Frisee Salad with Poached Eggs and Bacon (a la Barbette)

Well, it might seem like I only eat salad and eggs lately. And bacon too. Kinda true, but they are all just so dang good!

I had a salad at Barbette sometime ago, and it was basically this salad, although they called the bacon "lardon" - apparently due to its thicker cut. It made for a very tasty brunch meal, so when I happened across a recipe for Frisee Salad with Poached Eggs and Bacon in Saveur a few weeks ago, I thought I'd give it a whirl. It seems like it would make a delicious brunch pre- any of the queer activities happening this weekend for pride. It's green and light, but also meaty and filling. It just feels so gay. Maybe because it is French?

Rather than use "frisee greens" (I really don't know what those are - seems like frizzy micro lettuce from the picture!), I used some of the baby greens from the garden that I was thinning out as the beets and arugula get bigger. Did you know it is a good idea to thin your beets with a scissors? That way you don't destroy any of the fragile roots when you pull up the neighbors that are all squished in there too closely. Also, I learned that a good rule is to thin twice. First to get all the mini plants that are growing right on top of one another (you know, the ones that are basically growing out of the same spot), and then second, when the plants are a little bigger. The second time you want to thin the smaller ones away (think Darwin here...the biggest most luscious plants survive), but make sure that the plants that are left are still sort of touching one another. It turns out plants are happiest when they are with others like them - which I could say is just like all of us.

Anyway, I especially like that the dressing includes some of the bacon fat (it turns out quite tasty), and I love poached eggs. So. Gay. So. Delish. Happy Pride!

The Illustrious Egg Bake

I recently decided that if I were to live on only one food source for the rest of my life, it would be eggs. I mean, maybe there are other foods that would provide better nutrition or protein or fat, but would I want to eat them day after day? Probably not. Maybe coconuts. But really, I am all about the egg.

I recently got to try duck eggs for the first time - pretty fresh from the back yard. The yolks take up almost the entire egg! And they were this brilliant yellow-orange. My Charming Companion and I actually made some kick ass hollandaise sauce to go with said duck eggs, which I hopefully will get around to posting soon.

Anyway, tonight I decided to make egg bake for dinner. I actually most love making egg bake for brunch when people are coming over because 1) it tastes super good and 2) is exceptionally easy and can be prepped in advance (you could even make the whole think in advance and just reheat it). I am relatively new to the egg bake phenomenon...always having gone for quiche before. But jeez - who needs crust with eggs this good? Well, eggs and butter and cream this good. It seems that a good egg bake just takes the butter (and cream?) that would have gone into the crust, and mixes it directly with the eggs. I will note here that one does not need to put butter and cream in their egg bake...it is a very forgiving concoction, and really you could just go straight up egg if you wanted. But going for the full fat option is quite festive and filling and also sort of brunch like. And it will help everyone be able to have more coffee without getting that crazy feeling.

The recipe below is modified from several egg-bake options. I have found that this basic recipe lends to any variety of fillings. Tonight it is asparagus and bacon from the farmer's market, and arugula from my garden! This is the recipe for a large rectangular baking dish; it can easily be halved and made in a square cake pan, round casserole dish, or cast iron.

Serves 8-ish
12 eggs
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. cream (whipping cream or half and half)
2 t. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 t. each)
2 c. cheese (try a mix of anything: cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, asiago)
2-3 c. filling
fresh herbs

Filling ideas:
frozen spinach and sauteed mushrooms
bacon (cooked and chopped), asparagus (lightly sauteed), and arugula*
zucchini, garlic and onion (sauteed first) with parsley, basil and marjoram
*If adding fresh greens like arugula, steam them first and squeeze out any extra water

Coat your pan with oil or butter, and preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, whisk eggs, then add softened butter, cream, mustard, salt and pepper (whisk that too). Spread filling in the bottom of your buttered dish, including any fresh herbs. Pour egg mixture over the top, and top with cheese. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a knife comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes, during which time you can prepare yourself or others to experience some melt in your mouth goodness.

Rhubarb Popsicles

It may be no secret to some of my fellow bloggers that I have been pining for another rhubarb plant this summer. Well, I finally got one (thanks Butter Nut!) AND another friend allowed me to pick some of her already-well-established rhubarb. It's been too hot for me to be motivated to make a crisp lately, so I've been looking for other dessert-y, rhubarb-y options. Enter: rhubarb popsicles. I'll say it again. RHUBARB POPSICLES! I found this recipe over on food52 and decided to try it out on company tonight in lieu of crisp.
I snuck one out of the ice cube tray in the freezer and they're delightfully tart and creamy. Hooray for popsicles!

Ingredients
1/1/2 C rhubarb
1/2 C sugar (I used honey, and I would use less next time)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/1/4 C whole milk yogurt

Cook down the rhubarb, lemon juice and sugar (honey) until it's tender and falling apart (10-15 min). Let it cool, then mix with yogurt and more sweetener to taste. Pour into popsicle molds, ice cube trays, or whatever suits your fancy. Freeze. Eat.

