Brother's Bistro 'Best Taste of Fallbrook' 2005

Guests who sampled food from approximately twenty-eight restaurants at ‘Taste of Fallbrook,’ sponsored by the Connections Networking group, decided that Brother’s Bistro, owned by Dee and Ron Nusser, had the best ‘taste.’ “It was exciting to learn that we had won,” said Dee, who is the executive chef.

The restaurant was late in setting up the booth but made up for lost time by attracting hundreds of people. “It looked like a ‘Star Wars’ opening,” said Dee. She was not only innovative in her food preparation but also in the booth decoration. “I stripped my house and used lamps, pillows and candles,” she said. The result was an inviting booth serving equally inviting food. The restaurant served large portions of lasagna with a spinach salad to accompany. They offered a separate spinach salad without egg for those who are allergic.

Michelle, a Brother’s Bistro employee, helped Dee with the serving. “We served food for three hours,” she said. “I just saw a wall of people. I have no idea how many we served, but we didn’t run out of food.”

Brother’s Bistro ‘Lasagna with Italian Sausage’ is outstanding. The tender pasta is layered with a spicy sausage mix and a blend of three cheeses — ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. The sausage sets it apart from other lasagnas and the marinara sauce is a blend of various spices with a faint licorice taste, which is probably fennel. Ron Nusser said, “We use my wife’s recipe and my mother’s marinara sauce — it took years to perfect it.”

They certainly don’t skimp on the lasagna at Brother’s Bistro — the $12.95 dinner entrée is over a pound! Rosemary Foccia bread complements the dish and is marvelous when dipped in virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

The ‘Spinach Salad’ is a good blend of flavors with tender mushrooms, crispy bacon and hard-boiled egg over a bed of baby spinach. The hot Gorgonzola dressing crowns the salad to give it a mellow flavor.

If you missed the ‘Taste of Fallbrook’ you can still get a taste of the winning dishes by visiting Brother’s Bistro at 835 S. Main in the Major Market center. Please call (760) 731-9761 for hours and reservations.

**Brother’s Bistro Spinach Salad with warm Gorgonzola dressing**

-Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1-1/2 tablespoons honey

• 8 cups fresh spinach, stems removed

• 2 cups sliced white mushrooms, stems removed

• ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted, chopped in quarters

• ¾ cup hard boiled eggs, chopped fine

• 12 slices bacon (thick cut is best), cut in ¼ inch pieces

• 1-1/2 cups crumbled gorgonzola cheese

• ¼ cup heavy cream

Whisk first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp.

Remove cooked bacon from pan and transfer to paper towels or large hand towel to drain.

Throw away all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease.

In same pan that you cooked bacon, reduce heat to medium low, add the reserved bacon fat, the gorgonzola cheese, the heavy cream and the mustard/honey mixture. Stir all until melted. Do not boil! Be sure to scrape off the droppings from the bottom of the pan where you cooked the bacon, and whisk all until incorporated into a thick sauce.

Place the spinach in a large bowl. Add the mushrooms, cooked bacon pieces, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and Kalamata Olives. Toss well to incorporate all of the ingredients.

Lightly, ladle, the warm gorgonzola dressing over each salad (or serve on the side, in a crockpot, set at warm). If you have extra bacon crumbles, top off the salad with about a tablespoon. Garnish with a stalk of parsley, and if you’d like, for additional color, strips of roasted red bell peppers.