Lyonnaise; erwtensoep

Eastside Road, December 13, 2012—

THE FIRST LYONNAISE in a long time: frisée is finally back in the market. You brown a few small cubes of bacon in olive oil, then a chopped shallot or two. Meanwhile your frisée has been washed and dried. You add a spoonful of prepared mustard to the bacon-shallot mixture, then sherry vinegar, and cook it down a bit; then pour that onto the frisée and toss it with your hands; then distribute it into your individual salad bowls.

You've got an inch or two of salted water boiling gently in a skillet, right? Slide an egg into it, one for each person, and spoon each of them to gather the white and turn it when necessary. You want the white just barely set. Then take them out with a perforated spatula or spoon, set them on a square of paper towel to drain, and place one on each individual salad. Serve quick, while still warm.

Afterward we had a nice pea soup Lindsey'd made of dried split peas and chicken stock. The Dutch call this erwtensoep; I've never been able to figure out how to pronounce it.

Red table wine, "Guadagni," Preston of Dry Creek, 2011