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Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Dressing

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Vinaigrette 2

If you’re going to make me a salad, it better be a damn good salad. After all, you’re asking me to skip carbs and satisfying fried finger foods, I might resent you if it isn’t a really good salad.

Bacon is a good start, and so is beer. Scallops are a fan favorite as well. Let’s talk about those for a second while we’re at it. Scallops will most likely come to you via a grocery store seafood counter soaking in a milky phosphate solution (yum!) that will help keep it fresh longer as well as give it an unfortunate soapy taste and an inability to sear properly. The solution to this is beer. Well, more accurately, a brine. Soaking the scallops in a brine will flush out that unappetizing liquid and give you a great taste and a great sear. Which will help that salad taste amazing. And make people forget all about the missing french fries.

But there is beer and bacon and perfect scallops, so no one should complain. If they do, take away their beer.

 

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Vinaigrette_

 

 

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Dressing

Servings 2 entree portions or 4 appetizer portions

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 2 tbs salt
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 8 jumbo scallops
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 thick slices bacon
  • ¼ cup chopped shallots
  • ¼ cup stout beer
  • 2 tbs brown mustard
  • 2 tbs raw honey
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 3 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 lbs asparagus
  • 3 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 2 wt oz crumbled goat cheese

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl stir together the pale ale, salt, water and lemon juice.
  • Add the scallops, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • Remove the scallops from fridge and place on top of a stack of 4-5 paper towels. Add another layer of paper towels and allow to drain and dry for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper on both sides.
  • Cook the bacon in a pan over medium high heat until cooked through, remove from pan, chop and set aside. Add the shallots to the bacon grease, cook until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the stout beer, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add the mustard, honey and pepper, whisking to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, stirring until thickened. Remove from heat.
  • Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the scallops, flat side down, and allow to cook until a dark golden brown crust forms on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until seared on the opposite side. Remove from pan when a slight hint of translucent pink still remains at the center, don’t over cook.
  • Trim asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces. Cook the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for one minute, drain and allow to dry.
  • Plate the spinach, top with asparagus, goat cheese, and crumbled bacon, dizzle with dressing, top with scallops.

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Vinaigrette 3

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Although it seems like most of America sees Oktoberfest as The Festival of Barely Contained Breasts And Bad Beer In October, it really isn’t meant to be any of those things.  Oktoberfest began more than 200 years ago as a wedding celebration, it’s morphed into a celebration of local food and drink.

In Germany, they take that local notion seriously. Only beer brewed within the Munich city limits is allowed to be served at the festivities, and last year nearly 7 million liters were served up. Which may explain why 37  kids were reported missing, as well as a live rabbit, during last years event (all children and furry creatures were found safe and sound).

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

The authentic Oktoberfest festivities take place in Munich Germany, starting around mid-September and ending the first Sunday in October, making this year’s event well underway. To celebrate in my own house, far, far from the Bavarian epicenter of the German Beer Lovers Fest, I made a hearty pasta, full of beer brats and brown ale.

The bratwurst began as a peasants dish, using all the scraps left over once the more expensive cuts were taken, which makes it a perfect addition to carbonara pasta, which has its own humble beginnings on a peasants table in Europe.

To sum it up, my friends, celebrate in an authentic fashion: strap on some lederhosen, drink local beer, cook some sausages in beer, but just don’t forget where you put your kids or woodland creatures.

O’zapft is!

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta

Ingredients
  

  • 5 ounces gaunciale or 6 strips thick sliced bacon
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced into rings
  • 1 tbs olive oil plus 2 tbs, divided
  • 6 bratwurst raw
  • 12 ounces brown ale
  • 1 lb spaghetti
  • 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1 cup fresh grated Pecornio or Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 4 large eggs

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the gaunciale (or bacon). Remove from pan, chop. Pour off about half the pork fat, leaving about 2 tbs still in the pan. Add 1 tbs olive oil and onions, cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Remove onions from pan, set aside.
  • Increase heat to medium high, add the bratwurst, cooking until browned on both sides. Add the beer and reduce heat to medium low, simmering until the bratwurst are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Slice into rings.
  • While the bratwurst are cooking, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, drain and return to pot.
  • Add sliced brats, chopped gauncaile (or bacon), caramelized onions, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbs olive oil to the spaghetti, toss to combine.
  • One at a time poach the eggs in simmering water until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
  • Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers


Bacon Chicken Skewers 4

My grill could replace my oven at this point. I love the smokey char, the quick cooking time, and the way that food just tastes transformed. This is a really quick and easy recipe that’s perfect for weeknights, but fit for weekend parties.

