Lily-Livered...!

I had another "Dinner Night"!!!  It was really fun and the menu was inspired by Brasserie Les Halles.

I began this decadent meal with Frisee aux Lardons.  This is a beautiful salad of fresh lettuce, fried lardons (bacon cubes), homemade croutons, tossed with a tangy dressing, and topped with a creamy poached egg!  Yum! I chose to use a recipe from My French Kitchen, by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. I've made it before and it's delicious. I wanted to keep the menu authentic and use the recipe from my Les Halles cookbook; but, it was tossed with a chicken liver vinaigrette and doubted I could get my lily-livered kids to eat it! 

Frisee aux Lardons

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the salad
1 large head frisee (I used a blend of baby mixed greens with frisee)
2 shallots, diced
Olive oil for frying
1/2 baguette, cut into cubes
1 pound slab bacon, cubed
6 large eggs

For the dressing
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Sea Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Break up the frisee, wash and spin it dry, and place in a large bowl with the shallots.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and fry the bread in batches until golden on all sides, then remove from the pan and place on paper towels.  Wipe out the pan, add a little more olive oil, and fry the bacon until golden brown. Place on paper towels.

To poach the eggs to perfection, bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer.  (I highly recommend using a non-stick pan, if you have one.)  Carefully break in the eggs, return the water to a simmer, then immediately remove the pan from the heat.  Cover it with a lid and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Put the vinegar and mustard along with the salt and pepper into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.  Add the olive oil and shake again. Pour over the frisee and toss well.  Add the golden bread cubes and bacon to the salad and toss.  Serve on individual plates, each salad topped with a hot poached egg. It's a great salad!