round from the center of the bread, reserving the round. Melt a nut size bit of butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place the slice of bread and the round in skillet and toast lightly, about 1 minute. Crack the egg into the hole and season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining butter as needed to brown and crisp the toast. Flip the egg and round, season with salt and pepper. Cook another 2 minutes for a runny yolk, or slightly longer for a set egg.
• Transfer the egg-in-the-hole to a plate and sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Serve and use the toasted round for dipping into the yolk.

EGG IN A HOLE

Steps:

• Melt the bacon grease in a non-stick pan over low heat.
• Cut a 1 1/2 to 2-inch hole from the center of the bread slice; lay in the hot skillet. When the side facing down is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes, flip and crack the egg into the hole; season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the egg is cooked and mostly firm. Flip again and cook 1 minute more to assure doneness on both sides. Serve immediately.

KIDS CAN MAKE: CHEESY EGGS-IN-THE-HOLE WITH BACON

Steps:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain; when cool enough to handle, crumble.
• Add the butter to the hot pan to melt with the rendered bacon fat; set aside.
• Cut a piece from the center of each slice of bread using a 2 1/2-inch round or other decorative 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter (star, flower, heart). Brush the slices and cutouts with the butter-bacon fat mixture and transfer them to a plate.
• Toast 2 slices of bread and 2 cutouts in the skillet over medium heat until browned on one side, about 1 minute. Crack an egg into each hole and sprinkle each toast with 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan; cook 2 minutes. Flip the slices and cutouts, season with salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes for a runny yolk or slightly longer for a set egg. Repeat with the remaining bread slices, cutouts, eggs and Parmesan.
• Transfer each egg-in-the-hole to a plate and sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Serve with the toasted cutouts, for dipping in the yolk.

BISCUIT EGG-IN-A-HOLE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Pulse together the flour, baking powder, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and pepper in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces form. Add the cheese and chives and pulse until just combined. Add the buttermilk and pulse a couple of times until the dough just comes together but is not fully incorporated.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat together gently into a ball. Use your hands to divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Generously coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Using the baking sheet as your work surface, pat each piece of dough into a 3 1/2-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Arrange 3 dough rounds along the top long edge of the baking sheet, spacing them out evenly and making sure there is a 1/2-inch space between the dough rounds and the edges of the baking sheet. Arrange the remaining 3 dough rounds in the same fashion along the bottom long edge of the baking sheet. Cut the center out of each round with a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Arrange these smaller rounds evenly across the middle of the baking sheet.
• Brush the tops of all the dough pieces with buttermilk and bake until the smaller biscuits are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them and transfer to a plate.
• Lay a piece of ham over each of the large rounds. Push each ham piece down into the hole so that it forms a cup. Crack 1 egg into each of the ham cups. If a little of the egg white spills over, it's okay. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. Bake, rotating the pan front to back after 5 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still jiggly when you lightly shake the baking sheet, 8 to 12 minutes more.
• Use a spatula to remove them to individual plates and top each with a smaller biscuit piece for dipping into the egg.

EGG-IN-THE-HOLE BACON SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat a splash of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Fry the bacon until crispy, then put on a plate covered with foil to keep warm.
• Using a cookie cutter, cut a hole in 1 slice of bread, then spread mayonnaise on one side of both slices. Fry the bread in the same pan. When browned on one side, flip both over and crack the egg into the hole. Fry for 2-3 mins, then turn down the heat and cover the pan until the white of the egg is set but the yolk is still runny. Remove everything from the pan.
• Spread the non-egg slice with the sauce, add the bacon, then top with the egg slice. Halve and tuck in.