Breakfast Sandwich Makes a Comeback

Out on my usual Saturday afternoon scavenging, I head to Sur La Table. In there I walk around, feasting my eyes on pots, spoons and the fish turner I’ve been salivating on for weeks… There’s always a tug and play between these things and myself. While I could easily purchase it, I hold back because I can’t quite justify it. The reason could be finding a space in the kitchen, how soon/often I’ll be using it, I haven’t read any reviews, compared prices and the list goes on. But there’s one item I almost never hesitate to purchase: books. Specifically, cookbooks. On this day, hiding behind the usual Food Network fare is 'Wichcraft.

From my old channel :)

Wichcraft is a New York based restaurant, serving up sandwiches. The restaurant boasts sandwiches made from ingredients that are local and seasonal. The idea was concocted based on the chef’s experience of making sandwiches out of the leftover meats after the restaurant has closed. His concept was simple: make the ingredients great to eat on it’s own and use quality bread. As I scroll through the pages of the book,  this breakfast sandwich caught my eye. Eggs – good. Bacon – good. Frisée – dressed frisée? And gorgonzola cheese – very interesting.

In keeping with their seasonal theme, I opted to use arugula in this recipe instead of frisée. There was none in any of my usual stores so I assumed it wasn’t in season.  I did a little digging and found out it’s in season spring-summer. Arugula and spinach were my choices so I picked arugula.  Arugula has a nice peppery bite which I thought would complement the bacon and gorgonzola well.

I was afraid the gorgonzola cheese would be overpowering especially combined with bacon. But the vinaigrette dressing for the arugula balanced out the taste. Knowing this now, I'd add a little bit more next time.  Gorgonzola cheese is pretty aggressive on the nose so if you're not feeling too adventurous,  try brie instead.

Recipe Title

Adapted from 'Wichcraft, serves 2

Ingredients

4 strips thick cut bacon
gorgonzola cheese
2 large eggs
2 cups arugula
2 ciabatta rolls*
salt & pepper to tasteVinaigrette:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar*

Prep the ingredients:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees fahrenheight. Spread the gorgonzola cheese over the tops of the rolls. Set the bacon in a cookie sheet. Bake the bacon 12-15 minutes. Toast the rolls in the oven for 5-8 minutes.

On medium heat, fry up the eggs over easy. Don’t forget to season it with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil and vinegar.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in the arugula gently to avoid bruising the leaves.

Arrange the sandwich:
Place the egg in the bottom half of the roll. Then add 2 strips of bacon. Next add the dressed arugula. Top with the top bun, with the gorgonzola spread. Slice in half.

*You can substitute the rolls for sourdough or sweet rolls
*Any wine vinegar would work well,  I like rice wine because it’s milder and little sweet.