Today is one of those rainy days where you feel like doing something fun, yet your best bet is to just be productive. So off to the gym I went. Upon my return, I stopped by The Garden, our Greenpoint local natural foods store, and made a costly purchase of organic products. Well, I can only blame myself for breaking my pocket…I mean, that’s what I get for not joining a CSA and forgetting to hit the farmer’s market this past weekend. Oh well, c’est la vie…right?

Grilled Endive with Crumbled Blue Cheese and Hickory Smoked Bacon

The great thing about working evenings is you can have the supermarket all to yourself. You can stand in an aisle for as long as you want just to review all the many different varieties of olive oil and vinegars without having people shove you aside with their big coats and bulky baskets. I left The Garden with a small bag of produce, some cheeses, and bacon, knowing exactly what I wanted to make for today’s post. My only wish is that I had better lighting for the photos, but somehow I find these two somewhat forgiving.

Grilled Endive with Crumbled Blue Cheese and Hickory Smoked Bacon. Making this was easy as 1-2-3. I cut the endive lengthwise in half then rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel. In the meantime, I started to heat up a cast iron skillet while I drizzled Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, a gift from a good friend of mine who brought back this delicious olive oil from his home town in Tuscany, and sprinkled some coarse umami smoked sea salt onto the sliced endive. I let it sit for a few minutes to absorb the oil then I placed the endives cut side down onto the very hot skillet, grilling each side for approximately 1 – 2 minutes. Afterwards, I assembled the dish by plating two grilled pieces of endive and sprinkling them with blue cheese, which I crumbled up beforehand, and then topped it off with store-bought hickory smoked bacon, which I cooked beforehand as well. Drizzle lightly with Tuscan extra virgin olive oil and enjoy.