sprinklefingers

i’m wrapping up the week-long birthday celebration of my now four-year-old kid. saturday was la grande fête - 33 of his closest friends dining on tex-mex and working their way through the 8 dozen doughnuts it took to create his dream birthday cake. no big deal, right?

except for when i got home and truly realized that instead of eating an actual lunch i had 5 doughnuts. three glazed and two chocolate-frost with sprinkles. and i probably had room for more.

because i’m always planning our next meal, as soon as the sprinkles were wiped up, i started to think about what we’d have for dinner. knowing full well i had only eaten doughnuts all day, it was obvious the only thing we could possible have would be salad. good thing i had a loaf of brioche, a package of bacon and some eggs lying around.

wait. your salads don’t involve brioche, bacon & eggs?

i love brioche. and bacon. and a salad just isn’t a salad (for me) without a fried egg on top. so why not make a meal of it?

there are one million ways to make this salad, but here’s my favorite:

fried egg salad with bacon
accompanied by brioche toasts

first up, prepare your bacon:
i prefer bacon baked. place an all-metal cooling rack inside a rimmed sheet tray. next, place the bacon on the rack and roast it at 400 degrees until it reaches your desired crisp-ness. after the bacon has finished roasting, preserve the bacon drippings and slice the bacon in half crosswise.

next up, prepare your salad base:
i like mixed greens. especially if they involve arugula and radicchio. place the greens in your favorite salad bowl. top with thinly sliced radishes and steamed or roasted beets. sprinkle on some cheese - goat or blue, perhaps? top with your favorite dressing - balsamic vinegar & olive oil is what i like. nestle sixteen a few bacon halves along the side of the salad in the bowl. 

now, fry your eggs: add a bit of the reserved bacon drippings to a frying pan. heat over medium and crack in your egg. fry to desired doneness. when finished, slide the fried egg out of the pan directly onto the top of your salad.

and to top the whole thing off: brioche toasts. preheat the oven to 350. if you have a loaf of brioche, slice it into 1/2” thick slabs. brush each slab generously with - you guessed it - the reserved bacon drippings. place the brioche slabs onto a sheet tray and bake until golden. slice the slabs diagonally and serve alongside the salad. OR slice the toasted brioche into 1” chunks and sprinkle them on the salad - best crouton, ever.


oh, look! a photo!
salad lineup - awaiting fried eggs. 

you should have salad for dinner. just don’t forget the bacon.