What better reason to have a brunch than a rooster table-cloth!
I didn’t need a reason to have a brunch but my rooster table-cloth has had me wanting to do brunch and have a bunch of friends over. The friends never got asked over for this recipe; someday they will.
While working at Williams Sonoma for 6 years I collected so many of their tablecloths and paid next-to-nothing for them once they went on sale. The rooster table-cloth is navy blue and have these cool roosters (and I’m not even a rooster fan.) along the border of the cloths which is just screaming or “crowing” make brunch and serve it on me.
So what should I do? Of course, make brunch but as it turned out the bunch with friends was just my husband and myself. I couldn’t wait to try to make this so rather than fuss with a bunch of other dishes and arrange time for friends to actually make it over for brunch I made it just for the two of us.
I was tracking down this chef (John Fleer) who now works at Rhubarb restaurant in Asheville and read where he had worked at the Blackberry Farm Restaurant located at the foothills of The Smoky Mountains in Walland, Tennessee, so I had to mosey on over to the Blackberry Farm website to see what was going on. Of course, the first place I look is the restaurant and the menu where I happened upon a menu item Asparagus with Poached Egg, Toast and Bacon Vinaigrette and thought I could do this without a recipe. We have eaten at Rhubarb in Asheville but this wasn’t on his menu at that time.
In the past, I’ve said breakfast is my least favorite meals, but over the years I have found some interesting breakfast/brunch recipes that are wonderful. For this brunch that is still in the planning stage, I’m making the Asparagus with Poached Egg, Toast and Bacon Vinaigrette, Potatoes Pave,& Currant Scones with Tangerine Marmalade, Coconut Banana Puffs, Very Berry Breakfast Pudding with Whipped Cream for Dessert. Now, I think that sounds like a delicious and special brunch that will happen hopefully sometime soon now that out outdoor kitchen is fully functional.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Lemon-scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake (bread) has a lot of steps but worth every one of them.
Key ingredients for this wonderful breakfast.
Vinaigrette ingredients.
Finely chop the shallots.
Fry bacon, crumble and set aside.
After frying the bacon, reserve 3 tablespoons of the drippings. In a small skillet add the fat, oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic and brown sugar. Whisk until warm. Set aside.
Lightly oil the asparagus and tomatoes and grill for 4-5 minutes.
Oil (or butter) some good bread and grill until nice and brown. Look at those great grill marks.
Top your grilled toast with some of the grilled asparagus, then the crumbled bacon. (If I used larger asparagus I would probably use about 4 spears.)
Top with your poached egg.
Add as much of the Bacon Vinaigrette as you desire. The more the yummier.
What a mess I made of this plate, but was it ever good!


- 1 bunch large asparagus
- eggs
- Bread for toasting
- Bacon Vinaigrette
- 5 slices bacon, reserve fat
- 3 Tbsp. bacon fat
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. good balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste.
- Trim the bottom 2" or so off the asparagus. Use a peeler and peel off some of the bottom, this will help make it more tender. Steam or grill asparagus until tender or the way you like your asparagus.
- Poach your eggs either using method in boiling water or in an egg poacher.
- Make your toast triangles right before plating.
- For vinaigrette: cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels . Remove skillet from heat. Reserve 3 tablespoons drippings in skillet; mix in oil. Whisk vinegar, shallots, garlic and brown sugar in small bowl. Add to drippings in skillet. Stir over medium-low heat just until warm. Season with salt and pepper. Use warm.
- To assemble, put the 3 toast triangles on plate. Top with the asparagus, then poached egg then drizzled the bacon vinaigrette over everything.
- Bon Appetit!
- If you think this is a bit sweet for you, leave out the brown sugar.
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