Eggy bread
I was recently visiting some friends in Oxford, England, and, after a night of cooking and drinking—a huge pot of fragrant ramen soup with pork dumplings, countless bottles of wine, champagne, beer, and something pink that was opened very, very late—I woke up to the smell of eggs. Though my head should have been throbbing, I was surprisingly alert, and wandered to find Dan, our British host, cheerily frying something away on the stovetop.
He wished me a chipper good morning as I wandered over to find out what he was cooking, and to locate a glass of water. My curiosity, however, seemed incredibly strange to him. He answered my question as to what was for breakfast with a "you mean you don't know?" stupefied sort of look. His English politness kept him from getting too uppity, but I could tell I was appearing like quite the ignoramus about the matter at hand. "It's eggy bread…of course," came his reply, as he exited the kitchen and sat down to eat some kind of egg-coated toast.
My inquiries as to the recipe, as I followed him to the table, were met with an equally nonplussed response. The sense I was beginning to get from Dan was this: eggy bread is self-evident. This is something basic. Simple. And definitey recipe-less. So bugger off.
In my sleepy haze I was of course failing to grasp the basic truth of the situation, which others reading now from the comfort of soberness might have already ascertained.
Eggy bread, a slice of white loaf dipped in egg whisked with milk and fried in butter, is simply French toast without the sweetness. It is a food I've consumed in countless American diners, and on countless Sunday mornings as a kid. But that morning I found eggy bread unrecognizable without its sheen of maple syrup and its fragrant nutmeg and cinnamon spices. Still, there it was, plain and obvious. And it floored me. A savory French toast. (A British toast?) Something deliciously simple, seasoned with just salt and pepper.
I proceeded to make my own that morning, and then again. And it has since become a very fond breakfast of mine, ready in minutes and a little something out of the ordinary compared to normal cereal fare. For some reason, making French toast seems like a laborious affair for lazy Sunday mornings—but eggy bread is as simple as dropping an egg into a bowl, whisking it with a splash of milk, soaking the bread while the pan heats and the butter melts, and frying it until crisp. Easily completed half-asleep before heading to work.
A quick breakfast that's genuinely good is hard to find, especially a variety of ideas to keep life interesting. And so Eggy Bread has entered my repertoire. And if you're so inclined, it might be a good one for yours as well (that is, if you happen to be as ignorant of Eggy Bread as I was, which, judging from the Google results, may not be the case).
And if you have any other genius quick breakfast ideas, please do share them in the comments.
