I'm an eggspert at making eggcellent noms.

When I was a wee snip of a girl, one of things I liked most to eat for breakfast was an ‘egg in a basket’.    You know what I’m talking about . . . a piece of fried toast with a hole cut into the middle with an egg cooked in the center.  What kid doesn’t like that??    Don’t answer that . . . it’s a rhetorical question.  The point is, I wasn’t one of those finicky kids whose food couldn’t be touching or I wouldn’t eat it.  In my home it was “eat it or starve”.  I didn’t starve.

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So, now that I’m a big girl . . . like I said, I didn’t starve  . . . I occasionally get a craving for the noms of my youth. 

Here’s a recipe for the classic Egg in a Basket all growed up!

What you need:

• Butter (or margarine)
• 1 Egg
• 1 Bagel
• Cream Cheese
• Green Olives
• 1 Slice of American Cheese (optional)
• 1 or 2 Slices of bacon, ham, sausage, spam . . . whatever . . . (optional)

Without mutilating the bagel, you want to cut your bagel into three slices . . . two ends and a middle.  Using a round cookie cutter or something similar  . . . I use a glass . . . cut a hole in the middle slice of bagel.

Butter all the cut sides of the bagel slices.

In a large skillet, over medium heat brown one side of the middle slice.  When it’s nice and golden brown, flip it over and break an egg into the middle.  Add the top and bottom slices to the pan. 

Assemble your sandwich by spreading the bottom slice with cream cheese, top with  the breakfast meat of your choice and add the sliced olives. Put the egg in a basket slice on top of that, add a slice of cheese and top it off with the top slice. 

Viola!  Eggs in a Basket all growed up!

Note:  that if you cook the sandwich in this manner,  the egg yolk will be nice and runny. Be careful, this sandwich has been know to explode on first or second bites, so be prepared and please enjoy.

So if you have a fuss bucket in the house  . . . like I do (Hi Hunny!!) . . . who likes everything cooked well done you can soft boil the egg before adding to the center slice.

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How to soft boil an egg . . .

To get your soft-boiled egg to come out right every time, it is important to cook it for just three minutes after the water begins boiling.

When the three minutes have passed, quickly remove the egg from the water and run it under cold water for at least 30 seconds, so the egg stops cooking.

Once the egg shell is cool enough, crack the shell and poke a kitchen knife through to split it into two pieces, then scoop out the perfect soft-boiled interior into the center of the bagel slice.

All of the eggs I used in this recipe were courtesy of my good friends Stephanie and Phil.  

If you live in or near Connecticut and want farm fresh eggs, contact Stephanie for pricing and availability.