Posts tagged ‘bacon’

Curing and smoking my own bacon has been on my to-do list for at least a year and a half. It was always in the back of my mind, even though things like making yet another flavor of ice cream or figuring out a cardoon recipe kept taking precedence. As winter turned to spring, I saw two luscious pounds of Niman Ranch pork belly at the butcher counter and promptly stashed ‘em in the freezer. The bacon day would come soon.

But after testing recipes from the grilling, bbq, and smoking primer She-Smoke earlier this spring, I realized my gas grill just wouldn’t be able to produce the rich flavor that I love so much in Niman Ranch’s applewood smoked bacon. Sigh. I would settle for nothing less than perfect bacon. What to do?

Generous husband Dan, who’s quickly overfilling the basement with Mike Piazza figurines, gave me that opportunity when he let me tag along on a lunch date with fellow sports and memorabilia enthusiast Paul Lukas of Uni Watch. See, Paul is one of two people I know who own a Big Green Egg, one of the best (maybe the best) smoking apparatus around.

Plus, he’s the creator of this shirt—say no more. So over a plate of kolbassi at Clifton’s Rutt’s Hut, we made a vague plan for summer smoking.
>> How the bacon-smoking went down, after the jump. >>

The cruel facts of life are making themselves clearer with each passing month. We’re getting older and our nights out are fewer and farther between. When we do pull a late-nighter, the morning after is a little worse than it was in the days when we could just roll up to the caf for a meal plan-subsidized plate of tater tots and Belgian waffles.

Now, please don’t get me wrong—the egg and cheese deli sandwich remains the gold standard for all greasy breakfast sandwiches—but sometimes the recovery process needs to be aided by something a bit more jazzy.

Enter the peanut butter bacon honey sandwich. Two slices of white bread (thick Italian bread or challah is extra decadent), smeared with peanut butter, stuffed with two slices of applewood-smoked bacon, and drizzled with honey—simple, savory, sweet, protein-packed, and perfect for soaking up any excesses.

When you can’t get out of your Mets pajama pants to make a bagel run, nor are you anywhere in the vicinity of Shake Shack to pick up a specialty peanut butter-bacon burger, this is the solution to all your woes.
>> Read on for a tip on makin’ the bacon without more of a headache. >>

OK, I have had beans on my mind since watching the “Tiger Woods fart video” more times than I care to admit. I saw (heard) it live during the Buick Open but thought I might have been mistaken. Anyway, back to beans. I’m craving a good “beans and greens” recipe. Got any?

Well, last week, when I was looking through Bistro Cooking at Home, I happened upon a Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage recipe that looks like it would adapt well to all the chard, kale, and shell beans that are taking over the greenmarkets right now. It seems like a tasty dish that will help me make the tastebud transition from summer to fall — let’s try it, shall we?

Sweet-and-Sour Beans and Greens

• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberry or romano/borlotti beans (out of the pods, of course)
• 1 tbsp vegetable or grapeseed oil
• 2 slices of bacon, cut into lardons
• 4-6 cups (approximately 2 bunches) kale or chard, de-stemmed (if you’re using chard, chop the stems into lardon-sized pieces, but compost the kale stems if that’s the green you’re going with)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth, with more on reserve
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Bring a pot of water to a boil and simmer the beans until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Pour the oil into a large saute pan or Dutch oven and saute the bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the fat starts to render. Add the chard stems (if using) and the onion and cook for 5-7 more minutes until they soften.

Add the kale/chard leaves, caraway seeds, sugar, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are fully wilted and reduced, about 10 minutes. You may need to do this in batches based on the size of your pan; first add one bunch of leaves, wilt slightly, then add all the spices, wilt more, then add the rest of the leaves.

Add the beans, red wine, vinegar, and chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the liquid is nearly all absorbed, stirring occasionally. Add more chicken broth or water if it starts to look too dry. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.

Casey is feeling unloved and will resort to only eating Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals unless you send her some questions. So get something over to Ask Casey at caseyATgoodfoodstoriesDOTcom. or else!

Today’s post is by C.C.—”Culinarily Challenged”—a San Francisco based writer and editor. C.C. has decided to use a non-de-plume lest her foodie friends pelt her with ramps.

Let me make one thing very clear: I am “culinarily challenged,” one could say a food retard, but that would not be p.c., and this culinarily challenged woman happens to live in the p.c. food Mecca of San Francisco in an age, (post-age really), where Food is the New Sex, 40 is the New 30, and Bacon is King, and everybody has a blog, including my most excellent and dear friend Danielle, and so in my zeitgeistian way, of course I’m food-blogging on the occasion of my bacon-loving boyfriend’s birthday, for which I’ve taken it upon myself to bake up some dark chocolate bacon cupcakes. Here’s how it went down….

>> Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes coming up… >>