Poached Egg Salad

I first had this salad for Sunday Brunch but it makes a fantastic summertime dinner. It's light enough that it's pleasant to eat when it's hot outside, but the croutons, eggs and bacon make it substantial enough to be a full meal.

Ingredients (for one serving):

• mixed salad greens
• 3 slices of bacon
  
• one medium tomato
• a handful of Stale Bread Croutons
• 2 poached eggs
• Lara's Meyer Lemon Citronette

Directions:

1. Cook bacon, after cooling crumble into medium sized pieces
2. Dice tomato
3. Poach two eggs
4. On a plate assemble salad greens, tomato, bacon, croutons- place poached eggs on top and drizzle with citronette

Directions for Poaching Eggs:

This will create a "medium cooked" poached egg with firm white and a runny yolk

1. Fill a small pot ½ way with water and bring to a boil
2. Crack an egg into a small bowl or ramekin (make sure to keep yolk intact)
   
3. Remove the pot from heat and whisk creating a whirlpool in the middle of the pot
4. Gently pour egg into whirlpool
5. Cover the pot and let sit for 3 min
6. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon

Notes:

• The fresher the eggs you use the easier it will be to keep them together when poaching- the whites of older eggs tend to thin and spread away from the yolk
  
• The flavor of the yolk mixing with the citronette and soaking into the croutons is the highlight of this recipe, I strongly recommend using organic, farm fresh eggs for the best flavor- the pale yellow yolks of factory farmed eggs just don't compare

Lara's Meyer Lemon Citronette

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  
• juice of 4 meyer lemons (should be around ¾ c.)
• ¼ c. champagne vinegar
• ½ c. olive oil
• salt to taste
  

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in liquid measuring cup
2. Use an immersion blender to lightly emulsify
   

Stale Bread Croutons

This recipe is a simple solution for what to do when you don't quite make it through a loaf of bread before it starts to dry out.

Ingredients:

• Left over bread (I used Pain au Levain and an Italian Batard)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Dried Thyme
• Dried Rosemary
• Salt
• Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250˚F

1. Cut bread into approximately one inch cubes.
2. Spread bread cubes in an even layer onto a baking sheet
3. Pour olive oil over cubes and toss until all are evenly coated
4. Sprinkle generous amounts of salt, garlic and dried herbs over bread and toss again until herbs are evenly distributed
5. Bake for 1hr 20 min or until golden brown and crisp

Notes:

• There are no proportions for this recipe because it is totally dependent on the amount of stale bread you have and personal taste.

• You can substitute any herbs you like for the herbs listed though I do recommend dried herbs for the fullest flavor in this recipe.

• Cooking time may vary based on the type and age of bread, I usually take a peek at mine every 30 min to check color and texture. Don't be afraid to cook them longer if need be.