SPINACH SALAD W/ Hot Bacon Dressing Poached Egg - Restaurant Quality Salad

Hey, It's Thursday... And you all know what that means don't ya... Today I am hosting my weekly sister posting of I CAN COOK THAT, over at OUR KRAZY KITCHEN! I am especially excited about today's sister post, as for the first time, I am tackling a JULIA CHILD recipe. I feel like I passed my Bar Mitzvah studies, as I make my very own PUFF PASTRY. Click on the photos to get to the OKK site, and be sure to drop me a comment so the ladies who allow me to post there know that you are reading.

And now, back to my series of Christmas Eve restaurant recreations... Is everyone following along??? The last few days, I have been posting my efforts to recreate memorable menu items from my past. You know those interesting meals that really stand out as extra ordinary.

Just in case you aren't paying close attention, I am posting my Christmas Eve dinner with my wife. We decided to recreate our culinary journey through restaurant quality meals. So far, you have missed...

• 8 AM - Asiago / Blue Cheese Crisps - RESTAURANT QUALITY Amuse-Bouche

• 9 AM - BLUE CHEESE SAUCE over Homemade POTATO CHIPS - Restaurant Quality Appetizer and 7 things about ME!!!
  
  
• 10 AM - WELSH RAREBIT - Restaurant Quality Appetizer
  
  
• 11 AM - Creole SHRIMP and ARTICHOKE SOUP - Restaurant Quality Soup
  
  
• NOON - "ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN's KISS" CHOCOLATE MARTINI - Bartender Quality Drink

And now, on to the 1 PM hour of my challenging dinner. You may think this is a bit of a cheat, as I already posted this recipe as part of my RIBS 101 series. But, first it fit in to that series, AND it is what I made during the 1 PM hour of my day, so it fits into this series. And most important, I want to better explain that should you decide to make this salad, feel free to use BACON in place of the rib meat. Or, as I had in the original restaurant inspired meal, use KC strip steak strips. The recipe and procedures are exactly the same, just use the pan drippings from the meat to make the salad dressing.

So, forgive me for the repeat, but this is a wonderful salad, and the dressing really sets it apart, and the poached egg adds a bit of PANACHE!

Here's what I did (again)...

A Spinach salad
with hot rib meat (use Bacon or KC Strip Steak)
and rib meat (use Bacon or KC Strip Steak)
drippings dressing
topped with a poached egg!

The salad will feature not just rib meat laid on top of lettuce (or in this case, spinach); it will also have a HOT rib meat drippings dressing (use Bacon or KC Strip Steak), topped with a poached egg...

You will need ...

Spinach
egg
brown sugar
oil (a great time to break out that flavored oil)
vinegar (best quality balsamic or wine flavored)
and I like to top with walnuts.

OK, I have already shown off my poaching egg abilities in this post... the LAST Turkey Leftover Post - AND I POACH an EGG!!!. Click that link for my lesson on how to poach an egg if you have never done one.

So, let's move on to the dressing...

I am a little lean on photos for this, so it's a step by step lesson using your imagination...

1. Slice up some of the "Flap Meat" leftovers from your spareribs (use Bacon or KC Strip Steak).
2. In a small skillet, warm up the meat. This will leave behind the drippings and rendered fat. the drippings will be spiced with the rub you used on the original baking of the spareribs. Yes, a few of you are saying to yourselves... "Ahhh, he is making a hot bacon dressing"... Shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone, I want to pretend I am reinventing the wheel here.
3. Remove the meat, set aside and add a couple of tablespoons of Oil, Vinegar and Brown sugar to the drippings. Mix well and heat till all is hot.
   

1. Lay a bed of spinach on your plate.
2. top with the rib meat
3. add some walnut pieces
4. top with a poached egg
5. drizzle dressing and listen to the Ohhhs and Ahhhs

If you have never had hot bacon dressing (Oops, I mean hot rib meat (use Bacon or KC Strip Steak) dressing) drizzled over a poached egg, you are really missing a treat. The soft oozing yolk mixes with the dressing and the meat and the spinach to create a combined mixture of tastes better than the parts.

I also shared the story of this wonderful little restaurant, long closed now, but not forgotten. Part of my ritual for the dinner was for Jackie and I to remember the good times we had connected to the dish. We went to this restaurant a few times before it closed. The wife was the chef and the husband ran the front of the house (the only waiter). Making a success of a restaurant is nearly impossible. It is a shame that not enough people recognized the quality and care that came out of that kitchen (while Olive Garden has lines around the block every night... but don't get me started).

So, that's it for today, but amazingly enough, we are only about half done!

Come back tomorrow to see what we did at 2 PM!

Oh, and be sure to check my post over at OUR KRAZY KITCHEN! Now that I can make homemade Puff Pastry, I am collecting recipes over at that site... come help me cook better!