Caesar Salad

A couple of years ago I was at my friend's annual "Tamale Day" - which is like a national holiday in her family. Everyone has a job, sometimes that spans several days (soaking the husks), ultimately to prepare the pork, cheese, and chicken tamales for a hundred people. The final part of the day is huge feasting, ice cream making, and Petron drinking until the wee hours. Unfortunately I did not get there early enough to learn the intricacies of tamale making. BUT, I did learn about caesar salad. I was informed that Caesar Cardini was actually an Italian born Mexican who created the dressing on the fly. I also got the full "table side" presentation about how to make traditional caesar dressing - complete with wooden bowl, mashing the garlic and anchovies up its sides, and making a nice paste before adding the egg, and then olive oil.

I happened to have romaine lettuce, a chicken breast, and parmesan - so decided to give this whole raw egg dressing business a try. It seems that there are about 10 different "traditional" dressing recipes, but this one from epicurious seemed the closest to my lesson at tamale day. I actually did a bit simpler version (of several combined recipes) because I had no wooden bowl, or anchovy filets. In any case, the dressing was very tasty - kind of lemony and light, and not at all like the kind of caesar dressing you might buy.

My recipe (that would serve 2):
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. anchovy paste
salt and pepper
1/2 t. dijon mustard
1 t. worcestershire
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 c. olive oil

Mix everything but the egg and oil into a paste with a fork. Whisk in the egg. Add olive oil in a stream and whisk steadily for a nice emulsion.

Tear up 2 smaller heads of romaine lettuce, toss with the dressing, and top with 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. And chicken, if you're into that. Usually croutons too, but I skipped that (though I do love homemade croutons).

Dad's Strawberry Daiquiris

Dad's Strawberry Daiquiris (makes 2ish)

1 & 1/2 C fresh or frozen strawberries
1/4 C frozen lemonade concentrate (or lemon juice + a few T sugar)
rum or 7-Up, if you're into the virgin kind (as much or as little as you like)
ice (enough cubes to make it slushy)

Blend it up and enjoy.


Summer when I was a kid meant icy-sweet strawberry daiquiris, fresh from Dad's blender. Whenever the occasion arose (company for dinner on the grill, an especially hot day, extensive begging from my brother and me), he would whip up a virgin batch for the kiddos, followed by a liquored-up batch for the adults. I can still remember sipping one from a blue-rimmed glass with a twirly straw, thinking I must be the luckiest kid in the world.
Truth be told, I still prefer the virgin kind, but other adults in my life tend toward the rummy version. You can choose your own adventure - just don't forget the twirly straw.

Radish Leaf Pesto

I planted radish seeds a month or so ago, and, as is my tendency, planted way too many way too close together. No big deal because they can be thinned out and eaten as micro greens. Except that following the heat of the labor day weekend, the leaves were brimming over one another and already sort of prickly and tough. Not so micro.

But then I got some renewed inspiration from Clotilde (I am loving the way her name looks) and her blog, "Chocolate and Zucchini." Clotilde is French, lives in Montmartre, and has some really nice looking recipes (and a book or two too). There are lots of French cooking sorts of things, and also French words and a handy conversion chart for weights and measuring. The blog is in French and English, for anyone who wants to get in a little French language practice.

Anyhow, Clotilde gives some props to the radish leaf, something I did not know could be eaten in its larger form - and let me tell you, this Radish Leaf Pesto is totally snappy and delicious. (She also mentions putting them in soups and gratins - yum.) So, with scissors in hand, I snipped and thinned out the radish leaves right into the lettuce washer.

With today's muggy weather, I decided I just wanted raw veggies (crudites as Clotilde might say) - though she offers many creative suggestions abut the uses of pesto. I happened to have mascarpone - clearly purchased so that I could eat it tonight with this pesto. I think that there might just be something about having the season's first pesto - with the tomatoes it was totally divine.

Cobb Salad

oh WFDM! I think many of us are busy with the season: putting in raised beds, planting, trying to keep up with spring, finishing school, looking for jobs, etc. Yay for spring changes and growing and green things!

I was craving cobb salad all last week. I actually am not even sure I have ever even HAD cobb salad before, but the idea of it was sounding really good. So I went to Smitten Kitchen, and sure enough she had a "Classic Cobb Salad" recipe that looked to be just what I was imagining. I followed her recipe pretty much exactly, and it is delicious.


A few notes:
1. Prep these items first: Cook the chicken (35 min), boil the eggs, and cook the bacon - I recommend in that order! I used the same water I boiled the eggs in to quickly dunk the tomatoes so I could remove the skin. Everything will need to cool a bit while you make the dressing and prep the lettuces/avocado/cheese.
2. For the chicken: I got some bone/skinless chicken thighs (darker thigh meat is much juicier than breasts), rubbed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baked them at 375 for 35 minutes.
3. I have not had a chance to get to the farmer's market yet, but the co-op has local tomatoes and lettuces in abundance. According to the Seward produce department sign, watercress is out of season though. I found some WI "Upland Cress" that seems similar and is spicy and nice, and arugula would be good too.