Tomorrow, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher would have been 100 years old. M.F.K. Fisher was born in 1908 and died in 1992. She is still considered the grand dame of food writing. She lived most of her life in California and France.
Fisher wrote numerous books and essays about food. “The Art of Eating,” a collection of writings, is her best known. Clifton Fadiman, who often reviewed her books, described her style best: “M.F.K Fisher writes about food as others write about love, only better.”
My favorite Fisher work is “How to Cook a Wolf.” The book, written during World War II, features recipes and commentary about how to enjoy food amid hunger and food shortages.
Her works were always more philosophical commentary than recipes. She could never say anything as prosaic as, “There are many ways to cook an egg.” Instead she wrote: “It is a poor figure of a man who will say that eggs are only fit to be eaten at breakfast, served as they can be in countless fashions. He himself may be as innocent as a new laid egg, and unconscious of the manifold disguises, not to mention the artful inventions and devices that can tempt him and the egg too.”
Fisher's recipe directions were often ambiguous but always witty. I am not sure why she called this recipe Eggs in Hell. Perhaps it was because of the fiery color of the dish or because it is far more difficult than it might seem.
Eggs in Hell
4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 1/2 cups bottled marinara sauce or mild salsa or a combination
4 eggs
4 thin slices of French bread
1 teaspoon minced fresh Italian parsley or basil
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
Heat the oil in a wide skillet and saute the onion and garlic at low temperature for 5 minutes. Add the sauce to pan and continue cooking on low until the sauce begins to bubble. Be cautious. If the pan is too hot, the sauce will burn. There should be enough sauce in the pan to create a depth of about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. You may need to add water to the sauce. Also add water if the sauce seems too thick.
Gently break 4 eggs over the sauce and cover the pan. Continue cooking on low for about 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon some of the sauce over the eggs and cook another minute or more. I prefer the eggs to be a little soft.
While the eggs are cooking, toast the slices of French bread. Place the toast onto individual plates and top each with an egg and sauce. Sprinkle parsley or basil and parmesan over the top, and serve immediately.
