An Egg in a Basket: Perfect for Valentine's Day Breakfast or Brunch

eggs, breakfast, brunch, egg in a basket, poached egg, Valentine's Day Breakfast
Valentine's Day Egg in a Basket Breakfast
Do you know what an egg in a basket is? It's when you grill a piece of buttered bread, cut out a circle in the middle (using a shot glass, etc) and then crack an egg into it and finish cooking and grilling it to perfection! You give it a few minutes on each side, depending on how you like your eggs, and voila: heaven. Basically, it's a piece of bread with a built-in egg. 

I love poached eggs, so I particularly enjoy this because the egg comes out similar to a poached egg when fried this way.  I really must make myself an Egg in a Basket, it has been too long.  If I can find a heart shaped cookie cutter, even better, otherwise I'll just freehand it with a knife... ;)

When I saw the image above, I was inspired to write this post.  An Egg in a Basket is a great breakfast for those who are on the go as it can be made fast, and for Valentine's Day (or any day) it makes for a cute message of love to start off someone's morning!

Here are a few details I'd recommend for making your Egg in a Basket an unforgettable culinary experience:

1. Go to the grocery store and buy a loaf of English Muffin Bread in your bakery section - trust me, do it!

2. Use real butter, please. 

3. Make it in a Teflon pan, set to medium heat, or maybe less depending on your stove top. In other words, prepare as you would for a grilled cheese.

4. Slice that loaf of English Muffin bread (or whichever bread you use) pretty thick, an inch if you'd like, and butter that baby - lay it on thick (both sides).

5. Grill both sides of the bread a bit before cutting out the circle in the center - I do this to avoid sogginess when I crack the egg into it, as well as to ensure a nice golden toast in the end.

6. Use a shot glass, small cup, small round sauce bow, or in this case a heart shaped object/cookie-cutter…  Use your chosen object to twist out a circle in the center of the bread and then put both pieces back into the pan with the small bread cutout off to one side.

7. Crack the egg into the center of the bread where you cutout the piece, sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked pepper, let cook on either side according to how well done you like your egg.

eggs, breakfast, brunch, egg in a basket, poached egg, Valentine's Day Breakfast
Egg in a Basket cooking process...
8. Serve with the small cutout piece of toast as a garnishment, don't throw it out, that little piece is delicious - especially when you toast it to a golden crisp!

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An Egg in a Basket cooked to golden toast perfection!
9. Enjoy, and try to resist making yourself "just one more" until the whole loaf of bread mysteriously vanishes! ;)

Whether you make this for yourself, your sweetheart, or your entire family, I can almost guarantee that it'll be a hit!  Unless you don't like eggs... or bread... or butter.  In that case, ummmmm... wow.  Enjoy!

Catherine
xoxo

toast, eggs, breakfast, brunch, egg in a basket, poached egg, Valentine's Day Breakfast

(The image in this post is cited and sourced via Pinterest: witanddelight.tumblr.com via Terry on Pinterest)