Egg-cellent meal
An old friend of mine recently died. We hadn't been close in recent years, but when I heard of his passing, I headed for the kitchen, because it was there that we had had many laughs when I was younger and did not know how to even boil water. (I did not cook much of anything until I was in my late 20s as I had not yet discovered the creative excitement of food.I tried to remember the first recipe he had taught me. It was a very simple recipe that was can be both a breakfast or a dinner entree.
It's so simple to make that it could be included in a Cooking for Dummies book, if one hasn't yet been written.
When Tony discovered that I, a fellow Italian, didn't know how to cook, he took on a hushed tone. "You can't let people know that," he said. "People think it's a genetic thing. They assume we can all cook straight from the womb."
Oh.
So, he gave me a few basic recipes that, with a few variations, can be seen as many more recipes. Get it? You really only know how to cook two or three things, but with some variations it seems like you can cook 10 or 12 things. Smart, huh?
In memory of Tony, I'll share the most basic of these recipes with you. Change it up in as many ways as you can and you'll impress breakfast and dinner guests for some time.
Tony's Crusty Italian Bread with Eggs
1 loaf of of crusty Italian bread2 tbsp unsalted butter
6 eggs cooked sunny side up
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon each of dried basil, oregano and rosemary
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Meanwhile, slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices toast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until nice and crispy. Flip the breads and broil on high (keep an eye on them so they just turn brown, you don't want them to burn).
- Cut a hole in each slice.
- Cook each egg sunnyside up.
- Season to taste
- Place a piece of toast onto a serving plate. Top with an egg.
- If this is a dinner entree, serve with potatoes, diced into tiny pieces, fried along with onions and green peppers, and some shredded brussel sprouts...or something else!
Vegetarian.
