Wednesday, May 24, 2023

A (Very) Long Time Favorite


I've been trying to adhere to an every other night vegetarian routine--various pastas, beans and rice, all kinds of tasty stuff. 

Last night we had Eggs in Hell, a recipe I first made in 1964 when we were living in Geiger Trailer Park at Camp LeJeune--Marine Corps (officially designated) Substandard Housing. I was not yet teaching, and we were on a tight budget. But we bought a little TV on time and, thrown in with the deal was a paperback cookbook modestly called The World's Best Recipes.


A collection of recipes from other cookbooks, famous people, and well known restaurants, it provided me with lots of aspirational reading and quite a few do-able recipes, one of which was Eggs in Hell. 

That was almost sixty years ago. Back then I generally opted for a jar of Ragu as the sauce, though I usually tarted it up with sauteed onions, garlic, and herbs. And red wine. 

It's been many a year since I used store bought spaghetti sauce because I found that, by the time I'd sauteed the onions, etc, it wasn't that difficult to just throw in a can of diced tomatoes and a goodly amount of tomato paste, along with the red wine. 

The tomato paste is what makes a quick and delicious sauce that tastes like something your Italian nonna spent hours stirring and simmering.

Break your eggs into this tasty stuff, cover and cook on low heat till eggs are as done as you want them. Serve over toasted English muffins with a good dose of Parmesan.




The little paperback cookbook finally fell apart and I found a used hardcover copy. It's still a fun read.

Coincidentally, after our Eggs in Hell last night, we had the last of the flan I'd made for company on Saturday. The flan recipe is even older than sixty years--and I make it regularly too. I wrote about flan HERE.





 

2 comments:

JJM said...

Shakshuka! Or a simplified version thereof. Classic Middle Eastern dish. One of my go-to recipes at one point was a Hungarian (I think -- can't find the cookbook I got it from to check) variety of the same basic egg-on-tomato concept: tomatoes, green pepper, onion, plenty of paprika, poach an egg in it or plop a fried egg (with runny yolk!) on top. Thanks, Vicki, I think I know what tonight's supper might be. :)

Sandra Parshall said...

I also had a favorite paperback cookbook that fell apart from constant use, and Jerry searched the internet to find a used hardcover in good condition. Theoretically, nobody who has the internet needs cookbooks anymore, but some things we just have to hang onto.