We Americans have traditionally relegated eggs primarily to the breakfast table, but all that is quickly changing. Now, this high quality, low cost and delicious protein is more and more often what's for dinner as has alwaysbeen the case elsewhere in the world.

In France, for example, eggs find their way to lunch and dinner menus and are rarely served at breakfast.

The same is true in Italy. Order the classic Italian dish fettuccini carbonara and the pasta will arrive simple and glistening studded with crunchy and tender bits of pancetta. In the middle will be nestled a raw egg in it's own half shell. The egg will cook sufficiently when tossed into the pasta by the diner at the last moment, and the dish will never be smothered in the gloppy cream and flour concoction American diners have grown used to.

New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman, the Minimalist, notes that the egg is the cheapest form of complete protein you can find at about a dollar a pound. He dismisses concern about the safety of raw eggs for all but the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Bittman believes that Americans are opening up more and more to the idea of eating eggs at dinner and points as evidence of the trend to the increasing popularity on New York restaurant menus of another French contribution, Salade Lyonnaise which, in classic form, consists of greens, usually frisee, with bacon topped with a soft cooked egg.

Here is a slightly different version:

DINNER SALAD WITH POACHED EGG

Red lettuce, baby spinach, and arugula or dandelion greens torn into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon per serving of pine nuts which have been toasted in a dry pan over medium heat until golden brown

Thin slices of red onion separated into rings

1 egg that has been poached in water or dry white wine for each salad to be served

Method:

Prepare simple vinaigrette with white wine vinegar, light olive oil and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and fresh ground pepper. Arrange the greens and onion slices in individual salad bowls and toss with dressing. Sprinkle on the toasted pine nuts. Place a poached egg in center of each serving being careful not to break the yolk.

For a little added flair, garnish with the petals of any edible flower that is in season such as day-lilies, violets,nasturtiums or roses.

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Celebrity chef Mario Battali at his flagship New York restaurant, Babbo, serves a dish consisting of fresh asparagus which has been steamed and then

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