Serving Up {Breakfast}: Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Gorgonzola

I have been enjoying egg sandwiches quite regularly as of late - some for breakfast, others for dinner, last night it was eggs and avocado at 9:45 p.m. in hopes of getting the tummy to stop grumbling.  I get the most beautiful free range eggs from a local farmer and the yolks are literally ORANGE.  Gorgeous!  With eggs kind of on my mind, I saw this recipe posted at Smitten Kitchen and I knew that I had to make it!  And I did make it - the very next night (and again the next day)!  I mean, you use the bacon fat to make a dressing for the greens!  Are you kidding me?  All salads would benefit from a couple of tablespoons of good ole' bacon grease, but that is just my personal opinion...

I wrote the recipe as I made it which included a couple of tweaks - not necessarily because it needed tweaks, but because I made it with what I had on hand.  So the frisee became spinach and the blue cheese became gorgonzola.  While I can't speak for the sandwich with the original ingredient list, I can speak of the sandwich made with the substitutions and I can't imagine anything better.  Yum!

FRIED EGG SANDWICH with BACON AND GORGONZOLA
(recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
printable version

2 ciabatta rolls

1 ½ cups favorite mixed greens
2 slices bacon, thick cut
1 Tbs. minced shallot
1 ½ Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
¼ cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2 Tbs. butter
2 eggs
Salt and Pepper

Place mixed greens in a small bowl. Cut bacon crosswise into ½ inch pieces. Heat skillet over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, reserving half of the bacon grease. Add shallot to bacon fat and cook for one minute, stirring. Add red wine vinegar, stirring for 30 seconds, then remove from heat and whisk in Dijon mustard. Pour hot dressing over mixed greens, add cooked bacon and toss with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Split rolls in half and toast. Divide salad between each roll. Top each salad with 2 Tbs. crumbled gorgonzola.

Reheat skillet over medium heat. Add butter and coat the pan. Crack each egg ino the pan, season with salt and pepper and cover the skillet with a small lid. Cook for one minute for a perfect sunny-side-up egg, although flipping the egg for 30 seconds more will keep the yolk from comepletely running off your sandwich. Remove the eggs from the pan and place on top of the gorgonzola. Replace top bun.