Posts tagged ‘bacon’

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… >>