Brunching on a Salad

After taking a little break from blogging, I have come back feeling a little refreshed.  This past weekend I indulged myself in whatever I honestly wanted to eat and now that it is the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I have become more conscious of what I am eating.  Considering that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I am also trying to eat some foods that are nothing like the ones that are to be served during the big meal.  This is why I chose to pick up some endive when shopping at the grocery store.

For those of you who know nothing about endive, endive is a cool weather crop like lettuce with a crisp texture.  Generally on the more bitter side, endive provides a whopping 289 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin K in a two-cup serving, which is important for balanced blood coagulation.  The kaempferol in endive (also found in other crucifers) has been found to naturally inhibit ovarian cancer cells. In fact, when these cells are exposed to it, they die. So eat up!

I knew that endive would create a perfect salad if I just added some bacon and a poached egg.  With a little bit more inspiration, I added a few other key ingredients to create a lunch that kept me full and was something a little different than my usual meal. Check out the recipe!

Endive Salad with Poached Eggs, Bacon, and a Truffle Dijon Mustard Dressing

2 heads of endive, sliced in half and cored

4 strips of bacon, chopped

2 eggs, poached

4 tablespoons truffle oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes (optional)

In a small skillet, cook the chopped up bacon until crispy and then remove to onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Separate the two heads to endive into two different bowls.  Top with cooked bacon and a poached egg in each bowl.  In a small bowl, mix together the truffle oil, vinegar, dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Drizzle on top of the salad and sprinkle the red pepper flakes as well.  Enjoy!

Cook’s Notes: If you are not able to find endive but have the chance to find frisee instead, use that.  However, it is much harder to find than endive is.

xoxo Sarah

November 25, 2015 by Sarah Hoski Categories: Bacon, Dinner, Easy, Eggs, endive, Gluten Free, Healthy, Lunch, Meat, poached eggs, Recipes, salad, truffle, truffle oil, UncategorizedTags: Bacon, dijon, Dinner, Easy, Eggs, endive, fitness, Gluten Free, Healthy, Lunch, poached eggs, Recipe, salad, truffle, truffle oil Leave a comment

Breakfast Before Boys…or Anything Really

For those of you that are consistent readers of my blog, you should have probably figured out by now that breakfast if my FAVORITE meal and since I have this glorious Friday off from work, I am going to treat myself to one of my favorite dishes.  Eggs Benedict.  Now a traditional Eggs Benedict consists of an english muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, except we all know that I like to think outside of the box to create a dish that is a little bit more memorable.  Thus, my Eggs Benedict will consist of locally made bread that is beautifully toasted, topped with Taylor Ham, avocado, a poached egg and homemade hollandaise sauce.

Taylor Ham, just in case you were wondering, is a pork-based processed meat originating and commonly available in New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, and sold as “Taylor Ham”. I have it sliced paper thin which I will then crisp up before adding to my Eggs Benedict.  It will be a nice variation to the typical ham or Canadian bacon that is used in traditional Eggs Benedict. Another wonderful component to this dish is the homemade hollandaise sauce that comes from The Joy of Cooking.  While this is very labor intensive, it is completely worth the time.  If you do not have the time to homemake your own, I would highly recommend using Knorr Hollandaise Sauce.

Taylor Ham Eggs Benedict with Avocado

Hollandaise sauce

Melt slowly and keep warm:
1/2 cup butter

Barely heat:
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
dry sherry or tarragon vinegar

Have ready a small saucepan of boiling water & a tb. with which to measure it when ready. Place in the top of a double boiler over-not in-hot water:
3 egg yolks
Beat the yolks with a wire whisk until they begin to thicken. Add:
1 tbsp boiling water

Beat again until the eggs begin to thicken. Repeat this process until you have added:
3 more tbsp water

Then beat in the warm lemon juice. Remove the double boiler from the heat. Beat the sauce well with a wire whisk. Beat constantly while adding the melted butter slowly and:
1/4 tsp salt
a few grains of cayenne

Beat until the sauce is thick. Serve at once.

Two slices of nice bread, toasted

One avocado, sliced

4 slices of Taylor Ham, heated on a skillet

2 eggs, poached

Take the two pieces of toast and divide the sliced avocados between the slices of toast.  Take a fork and smoosh the avocado like you would when making guacamole.  Then take the slices of taylor ham, cut them in half and top the avocado.  Once you have poached the eggs, place one egg on each toast on top of the ham and then top with hollandaise sauce! Enjoy!

I have to admit, this was one of the best Eggs Benedicts that I have ever made! I started my Labor Day Weekend off on the right foot and am ready to see what this weekend has in store for me! I hope you enjoy this just as much as I did 🙂

xoxo Sarah

September 4, 2015September 4, 2015 by Sarah Hoski Categories: Avocado, Breakfast, Brunch, Easy, Eggs, eggs benedict, ham, hollandaise, poached eggs, Recipes, Simple, taylor hamTags: Avocado, Breakfast, Brunch, Easy, Eggs, eggs benedict, ham, hollandaise, poached eggs, Recipe, Simple, taylor ham 4 Comments