We call them Gypsy Eggs. What do you call them?

[bards4]

When I was a little girl, my mom and dad used to cut a hole in the middle of a piece of toast and then fry in egg in the middle. We called them Gypsy Eggs. What did you call them?

And as long as we're at it, what were your family's names for other meals that you found out, only later when you were older, were actually called something else?

[Kholvaitar]

Around our house we call Club Soda-- "Fuzzy Water".

What once was "Fizzy" over time became Fuzzy.

[16crab]

In my house an open-faced tuna melt made in the broiler was called a Tuna Boat. Maybe it was a boat because the bread was always cut diagonally into triangles? I had no idea as a kid that you could get a tuna melt in a restaurant.

[Pegmeister]

Eggs in a hole. For my version, I use whole wheat sour dough, sliced nice and thick and add black truffle butter to the hole for frying the egg. Absolutely delicious.

[cathodetube]

I have heard lots of different names for them, including the various one eyed like One Eyed Jacks but one I like is Moon over Miami. I also like Chicky in a Nest, Yolky Polky, Hole in One, and Hobo Eggs.

You can use bacon grease on the bread instead of butter and you can also use 2 pieces of bread and slip a piece of cheese in between the bread before cutting out the hole.

[Pegmeister]

I like the Yolky Poky name. In fact, I think that's what I'll call it from now on. Also, never thought about using 2 slices and adding the cheese so that will be my experiment for next weekend. Thanks for the idea.

[meatn3]

I make it as a glorified grilled cheese - with the egg and a little dijon mustard!

[badifat]

Eyeball eggs!

[givemecarbs]

Eggs in a frame.

[jeepgurl775]

Eggs in a frame! Must be cooked in butter, and the little round part too!!! I have passed this on to my nephews, and my kids :)

[DonShirer]

And if you also toast the bread circle you cut out, and plop it on top of the egg (a little off center) when serving, you also have "Eggs with/and a hat".

[Christnp]

I had the recipe in my first children's cookbook. It was called "Toad in a hole" there, so that's what I've always called it. My SO's family called it "dropped egg on toast"

[cathodetube]

Well, don't ask for that in the UK because you will get sausages oven cooked in a pancake batter. Served with an onion gravy hopefully!

[truman]

Not a dish, but my brother and I couldn't pronounce "parmesan" when we were younger (or we were too lazy to try) and so we referred to it as "sprinkle cheese".

[bards4]

That reminds me of what we called those chocolate jimmies, sprinkles, whatever they are called -- we always called them "chocolate hot dogs."

[truman]

Maybe it's a Pittsburgh thing, but the multicolored ones were always "sprinkles" and the all-chocolate ones were "jimmies." Anyone else make a similar distinction?

[odkaty]

My in-laws share the same distinction. They're from western PA too.

[BobB]

The chocolate ones were always jimmies here in Boston too.

[Jenny Ondioline]

We made the same distinction when I was growing up in Texas: rainbow-colored = sprinkles, chocolate = jimmies.

In the UK, sprinkles are called hundreds and thousands, a name I've always found utterly charming.

[gaffk]

Ditto in the Philly region.

[Pia]

Eggs in a Nest. We make this for our toddler on weekends.

[EWSflash]

Eggs in a Frame. Never heard of the concept until I got married, it was a standard at DH's house.

[bards4]

I've really enjoyed reading the charming family stories that go along with the unique names of foods that we ate as kids. Thanks to everyone for posting!

[mamachef]

My Mom called them Eggs in a Basket, and Dad called them Gasthaus Eggs. And all my kids called them "eggs in toast with those little circles of extra fried bread." I do believe they thought the eggs were hatched just. like. that. bread and all.

[gaffk]

Those must have been some nasty chickens!

[ola]

egg toast

[Allstonian]

I don't know if we had a name for them before, but my kid brother christened them "eggie-o" when he was a toddler (mid 60s), and that's what we called them ever after. That name is definitely unique to my family, though!

I agree that the best part of the dish is the fried circle of toast, especially used to mop up the last of the egg yolk...

[Avalondaughter]

One-eyed egg sandwich was what my mother called it. I always loved that buttery circle of toasted bread.

[catspercapita]

one eyed jacks

[odkaty]

Dad always called them "eggs and toast" ... he isn't really from anywhere (military brat), but his parents both grew up in the Nova Scotia/Maine area.

