Moonstruck Eggs in a Basket

Directions

1. Run the stale bread quickly under the running kitchen faucet and place in the oven. Set the oven to 250 degrees.
2. When the oven indicates 250 degrees has been reached, take the bread out and cut 4 slices roughly 2 - 2 1/2" thick each. Scoop a section of the bread out of the middle of each piece so there is about a 1"hole in the middle of each slice.
3. Heat the olive oil (or bacon fat or mix of both) in a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, fennel seed, peppers and cherry tomatoes. Add, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until cherry tomatoes collapse. Remove to a bowl for serving.
4. Add butter to the same skillet and decrease heat slightly. Once the butter is foaming, add the slices of french bread cut side down. Carefully crack each egg over the hole in each slice of the french bread so that the yolk runs into the hole. The white of the egg will spill over. No worries. After about 30 seconds to one minute, carefully flip each slice over with a broad spatula. Cook about another 1 to 2 minutes (depending how you like your eggs) and remove to individual plates for serving. Top each serving with tomato/pepper mixture and sprinkle with parsely. Serve. Some bacon wouldn't hurt.