Eggs à La Suisse Toast
A recipe inspired by
THE BOSTON COOKING-SCHOOL COOK BOOK
BY
Fannie Farmer
1896
Fannie Farmer was born in 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts to a family that highly valued education and who expected that each of their four daughters should attend college. Tragically at age 16, she suffered a paralytic stroke that put a stop to her academics. For several years she was unable to walk and remained in the care of her parents. During this time, she took up cooking, though confined to a wheelchair, eventually convincing her mother to convert their home into a boarding house which would go on to develop a stellar reputation for the dishes it served.
At age 30, her condition had improved enough that she enrolled in the Boston Cooking School where she trained until 1889. This was the height of the domestic science movement, where many sought knowledge of nutrition, diet, convalescent cookery, cleaning and sanitation, and cooking and baking. A movement spurred by numerous households transitioning from live-in domestic help to preparing meals and managing their homes themselves. She was considered a top student and stayed on as an assistant to the director, eventually taking on the position of school principal in 1891.
Five years later she would publish her best-known book, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. It was this work that introduced the concept of using standardized measuring spoons and cups. The book included a range of recipes from simple milk toast to the more complex, like Cigarettes à la Prince Henry.
The book's publisher limited the first edition to 3,000 copies as the entire project was financed at Fannie’s own expense. But, to their surprise, the book was incredibly popular in America, with cooks being drawn to its thoroughness. It became so well-known that cooks would refer to later editions simply as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and it is under this title that you’ll find it still available in print over 100 years later.
Inside the book you’ll find a recipe for Eggs à la Suisse in which eggs are cooked in cream, sprinkled with cheese, and when set, scooped onto buttered toast. In this version, thick pieces of bread are fried in butter before being covered with gruyere, cream, and a cracked egg and then broiled in a hot oven until bubbly and brown.
Eggs à la Suisse Toast
Ingredients
1 thick-cut piece of sourdough bread
1 egg
2 ounces of grated Gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons of cream
2 tablespoons of butter
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat the broiler to 500 degrees and move an oven rack to the second highest spot.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the bread, toasting until golden brown on each side. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and place on a plate to cool.
While the bread cools, grate your Gruyere cheese. Mix 3/4 of the cheese with the cream in a small bowl.
Spread the Gruyere-cream mixture on the toast, creating a well in the center of the toast for the egg.
Crack the egg into a small bowl and gently pour in into the well in the center of your toast.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top and season again with salt and pepper.
Transfer the toast to a baking sheet and broil for 3-5 minutes, or until the whites are set and the cheese is golden brown.
Serve immediately. Drizzle with truffle oil or sprinkle with chives, if desired.
Serves 1