Portlandia’s answer to “Toad in a Hole“
This recipe falls into the “Why didn’t I think of that!?!?” category. By conservative estimates, I’ve probably made at least 5000 grilled cheese sandwiches in my twenty-something years as a mom, and at least a quarter that many Toad’s in a Hole.* So imagine the forehead slap involved when I stumbled over this brilliant mash-up while reviewing The Portlandia Cookbook {Cook Like a Local}.
Like any real Portlandian, I had change up the original recipe and put my own spin on it. (Mostly I just simplified it.) In the process, I omitted the need for (among other things) a broiler, mayonnaise (blech) and “truffle salt.”
Bird in a {Grilled Cheese} Nest
Ingredients
- 4 slices sandwich bread
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 ounces thinly sliced cheese Suggestions: Tillamook Medium Cheddar, Gouda, Jarlsberg
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
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(This first part is just like making a standard grilled cheese sandwich.) Layer sliced cheese between two pieces of bread. Generously butter the outside of each piece of bread. In a medium non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, grill sandwiches on one side until golden brown.
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Remove the half-cook sandwiches onto a plate or cutting board. Using a round biscuit-cutter or the rim of a drinking glass, cut a hole out of the middle of the sandwich.
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Flip everything over and put it back into the pan, including the sandwich middles.
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Crack an egg into each sandwich hole. Continue to grill until sandwiches are golden brown and eggs are done to your liking.
PROFESSIONAL TIP: Do not, under any circumstances, try to clean your kitchen, do the dishes, cycle the laundry and check your Instagram while the sandwiches are grilling.
*While in some far-off places, a Toad-in-a-Hole may involve sausages and such, here in Oregon the term most often refers to an egg fried inside a piece of toast that has had a hole cut out the middle of it.
What a great idea! I may try this one!
Yum, this looks like something I want to eat RIGHT NOW for breakfast, lunch or dinner!!
OMG YUM! I’m making this over the weekend!
Gosh, looks so good! Thanks for the recipe!
xxb
Grilled cheese was our family obsession last week for food. Must be the weather, nothing better than crispy grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup!
Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a staple meal at our house. My youngest is celebrating her birthday this weekend. Her requested birthday dinner? Tillamook Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. (If only all my kids were this easy.) She is topping it off with Marionberry Cobbler in place of birthday cake – a true Oregonian is ever there was one.
I love making these!! Mine are always simple as well. Sadly, I am the only one in my family who likes them, so I usually just make them on weekdays when it’s just me working from home. I can’t wait to be able to have bread again so that I can make one. Yours looks SO yummy, I want to eat the screen!
OMGOSH! I love this. I’ve seen so many variations of this recipe over the years. I always want to try new ones to see if they are better ha! I think this may happen over the weekend!
ha! That is a brilliant idea! I feel the same way: why didn’t I think of that?
5000 is lot of sandwiches! 🙂 What a great idea, especially for kiddos. Thanks for sharing.
um…YUM!
Oh gosh this looks great!! You just figured out the only way to possibly make a grilled cheese better. YUM. Know what I want? Bacon cooked into that grilled cheese toad in a hole. PERFECT breakfast!
Bacon! Brilliant!
OMG… Yes!
Love the idea of making it into a sandwich with cheese, genius!
If I wasn’t literally stuffing my face scooping hummus with warm out of the oven Jalapeño bread right now, I would most definitely be making this ingenious “toad in the hole.”
Thanks for sharing, Renée, I think:)
What a genius idea!!! Love it…Thank you for sharing. Oh, and I will have to take a look at the Portlandia Cookbook.