The Cooking Chronicles: Dinner with Julie

I had mentally bookmarked two of the recipes seen on Dinner with Julie for future reference. It was a bit of a coincidence that I ended up making both of them in the same week.

Though Julie does feature some dishes that are a bit more complex, I find that a majority of them are perfect for time-conscious weekday dinners. And because she posts nearly every day, there’s always something new and interesting up on her site to be inspired by!

Poached Eggs over Warm Lentil Salad with Bacon

Julie’s recipe for a warm lentil salad with a poached egg on top appealed to me as a one-bowl dish with a little bit of everything (it wasn’t, unfortunately, a one-pot dish, however). It was also a great way for me to throw in some of my farmers’ market purchases.

While the lentils were simmering, I cooked up several slices of Irvings bacon, then, in the fat, sautéed some onions, mushrooms, Riverbend Gardens carrots, and Edgar Farms asparagus. A splash of red wine vinegar was added, then once it cooked out, I stirred in the bacon and softened lentils. The salad was topped with a poached duck egg from Greens, Eggs and Ham.

Poached egg over warm lentil salad with bacon

I overcooked the lentils a touch (fifteen minutes probably would have done the trick), and we found the red wine vinegar a little too sharp (lemon juice would likely work better). That said, the runny yolk gave the salad a punch of richness, accented by salty pops of bacon. As a whole, it was a perfect one-bowl dish to be eaten while watching the Lightning take it to the Bruins (yes, back in Game 6), and one that we will definitely make again.

Bacon, Onion, Mushroom and Fontina Pancake

More Irvings bacon found its way into a pancake recipe we adapted to make use of the ingredients in our fridge and pantry. Well, it was more like a pancake crossed with a frittata.

It begins the same way as the previous recipe, by crisping up some bacon, then cooking down onions and mushrooms. But then, a batter of eggs (we used two Greens, Eggs and Ham duck eggs instead of three chicken eggs), flour, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper was added to the pan, topped with fontina (our favourite melting cheese) and baked off for fifteen minutes. We served it with a side salad of greens picked from our balcony (I’ve never been able to say that before!).

Bacon, onion, mushroom and fontina pancake

I really liked the pancake, probably more than the frittatas that we usually make. The half cup of flour made a world of difference in texture, replacing the usually dense egg centre with that of a fluffy cake. I also loved the hint of mustard in the batter (and using the Fitz’s mustard Mack brought back for me from London studded cake with grainy gems).

It was another winning recipe that will go into our rotation. Thanks, Julie!