Two eggs, beaten
Slices of stale bread (brown bread is better than white)
Milk
Slices of Gruyere cheese

"Butter a baking-dish and put in the bottom of it slices of stale bread (brown bread is better than white) which have been dipped in milk. then put in a layer of very thin slices of Gruyere cheese. Take two eggs, beat them up to a froth, add salt and pepper, pour them into a baking-dish on top of the bread and cheese, then put it in the oven until it is browned on top. Serve hot."

This recipe was taken from "Simple Italian Cookery" written by Antonia Isola (pen name for Mabel Earl McGinnis). It was published in the United States by Harper and Brothers in 1912. It is believed to be the first American cookbook that contains Italian recipes. For the complete copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org....Photo: Mary Melfi.

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