Egg-in-the-Hole

Egg-in-the-Hole is a recipe appearing in The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl.

Official description
Sometimes it's the simplest things that taste the best. Before I married Marlboro Man [author's husband], I had to learn to make these delicious little numbers or he wouldn't go through with the wedding. They're called "egg-in-the-holes" by his paternal grandmother, who made them for him all during his childhood, and through the years I've learned not only to love them... but to need them. They define comfort food, are painfully easy to make, and will turn any stressful, hectic morning into something entirely different. I'm not saying egg-in-the-holes will change the world... but they will change your spirit. Maybe.

Before I get on with this simple recipe, I must acknowledge that it goes by as many different names as the human beings who eat it. While I insist the proper, official name is "egg-in-the-hole", here are the different incarnations that have cropped up since:
 * Egg-in-a-Basket
 * Chicken-in-a-Basket (flawed logic, but just wait for the next one)
 * Frog-in-a-Hole (what gives here? Frog? It's an egg, sirs)
 * Toad-in-a-Hole (ever hear of warts?)
 * Egg Basket
 * Bird's Nest Egg
 * Toad Hole
 * Egg Hole
 * Pop Eyes
 * Egg Toast
 * Private Eyes
 * Bird's Nest Egg-in-a-Hole Basket Toad Chicken Frog

And the list goes on and on. But really? It doesn't matter what you call it. Just make it! Then eat it! And you too shall know the allure of probably the simplest breakfast dish next to oatmeal.

Recipe

 * Sliced bread (such as white, whole wheat, sourdough)
 * Butter
 * Large eggs
 * Salt
 * Black pepper

Begin with a simple slice of sandwich brea: white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, or homemade. Anything will do! With a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut a hole in the center of the bread.

Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, then place the bread in the skillet and allow it to soak up the butter.

After 1 minute, crack a large egg into the hole. Hence the name "egg-in-the-hole". I just love it when things in my life make sense!

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for another minute. Throw another tablespoon of butter into the pan, just for kicks.

With a spatula, flip to the other side. Move the bread around in the skillet a bit, allowing it to soak in the butter.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook on the second side until the egg is the desired doneness. I love the outer edges of the yolk to be barely set, with the center runny. The beauty of the egg-in-the-hole is that it's a self-contained meal. No longer do you have to have the egg on the side of the plate and the toast on the other. It's united as one being. And that's a very good thing.