Truffled Egg Toasts

One of Manhattan's greatest pleasures comes in the form of the decadent truffled egg toast served at 'ino in Greenwich Village. I could eat truffled egg toasts morning, noon and night, at every single meal, for weeks on end. Really, it's the perfect food--the warm, soft, runny eggs with a hint of sea salt and a generous dose of fragrant white truffle oil heaped over a toasty, golden baguette slice made slightly chewy just in the middle from the egg. Unfortunately, I don't have the time (or the bank account) to take every meal at 'ino. So I decided to come up with my own version of the famous dish. I went through several different iterations before striking what I think is the jackpot of truffled eggs.

I found the recipe on which mine is based in the book "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant," edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler, a collection of essays about what people eat when they eat alone. The recipe was developed by Amanda Hesser, who used to make it for herself when she was engaged, not yet married. She savored it as a very particular single-girl meal that wouldn't fit into her life anymore after she was hitched. I get where she was coming from. When you're in a relationship or married or have kids to look after, eating silly things like truffled egg toasts for dinner alone in front of the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries just isn't an option anymore. Little luxuries like that get kind of lost in the fray or taken for granted by singles, but I suppose the grass is always greener.

But back to my truffled egg toasts. This recipe is seriously amazing--simple-as-can-be to make and it produces a perfectly creamy, fluffy egg that nestles comfortably into whatever bread you put it on (make sure to buy a great, fresh baguette for this). It's ideal for my little shoebox city kitchen and my current life, designed to accommodate one (plus a very small dog named Suz). Sooner than later, I know that my life will change and expand to hold more people, make room for bigger, grander things like love, families, more pets (yikes!).

But for right now, my truffled egg toasts for one will do just fine. They're just the thing for us single gals. Easy quick and satisfying--they'll fill you up and leave you with more than enough time for the important things: nights out, dinners with girlfriends, and a luxuriously selfish lifestyle with what seems more and more like a rapidly encroaching expiration date.

Single Gal Truffled Egg Toasts

Ingredients
1 teaspoon butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon creme fraiche
sea salt
4 slices of a good, fresh baguette
white truffle oil

Directions
Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat. Whisk together the eggs and creme fraiche. Season with salt. Pour the mixture into the skillet and use a wooden spoon to stir it, making sure to cover the entire bottom surface. This will take at least 10-15 minutes, so be patient. If you do it too fast, the egg will dry and the curds won't be as silky. Toast the bread in the oven and put the slices on a plate.

As soon as the eggs have formed soft curds and are loose but not raw, spoon them onto the toast, dividing evenly. If some of the egg tumbles off onto your plate, that's fine. Sprinkle generously with truffle oil. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Let sit for a minute before digging in.