[Passadumkeg]

"Romani" eggs; we were very politically correct. We could never "gyp" someone, it was not PC.

[Passadumkeg]

Did no one pick up on my "PC" humor? We called them bird in a nest.

[CindyJ]

We called them "eggs in a frame," and that was about as elaborate a dish as we had growing up.

[cgarner]

My grandmom used to make them and she'd just call it very straight forward "uova a pane" but as kids, we didn't really understand that was Italian so it wound up being "over panny eggs"
(which I preferred much more than dippy eggs in my youth)

[funklight]

I call it toad in a hole. my brother calls it man in a boat. my dad calls it eggs in a basket. i have a friend who calls it a sunshine vagina sandwich.

[onceadaylily]

I knew I should have gotten bread at the market today, just so I could announce that as what's for dinner.

[bards4]

Pretty sure I'll never look at them the same way again....

[onceadaylily]

The brother's description, or the friend's? It's kind of a toss-up there.

[funklight]

The thing is, I WOULD change what I call it if i could. I would much rather call it a sunshine vagina sandwich because it sounds so delightfully absurd, but 'toad in a hole' is always what comes out of my mouth.

[Hank Hanover]

This is what happens when you beat a subject to death.

[BobB]

Sunshine vagina sandwich! I must say it makes me smile just to say it.

And if you google the term, this thread is the only link on the entire planet that shows up! Congratulations on being the first to ever post that name anywhere.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

lol, your answer sort of solves a mystery for me. We called them bubalas which were pronounced boob-a-la, so in yidlish (yiddish/english) probably meant little boob. I always wondered why they were called bubalas. I just never thought anatomy would be involved.

[LoBrauHouseFrau]

Bubala is a pet name, mostly for kids. It's used like darling, honey, dear, etc.

[Hank Hanover]

Sure. Morticia called Gomez Adams Bubala. It drove him crazy. Bubala later, Darling.

[BobB]

Exactly - it does not mean little boob, and in fact has no relation to boobs whatsoever.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

yeah, I know the word; however, I think it was one those family jokes, sort of a play on words.

[Jenny Ondioline]

It's also most commonly spelled "bubeleh."

[16crab]

Lol nope, now another thread has mentioned it so you get TWO hits on google!

[boogiebaby]

Before kids -- Toad in a Hole. After kids, Teletubby Toast (because they made it on the show one day and that's what my son started calling it).

[mickeygee]

Eggs in purgatory, cause we'd add a little tomato sauce and crushed red pepper on top.

[onceadaylily]

We always called eggs in purgatory a dish made of a stew with tomatoes and red peppers, sans the toast (it is also known as shakshuka). Your dish sounds like a nice compromise for the budget.

[MHasse]

Rooty-Ka-Zootys

[scarmoza]

In the movie Moonstruck, they were called One Eyed Petes. That's what we call them, too.

[Breezychow]

I just watched "Moonstruck" the other night, & while I did see Olympia Dukakis making the dish, nowhere did I hear her or anyone else call them anything, never mind "One Eyed Petes". At what point did you hear this?

[scarmoza]

I haven't seen Moonstruck in decades so maybe I'm combining memories or making it up.

[onceadaylily]

When I read your post, I was thinking it was the scene in which Cher and Cage shared breakfast in his place, the scene that ended with that brisk smack to the face. But I could be wrong. It's on instant play through netflix, I think, and I've been wanting to watch it again.

[huiray]

Nope, it's when Olympia Dukakis is making breakfast when Cher waltzes in after her night at Cage's apartment.

[mariacarmen]

yeah, i've seen that movie about a dozen times (and yes, it is TOTALLY a chick flick) and they don't ever name or talk about the eggs. but they always looked sooooo good.

[huiray]

Is not!

[tzurriz]

Hole in One's

[onceadaylily]

I had them first at a friend's house when I was a teenager, and their family called them eggs in a pond.

[chefj]

Hobo eggs or Hole in Ones

[Tripeler]

They were called "gashouse eggs" when I first read about them years ago.
Likely they go under many different names.

[Ernie Diamond]

eg: Gasthaus Eggs.

[smartie]

we called them American Toast!

[OCEllen]

One eyed Conley, don't ask me who Conley was, my mother called them, I don't think she knew who Conley was!

[srsone]

i remember them as "eggs in a blanket"
cuz the toast looks like a little blanket .....

