The best bistro lunch/dinner, ever!

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

DH and I just finished a meal I saw Melissa D'Arabian make a few weeks ago. She indicated on the show it was a French Bistro lunch meal, but we had it for dinner and it has the best combination of flavors.

The heart of the meal is her Potato Bacon Torte, accompanied by a light salad. I had some leftover Easter ham and used that instead of bacon. This torte/pie is to die for. I also used my own balsamic vinaigrette for the salad as I like the taste better, but I've made this dressing and it's also terrific.

We ate just about 1/4 of this pie and so will have some leftovers for the rest of the week. It would probably be a terrific brunch dish as well.

I was transported to Paris!

RespectLife · ‎02-27-2012

Wow! Thanks for sharing this recipe! I am always looking for new potato dishes as it is one of the few things my 'adult' kids like~ I am so sick of the hash brown/cream soup/cheese recipe! They always ask for 'cheesy potatoes' but I dislike 'canned soup' recipes!

This seems like fun to make!

Thanks again!

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

Respect, I'm sure if you have a favorite crust/pastry recipe ir would be wonderful, but I do recommend the crust recipe included here. It is really top notch. Its not the most low fat recipe in the world but a small piece is all you really need to be satisfied. Good luck!

GloriBee · ‎03-24-2010

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I just pinned it.

Gloria

RespectLife · ‎02-27-2012

Oh Dang, Sammijo! I was gonna cheat and use a store bought crust! Shame on me, I know...okay...if the crust represented in the pic is the homemade one...I'll give it a go! It looks so delicious and flaky! Almost like a puff pastry!

I quit trying a good pie crust years ago. I tried every recipe out there that everyone swears by! I stink at it. I then tried refrig rolled crusts and frozen premades and never liked any of them either. So then I quit making pies and switched everything to a tart instead! I am good at those crusts! LOL

LoLa · ‎11-27-2010

Hi Sammijo!

I'm so happy that you and your husband enjoyed your "bistro lunch". Thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds wonderful. I can't wait to try it.

Have a great day,

LoLa

Madisson · ‎10-13-2011

It sounds absolutely fantastic! You would expect it to be great though with ingredients like heavy cream, cheeses, and bacon. I'll make it sometime for a treat...maybe a Sunday morning.

What I can't figure out is why all the chefs on tv keep giving us recipes for high fat/high calorie food - when what most of us need is food that tastes great, but is low fat/low cal/low carbs. Now, those would be a challenge to create, but everyone would rush to try them. It doesn't take much of a brain to come up with these high fat recipes. I know no one forces you to eat them, but still we need healthy recipes too.

(Not faulting the OP here, just saying....)

Some people do drugs. I do shoes....Celine Dion

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks for posting this. I've been looking for something special to make when I invite a friend over to lunch.

This sounds good!

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

On 4/24/2014 Madisson said:
It sounds absolutely fantastic! You would expect it to be great though with ingredients like heavy cream, cheeses, and bacon. I'll make it sometime for a treat...maybe a Sunday morning.

What I can't figure out is why all the chefs on tv keep giving us recipes for high fat/high calorie food - when what most of us need is food that tastes great, but is low fat/low cal/low carbs. Now, those would be a challenge to create, but everyone would rush to try them. It doesn't take much of a brain to come up with these high fat recipes. I know no one forces you to eat them, but still we need healthy recipes too.

(Not faulting the OP here, just saying....)

I hear you, Madisson and I absolutely agree. The FN doesn't even show Elie Krieger shows anymore! I am always on the lookout for tasty lower fat, lower calorie recipes but somehow this one spoke to me despite the butter in the crust and the cream! There is only 2/3 cup of cream for the whole thing and 1/4 cup of cheese in this so I thought I'd give it a try. I also used turkey bacon the first time and leftover trimmed Easter ham the second. Although Melissa d'Arabian says her meals feed 4 people, I'm here to tell you this pie would serve 6 to 8 for a nice lunch with a salad on the side and be plenty of food.

From the Food Network, I do find that many of Giada's recipes fall within the healthy range. Just made her Lentil Soup for dinner tonight and it is truly awesome tasting and a bit more healthful than the potato torte! The torte is a once in a while treat for sure, but it was sooooo good, I had to share! ${#emotions_dlg.biggrin}$

Sammijo10 · ‎05-14-2011

On 4/24/2014 RespectLife said:
Oh Dang, Sammijo! I was gonna cheat and use a store bought crust! Shame on me, I know...okay...if the crust represented in the pic is the homemade one...I'll give it a go! It looks so delicious and flaky! Almost like a puff pastry!

I quit trying a good pie crust years ago. I tried every recipe out there that everyone swears by! I stink at it. I then tried refrig rolled crusts and frozen premades and never liked any of them either. So then I quit making pies and switched everything to a tart instead! I am good at those crusts! LOL

LOL! If you do want to try your hand at a crust this is a good one. I only mixed it in the food processor until it was just starting to clump. I discovered that too much water in a pie crust is nearly as tragic as over mixing. Give it a go!