When I was growing up, my family didn't eat out much because of the cost. However, neither of my parents were very great at cooking so we tended to eat the same cycle of basic meals each and every week. As an adult, I've become fond of exploring new restaurants and types of food completely unknown to me. But moreso than that, I developed a passion for trying my hand at crafting food at home and trying new recipes. My internet browser's bookmarks folder is filled with hundreds of recipes that I've made (as well as plenty that I plan to some day). I love sharing this food with family and friends and giving them the recipes so that they can make these creations themselves.
Which leads us to Pyroclastic Eats. This blog's primary purpose is to store all the recipes I love in one location, provide my own bit of commentary, and share these with the people I know. It's basically my own 21st century cookbook filled with the recipes I've found, tried, and loved. If others discover it along the way and find it helpful, well that's awesome too. If that's you, please post in the comments your thoughts, questions, and photos of your own creations.
I'm by no means a master chef. Hell, I'm hardly an adequate cook. So first of all, most of these recipes are easy enough that pretty much anyone could put them together provided they follow the instructions. Secondly, the majority of these recipes are ones I found somewhere and were not invented by me (though I may put my own spin on them). I'll be sure to always provide the source of where I found the recipes whenever possible.
With that lengthy introduction out of the way, let's get to our first recipe. Given this is the beginning, I figured we'd start with something breakfast-y. And given this blog's name (not to mention my own handle), I can't think of no better recipe than Egg Volcanos.
Egg Volcanos are a simple and cheap way to add a little variety to your breakfast. They are also endlessly customizable so you can easily change them up to suit anyone's tastes. To top it all, with absolutely zero effort, they are beautiful to the eye. I'm not going to focus too much on this blog about presentation - I appreciate aesthetics, but when I'm cooking for myself I'm more concerned with utilitarianism - but I have to point it out here because these things look amazing even when you aren't trying.
Egg Volcanos Recipe:
| Preparation Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes | Yield: 1 |
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 slice of bread*
- Detail (optional)**
- Toppings (optional)***
- Seasonings (optional)****
- Grated cheese (optional)*****
** Typically, your detail is a deli-sliced cold cut. Ham, turkey, bacon, etc. Lox can also be used. Obviously, if you're going with bacon, you're going to need to cook that up beforehand, but most others can be added as they are. Of course, you can skip this entirely if you prefer.
*** Similarly to the detail, your toppings add variety to the overall meal but are entirely optional. This could be a few chunks of ham steak, bacon bits, or diced veggies. You do you.
**** The seasonings can be whatever you want. The basic recipe uses a bit of salt and pepper, but you can add anything that will taste good to you. Like a bit more spice? Add some cayenne. Maybe you'd like cinnamon? Or cumin? Or Italian seasoning? Or nothing at all? Do whatever.
***** Any type of cheese is acceptable. As well as cheese substitutes. Or no cheese if that's your bag, although it hurts the overall presentation. I do recommend grated cheese (or non-cheese) as it will melt the way you want. I haven't tried this with crumbled cheese, but that might work as well.
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven at 350°F.
- Separate the egg yolk from the white.T1
Note: If making multiple egg volcanos, you can combine the whites, but you must separate each yolk into its own container. - Whisk the white until it is fluffy and "cloud-like". Using an electric mixer is recommended, but not required. The white should stick to your bowl when you tip it upside down when completely whisked.
- Using a spoon, scoop the white "cloud" onto the top of your bread (or other base). If you would like, you can cut off the crust of your bread to shape a circle for extra nice presentation.
Note: If you do cut off parts of the bread, do not throw these pieces out. See step 10. - Using a spoon, either press down or carve out an indentation on top of the "cloud" large enough for a yolk to comfortably sit in.
- Pour the intact yolk into the indentation.
- Add any toppings you may want to include on top of the yolk (feel free to spill over onto some of the white "cloud" surrounding the yolk).
- Season the top of the egg volcano to your liking.
- Top the egg volcano with cheese (or non-cheese).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the the cheese melts and the egg firms.
Note: If you cut off pieces of bread earlier, bake them at the same time. You can then use these pieces to dip into the runny yolk. - Enjoy!
T1 Separating yolks from eggs can be done several ways:
- Use an egg separator. Fairly easy, but requires a specialty utensil. All you have to do is crack the egg over the utensil and let it do its thing. At most, you'll need to shake the egg separator a bit to allow the residual egg white to drip. Then pour the yolk into a second container.
- Use the shell. No tools necessary, but requires a bit of skill. Crack the egg and split into two halves over one container without letting the yolk break or fall. Juggle the yolk between the two halves while letting all the white drip into the container. Then pour the yolk into a second container.
- Use a bottle. Easy to do and requires nothing other than an empty bottle. My personal favorite way to go. Crack and deposit the egg into a container. Place the mouth of the bottle over the yolk and compress the bottle a bit. Let go and let the bottle's suction pull up the yolk into it. Place the mouth of the bottle over the second container and press again to spit out the yolk.
Well, there you have it. Egg volcanos taste yummy, are easy to make, can be made with pretty much whatever you already have in the house, are ridiculously customizable, and will delight anyone you may be serving breakfast to. I highly recommend it for impressing that fella or lady that just spent their first night over at your place. Or even better, let's say you just spent the first night over at their place. How awesome would it be if you got up in the morning, took a quick look at what's available in the fridge and said, "You know what? I've got breakfast. Rest a bit longer and I'm going to make you something that you'll absolutely love."
That's just to show that it's not just recipes you'll get here on Pyroclastic Eats...
Be well, enjoy, have fun, and let me know how it all goes down.
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