[foodloverlori]

Same here, eggs in a blanket. But pigs in a blanket were sausages in dough...however my husband calls pigs in a blanket a cabbage roll with sausage inside. Love this thread.
http://foodloverlori.blogspot.com/

[srsone]

yea... pigs in a blanket are the cocktail franks in dough...
those are almost always a fave hors d'oeuvre for parties in our family...

[toodie jane]

'Hole in the Sole'

[mollyomormon]

My mom always called instant ramen "squiggle noodle soup." I heard my niece call it that the other day too.

[mse924]

Hee. In my family it was always called "curly noodle soup". It was standard Saturday afternoon lunch along with saltines topped with mayo and slices of cheddar cheese.

Actually, we had this exact lunch at my parents' house when I was home for the holidays. And my mom still called it "curly noodle soup" 20 some odd years later.

[mollyomormon]

So funny, especially now that I live in a place where ramen is so prevalent (I'm in LA now, grew up in Utah). My brother could not fathom the idea of going out to a restaurant for "squiggle noodle soup" when I told him about the ramen shops here.

[huiray]

I'm guessing your brother still lives in Utah and/or doesn't eat much real Chinese/Japanese food?

[italia84]

Moonstruck eggs, from the movie.

[bards4]

I must not get out much. I had no idea that Gypsy Eggs were in the movies.

[srsone]

its a chick flick...so ive never seen it....
:-)

[ttoommyy]

Moonstruck is not a chick flick! :)

[huiray]

Definitely not!

[Hank Hanover]

In the movie "V for Vendetta", the girls boss and the guy with the mask make her this dish. It wasn't a chick flick but Moonstruck probably was.

[huiray]

I thought Moonstruck was a hilarious (good-natured) semi-dig at American-Italians. Not a chick flick.

[absurdnerdbird]

Winking eye.

[LauraGrace]

My grandmother called them "one-eyed Egyptians"!

Goulash and scrapple both referred to something unrecognizable as such to anyone else -- the first to a concoction of hamburger, tomato sauce, and macaroni, and the second to a mixture of fried potatoes, bacon or sausage, and scrambled eggs.

[jcmods]

The hamburger, tomato and Macaroni I have heard called "Chop Suey." Scrapple in Philadelphia refers to a block formed from various meat byproducts. It is then sliced and fried as sort of a breakfast sausage. I can't remember what the egg in toast hole was called but I think I heard about it first in Boston.

[LauraGrace]

Yes, and imagine my horror when I found that out about "real" scrapple! :D

[gaffk]

Horror? The only horror would be if "real" scrapple didn't exist! The meat pieces are bound with cornmeal (usually) and heavily spiced. Pan fried, with a little ketchup . . . yum.

[LoBrauHouseFrau]

For some reason my French-Canadian grandmother called Shepherd's Pie "porte chinoise" which translated means Chinese door.

We always called the hamburger/ tomato/ macaroni mixture "American Chop Suey"

Egg in toast was called "Egg in a basket."

[Sooeygun]

Shepherd's pie (or cottage pie) is called Pâté Chinois in Quebec (not porte). Chinese pie.

[LoBrauHouseFrau]

Oops, my mistake. Thank you for clearing that up! :)

[Pat Hammond]

Yes, American Chop Suey at my house in New England, too.

[16crab]

My dad made hamburger, chopped tomatoes, macaroni and canned corn and called it Hungry Man's Supper. He was convinced he invented both the dish and the name!

[Will Owen]

Our family's "goulash" was chopped bacon, then hamburger, then canned kidney beans, finished in a sauce of cream of tomato soup. I adored it, especially when it was served on egg noodles. I had forgotten about it until my then-girlfriend and I stopped by my uncle and aunt's house in San Bernardino on our way to Tennessee, and Aunt Jackie made that as a family treat. Almost twenty years on, the taste was exactly as I remembered, and as awful as I knew it really was I loved it all over again. The girlfriend was polite about it …

[Jenny Ondioline]

My mother (raised in Texas in the 1930s) and my wife's mother (raised in New England in the 1940s) both called that dish goulash, although the more common New England term is American Chop Suey.

[Allstonian]

(I'm the wife.)

