Breakfast of Bacchus

The following meal is from the 1949 publication- Esquire's Handbook for Hosts. It doesn't specify whether this is a breakfast dish but we (in fact I as I am the non-vegan half of this partnership) feel that such a decadent dish would probably befit the awakening mass of bodies previously indulged in some kind of unspeakable, uninhibited and unbridled bout of libertinism the night before. The eggs would restore lost energy and the four bodily humours whilst the alcohol would, hopefully, banish all feelings of shame, guilt and nausea.

Eggs Poached in Burgundy

Put one ounce of butter in an earthenware casserole; sauté one white onion, finely chopped, and add one pint of Burgundy; salt, pepper, one whole clove, a bayleaf, and a slice of fennel; let it simmer for about ten to twelve minutes. Break one egg per person on the edge of the casserole and slip it gently into the simmering wine. Poach for about two or three minutes- according to taste in cooking. Separate them gently, remove with a skimmer, and put each egg on a piece of toast, ready to receive it on a hot platter. Strain the cooked wine and put it back in the casserole and bring to a boil; thicken it with small balls of butter and flour and pour over the eggs on toast.