Frisee Salad with Poached Eggs and Bacon

I'm going to deviate from the light/healthy/summer dishes I promised you for a quick minute.  John and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary last weekend and we toasted the occasion with our favorite bottle of champagne.  French champagne of course goes perfectly with classic French bistro fare so I decided to recreate one of our favorite bistro dishes, a frisee salad tossed with an sherry orange vinaigrette, some toasted hazelnuts and topped with some crunchy bacon and a perfectly poached egg.

For 2 generous starter-size portions, you'll need:

2 super fresh eggs, poached

4-6 cups of frisee or a blend of baby greens and frisee

3 slices of thick, center cut bacon, sliced into half inch pieces

2 tablespoons of hazelnuts, coarsely chopped and lightly toasted

4-6 tablespoons of your favorite vinaigrette or see the recipe below

If you're thinking about closing your browser because you're afraid of egg poaching, I ask you to hear me out.  I've only poached eggs 3 or 4 times in my life up until now however I happened upon a simple, fool proof method (you can read about here) that will make these a regular item on the Lacy kitchen menu.

The eggs can be poached earlier in the day or just before serving- either way its best to let them cool on a papertowel lined plate for at least 20 minutes in the fridge.

The vinaigrette can also be made in advance:

1/2 teaspoon of orange zest

1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of honey

2 teaspoons of minced shallot

3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a glass measuring cup.  Whisk well with a fork until emulsified (the oil and vinegar no longer separate.)

Fry the bacon in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil until perfectly crispy and brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a papertowel.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette in a bowl before plating.  Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and bacon and then top with the poached egg.

The subtle orange flavor of the vinaigrette works very well with the toasted hazelnuts and the runny yolk of the egg creates a silky sauce that begs for a crusty piece of french bread for dipping.

As simple as it is to prepare, it would make for a great lunch or a quick weeknight dinner, but as we'll attest, it also stands up to a great bottle of champagne on a special occasion as well.  There is something about pairing rustic classic dishes at home with a super bottle of wine or champagne that makes me happy.

Along with the salad, we enjoyed a simple (and decadent) take on a croque monsieur.  I toasted thick slices of rustic whole wheat bread, topped them with a slice of prosciutto and a velvety cheese sauce made with a high quality French Comte (gruyere cheese).   I then put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to toast the cheese.  Yummm....