Specifically, the dish was one of my grandmother's specialties, and she was raised in Buffalo, NY and presumably learned to call it "goulash" there. But yes, in our family it was called goulash, and I didn't learn until I got to middle school, where it was served in the cafeteria, that it was known by others locally as American chop suey.

(Note: "chop suey" with no modifier was an American-Chinese dish with bean sprouts and celery - the macaroni-hamburg-and-tomato-sauce dish is *American* chop suey.)

[collardman]

I had forgotten all about the American Chop Suey of my youth. Being in a Hungarian household goulash was really goulash, in several versions.

When I first met my wife and she cooked a meal for me she did hamburg-macaroni and a white cheese sauce which earned the name "gobbledy goop"

[jeanmarieok]

I grew up in Buffalo, and my mom calls that 'goulash', too!

[BobB]

That discussion has happened out here a number of times. Although I grew up in an American Chop Suey part of the country (New England), and can appreciate that on some regions it's called goulash, my favorite name for it is one used in parts of the midwest: Johnny Marzetti. Seriously - google it if you don't believe me!

[alidrum]

American Chop Suey....I have no idea why my sister and her husbands family all call this Party Mix..

[chowfox]

Eggs in Nests.

[Nanzi]

Question on these........after you drop the egg on and in the toast and it cooks some, do you turn it over? or is it done like sunnyside up eggs?I think my hubby would love this.
Thanks

[ferret]

Yes (although there's really no rule book to adhere to). I favor sliced challah with butter on both sides, to get a nice brown toasting.

[tzurriz]

We always used a good Jewish rye.

[ChrisKC]

I butter the bread and put it on the griddle, after first side is brown, turn and then put the egg in the middle. After that has good a sufficient amount of time, I give it another flip. Not long on second side which is the reason for grilling that side first

[cathodetube]

I would say you really need to experiment a bit. Butter the bread on both sides first. Some people like to lightly toast beforehand, but I don't. A lot depends on how thick the bread is to begin with as well as how big the egg is. As you stand watching the egg cook you can see the white start to solidify. I usually flip at least once onto the yolk side and check after a minute by flipping back. I think you should take the preference of the person you are cooking for into account. Make sure you also cook the buttered cut out piece of bread at the same time and serve alongside the toast and egg. If the yolk is served runny then you can dip the bread in it.

[Dee S]

Midwesterner here. Mom called them Eggs in Baskets. I'm sure I could find a reference to their name in my 50s Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.

Cut out piece was also toasted, served on top of the finished product and used to sop up the yolk. We usually had crispy bacon as a side.

[kosherfoodies]

we also call them eggs in baskets. no bacon for us, though.

[Hank Hanover]

Also referred to as "one eyed johnnies".

No.. I have no idea how that name came about.

I bet they enjoyed a revival after the movie "V for Vendetta" came out.

[ChrisOC]

I have heard them called Toad in the Hole, but they are nothing like a true Toad in the Hole.

[Breezychow]

Another vote for "Toad in the Hole", which is what my mom called them, although the true "Toad in a Hole" involves a sausage rather than just an egg.

[Ernie Diamond]

Mmm...not quite. Toad in the Hole is sausages baked in a Yorkshire Pudding batter.

[bushwickgirl]

Eggs in a Hole. Any more imaginative name for that dish escaped my parent's notice.

My mom made a Saturday lunch dish consisting of a white sauce combined with either tuna, salmon or shrimp and canned peas on toast or sometimes on saltine crackers; she called it (fill in protein name) Wiggle. I guess she called it that to get us to eat it when we were 5, 4 and 3, but she was still calling it that when we were 17,16 and 15.

[chowfox]

Wiggle is a New England thing. Your mom didn't invent it. It's also done with asparagus instead of canned peas, and rice instead of toast.

[toodie jane]

It's a Depression/WWII ration meal, IMO--My mom came to California in the 20's straight from London, and we ate it on Sundays after our day at the beach when everbody was pooped and just needed a bite.

Cream of Mushroom soup, milk, can of tuna, frozen peas, on toasted bread. A day in the fresh air had whet our appetites, it sure tasted good.

[bushwickgirl]

At least you had frozen peas...

[bushwickgirl]

Oh, I didn't think she invented it at all, and since my parents were Depression era and are from New England, although we didn't live there for long when I was growing up, I'm sure that's where she had the dish, most likely as a child or older. I doubt whether my mom invented any dish.

We never had it with rice or canned asparagus, though.