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French Fridays with Dorie: Bacon and Eggs and Asparagus Salad
Last weekend, I went to Delaware to attend a surprise party for my cousin’s birthday. It was a milestone birthday, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to help celebrate. It was a blast to spend the afternoon having lunch and catching up with family and family friends. The bonus of the weekend was that I flew in and out of Baltimore, so I also had an extended visit with my sister Jane (and a brief visit with my other sister Jennifer, but only at the party).
My sister Jane lives on a farm, though she, personally, does little in the way of farming. Her father-in-law takes charge of the agriculture and animal husbandry going on there. It is peak asparagus season in Maryland. Although Jane and I didn’t have time to cook together this trip, I was fortunate to be able to stash a bundle of freshly picked asparagus spears from their garden in my luggage. Perfect for this week’s FFwD (French Fridays with Dorie) recipe: Bacon and Eggs and Asparagus Salad!
Freshly Picked Asparagus
I really loved last week’s spinach and bacon quiche, so I’m not sure what superlative to use for this week’s salad which I loved even more, by leaps and bounds. True confessions, I do love salad for dinner. I made the full recipe and split it between the two of us for dinner, two eggs each. This salad had so many different flavors and textures. There was the piquant vinaigrette on the salad greens, the salty bacon, the grassy asparagus, the runny eggs, all topped with toasty walnuts. It was having a party in my mouth.
Busy Stovetop
My only gripe about this recipe is the eggs. First, I wish my eggs had been a little runnier. I cooked the eggs for the recommended 6 minutes. I’m thinking maybe I didn’t run them under cold water for long enough. They weren’t hard-boiled, but they were a little past soft-boiled. In any case, I thought that the egg part was fussy. The eggs were boiled, peeled, and warmed in bacon fat. Next time, I’ll just poach the eggs, which will be slightly less attractive, but easier for me (I don’t really like peeling boiled eggs).
I liked the vinaigrette so much that I made it again later in the week for tossing with more salad. I think it will get rolled into the salad dressing repertoire.
As I said, I adored this salad. Asparagus season is short, so I’m excited to read about any substitutions the other FFwD bloggers might have tried. You can check out their posts by following the links from French Fridays with Dorie. You can find the recipe in the cookbook, Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.
Bedroom Salad
I’m longing for spring to come and stay. In late February, it seemed hopeless, so I planted a pot of microgreens. The seed packet promised they would be ready to eat in 2 weeks. The seeds germinated within the first week, and I moved the pot to the sunniest window, in the bedroom. After two weeks, the greens were growing, but looked too pathetic to eat. Each seedling still had only two leaves, about an inch long. I just let them keep growing. I was good about raising the shade in the morning for sunshine, watering so the greens would keep growing, and rotating the pot so the leaves would grow straight. It’s been about six weeks, and the salad was starting to look edible.
Tiny Micro Salad
The timing was right. The weather is finally starting to improve. Last week’s snow has melted. The temperature is staying above freezing (though not by much). My morning boot camp started outside this week, three weeks earlier than in past years. It was actually pleasant.
This weekend, I plan to spray paint and hang a planter on the back of the garage for lettuce and radishes. We’re having a bunny issue, so this will help keep my spring greens out of their reach. I’m expecting to have greens from my own outside garden some time in May. I think it might be spring.
A Non-Recipe for Salad
Use the amount of mesclun greens you want to eat. Wash the leaves and dry them very well. I use a salad spinner.
Pour a tablespoon or two of the best extra virgin olive oil you have into a wooden salad bowl that’s much larger than you think it should be. You need plenty of room for tossing. Add the greens and toss very well. Each leaf should be lightly coated in oil. Add more oil if there’s not enough.
Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the salad, along with a shake or two of Worcestershire sauce and a generous seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
A Plateful of Happiness 