Frisee salad with bacon and poached egg

I’ll use pretty much any excuse these days to eat or cook something that contains one of the following:

1) Bacon

2) Runny egg, bonus points for poached


Include both of these in one foodstuff and I am powerless to resist. I first had this salad in a restaurant a few years ago and it’s been in the back of my mind, constantly, ever since. It was so delicious, yet seemed fairly simple. My first thought was, I need to find out how to make this at home—so I don’t have to go out to a restaurant, let alone pay $8 for it every time I want one!

The frisee salad is dressed with a red wine vinaigrette – which contains a small amount of bacon fat – and, of course, pieces of bacon. Poach an egg, being sure to take it out when the egg white is set but the yolk still runny. I’ve found it a bit tricky to get the timing just right, but am getting better with practice. The egg yolk in the picture is just a hair more set than I had meant, but still wonderful.

Make sure to use as high a quality egg as you can find, especially since this is a very simple salad. A factory-farmed, low-flavor egg will make your salad sad, which in turn will make your taste buds sad (and for me, will add a side helping of guilt to eating the dish.)

Mix the frisee with the vinaigrette and bacon pieces, put that on a plate, and top with the egg.

Break the egg yolk so that it runs over your salad and coats it with thick yellow deliciousness.

Pause for a moment to enjoy the anticipation. Salivate.

Eat!

Crispy kale

I have a confession to make. On occasion, my beloved kale and beans, much as I praise it, gets old. But I need to keep eating my leafy greens, kale is one of the foods with the most nutritional value per calorie, and--most importantly of course--kale is delicious! In those rare, dark times, I turn to a completely different different dish--crispy kale, otherwise known as kale chips. The name “chip” may be a little misleading. Instead of hearty and crunchy like potato chips, these are crispy, airy, and crackly like a dried out leaf. They're about as texturally different as you can get from soupy and tender kale and beans. To make them yourself, just wash and spin dry some kale leaves, toss them in a bowl with a little olive oil to coat (it's fun to use your hands!), and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 till crispy. Don’t let them burn—they should still be green. Once they’re out of the oven, a sprinkling of flaky salt is a delicious finishing touch.

Since you’re pretty much dehydrating the leaves, a big bunch of kale will cook down to a relatively small pile--be prepared to consume lots of kale in one sitting! It’ll be hard to resist. I’m thinking next time, instead of just pouncing on them the second they’re out of the oven, I’ll try using the leaves as a garnish to provide some contrast for a texturally wanting dish.