Time travel is something I find myself doing often. No, I’m not hopping into a homemade time machine or hiding in the back of a DeLorean. I’m talking about the flood of memories that wash over you when you take a bite of a food that holds significant meaning.
Simple things can take you back years in an instant. Like eating a bologna sandwich. Suddenly you’re a kid at the beach, biting into the sand-encrusted white bread holding your bologna and cheese together — and hearing the crunching sounds a sandwich should not make. Or the delicious aroma that puts you right back at the kitchen table at your grandpa’s house eating chicken noodle soup.
I enjoy these memories and most of the time, the food that triggers them. Red-dyed pistachios will always remind me of my Uncle Peter. Fingers stained red from the brightly colored shells, gnawing away at the salted nuts inside. The brain works in mysterious ways; a taste and you’re right back where you were decades ago, visiting places that may no longer exist and remembering people you haven’t seen in a long time, some who have since departed.
I can relate most of my food memories to childhood. Most meals were significant in that we always had a family dinner at home. Weekend breakfasts were always something to look forward to. My cousin Aimee — my first best friend, still my best friend — and I used to enjoy sleepovers at each other’s houses. My cousin always had the good cereal at her house and was never bad at sharing.
But one breakfast at Aimee’s has always stuck with me: the time Aunt Tricia asked if I’d like an egg in a hole. I had no clue what that was and I’m pretty sure I was too afraid to ask. Being the hungry kid I was, I just said yes. To my surprise, it was the most glorious breakfast item I’d ever seen. An egg cooked inside of a piece of bread, all golden brown on the outside, fried egg in the middle. As an 8-year-old, I thought, where has this been all my life? And why hadn’t my parents made this for me at home? I will never forget my first egg-in-a-hole.
I actually had the honor of introducing this glorious breakfast item to my husband in our early years of dating. A way to a man’s heart is his stomach, after all, and I now know that I’ll be making egg-in-a-hole for many Sundays to come.
Easy Egg-in-a-Hole
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 loaf brioche bread, cut into 4 – 3/4 inch thick slices
4 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper
• Using a cookie cutter or a small juice glass cut a hole in the center of your bread slices.
• In a skillet on medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Once the butter is melted and spread out, place 2 of your bread slices in the pan. Crack an egg into the center of each hole.
• Cook until the egg sets, about 45-60 seconds. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper. Using a thin spatula carefully flip over the bread. After a few seconds, gently move the bread around to soak up the butter. Turn down heat to medium and cook until the egg whites are set and the bread is golden brown.
• Repeat with the other 2 slices of bread. Serve with your favorite egg condiments or top with cheese. Serve immediately.
Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.
Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.
Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on SoutholdLOCAL.com.
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