An “Egg-citing” Breakfast Idea

I thought I smelled French toast but I walked into the narrow surf shack galley kitchen and it was a surprise to see eggs, strategically placed in the middle of sliced semolina bread. My friend Mike – over the stove – said his family calls the breakfast “surprise eggs!”

It makes sense, as the over-easy eggs (if done correctly) are perfectly meshed within the bread, making it hard at first glance to know there is an egg hidden within. As you slice the bread, a golden river of yolk streams out, quickly disappearing as it’s soaked up by the buttery, shoreline toast.

Surprise Eggs by Chef Mike

Many people call this breakfast many different names – egg in a hole, egg in the basket, popeye eggs, yolk in a crater, and sunrise sandwich to name a few. What do you call it?

I’m calling it ‘surprise eggs!’ because, believe it or not, I’ve never encountered this version of over-easy eggs before and thanks to Mike, I’ve been egg-lightened. So, I’m going with his name.

Why so many names? Family traditions play a big part, regional differences (Mike is from the midwest) and cooks love to add their own twist.

Despite not being Italian or Catholic, Mike’s family’s name for this breakfast might carry the most significance. According to the smart internet, the Kinder Surprise Chocolate Egg was created in 1974 by Michele Ferrero and William Salice for Ferrero, the Italian chocolate company. The chocolate egg treat was inspired by an Italian Easter tradition where children (and Pontiffs) received large chocolate eggs with toys inside. I imagine this familiarity translated into the breakfast concept

In 2012, an Italian chocolatier gifted Benedict XVI, with a 6.5 foot tall chocolate Easter egg weighing 550 pounds. Photo by L’Osservatore Romano, AP.