Because Monday nights are always super busy, we decided to make barbecue brisket in the slow cooker on Sunday so all we had to do Monday was reheat it and make a salad.  But because we like sweet things, and its apple season, we also made apple crepes.  For the salad, we were inspired by a salad our mom told us about that she had in a French bistro and loved: a frisee salad with lardons (big bacon bits), croutons and a poached egg.  Our take on it uses pancetta lardons, tops the croutons with goat cheese and uses a fried egg instead of a poached egg.  And we also made orso as a simple side dish.  It was a GREAT Monday night dinner (a little more work than we intended but worth it!)

Barbecue Brisket

For the brisket, first we made a dry rub out of a bunch of secret spices, but which definitely included paprika, salt and pepper.  Then we put it in the slow cooker with plenty of barbecue sauce and let it cook over night.  We let it cool, skimmed the fat, shredded it and refrigerated it until dinner.

Frisee Salad

For the frisee salad, first we chopped and sauteed the pancetta. Then we made goat cheese croutons and fried an egg in the pancetta oil.  Then we put it all together.  Mom loved it although we all decided that next time we needed at least two eggs, not just one.

Apple Crepes

For the apple crepes: first we made the crepe batter (it’s really easy: just eggs, milk, flour and salt) but it’s good to let it sit a bit.  So while the crepe mix was sitting, we peeled and sliced 4 apples. Then we cooked them with a little butter and cinnamon sugar. Then we made the crepe on our crepe maker, filled it with apples, folded and topped with whipped cream.  Delicious!