Bacon Chicken Skewers_

I would absolutely recommend chicken thighs for this. The flavor is so much bigger and the high heat of the grill is really drying on chicken breasts. If you’ve never cooked with chicken thighs, give them a try, I really think it’ll be your new go-to cut of chicken. Most stores sell boneless, skinless, chicken thigh filets, making it a really easy cut to use.  I switched over about two years ago and haven’t even thought about going back, the flavor is just so much better, plus they are often much cheaper than chicken breasts. More flavor, less money, that’s just a big win all the way around.

Bacon Chicken Skewers 5

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 8 slices bacon

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the honey, vinegar and smoked paprika in a pot over medium high heat. Allow to simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.
  2. Preheat the grill to medium high.
  3. Cut each slice of bacon into thirds.
  4. Cut chicken thighs into cubes.
  5. One at a time place a chicken cube onto a small slice of bacon. Wrap the bacon around the chicken cube and skewer onto a grill skewer.
  6. Brush all sides of the chicken with honey glaze.
  7. Place on a hot grill. Turn every two minutes, re-brushing with glaze, until cooked through about 8 minutes.

Notes

If using wooden skewers, place them on a rimmed baking sheet, cover with water, place a heavy plate on top to submerge for 30 minutes.

Bacon Chicken Skewers 3

Smoky Chocolate Porter Ice Cream with Beer Candied Bacon

Smoky Porter Ice Cream with Beer Candied Bacon4

Yesterday I was a guest on KCRW’s St. Patricks day episode of Good Food. The host was Evan Kleiman, a chef, author and Los Angeles food scene legend. She called my recipes, "smart," which if you are a home cook, sitting in front of an accomplished chef, is the best word you can hear.

Smoky Porter Ice Cream with Beer Candied Bacon3

We chatted about stouts, one of my favorite beer topics. Forget about pale lagers and green food dye, stouts are the life blood of St. Patrick’s day. In preparation for our stout conversation, I asked my Facebook readers what their favorite stouts are, and the response was amazing. My non-scientific poll concluded the most popular stouts among those who have clicked "like" on The Beeroness Facebook page are: Old Rasputin, Souther Tier Choklat, Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout and Founders Breakfast Stout. All of which would be amazing in this recipes, but I used Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter. Just goes to show how many amazing dark craft beers there are in this nation. If you have a stout or porter that you love, let me know about it. I’m always up for a tall glass of dark beer.

Whatever you use, don’t forget to make it a chocolate bacon beer float.

Smoky Porter Ice Cream with Beer Candied Bacon5

Beer Candied Bacon

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 3 tbs stout
  • pinch cayenne
  • 12 thick cut strips of bacon

Instructions
 

  • Combine the brown sugar, stout and cayenne until thick and syrupy.
  • Lay bacon on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
  • Brush bacon with beer syrup on both sides.
  • Cook at 350 for ten minutes, flip and re-brush with beer syrup.
  • Cook for 8 to 10 more minutes or until the bacon is an amber color.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool. Bacon will harden as it cools.

Beer Candied Bacon

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 3 tbs stout
  • pinch cayenne
  • 12 thick cut strips of bacon

Instructions
 

  • Combine the brown sugar, stout and cayenne until thick and syrupy.
  • Lay bacon on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
  • Brush bacon with beer syrup on both sides.
  • Cook at 350 for ten minutes, flip and re-brush with beer syrup.
  • Cook for 8 to 10 more minutes or until the bacon is an amber color.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool. Bacon will harden as it cools.

Beer Candied Bacon Adapted from Oskar Blues via Tide and Thyme.

 Smoky Porter Ice Cream with Beer Candied Bacon2

How To: Make Candied Bacon

Before we get started on the essential skill of making your very own batch of candied bacon, I need to pause to tell you some amazing news:

I signed a cookbook deal last week.

And so begins the frantic, not enough time, spending to much money on groceries, stress, lack of sleep that has nothing to do with my toddler, phase of my life. The book is focused on cooking with craft beer, the subject of my other blog, The Beeroness, from which the book truly sprang.

Even with all the warnings from those who have gone before me, all the friends I have who have written cookbooks, novels, non-fiction research books, I am thrilled. Even though I realize that writing a book is light years more work and far less money than anyone ever thinks, I’ll never stop being grateful for being given this opportunity.

Now all I have to do is write it.

So for now, lets make some candied bacon.

First, what do you DO with candied bacon? The better questions is, what wouldn’t you do with candied bacon?

For starters, here are some fabulous ideas:

Candied bacon topped brownies (just sprinkle on top of your favorite brownies before baking)

Candied bacon & Vanilla ice cream

Candied bacon sprinkled on maple doughnuts

Candied bacon mixed into your favorite pancake batter

Candied bacon waffles

Candied bacon on salad (for real)

Candied bacon chocolate chip cookies

Candied Bacon sprinkled on a chocolate tart

It’s endless.

 

Ingredients:

12 strips of bacon

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Sprinkle one side of the strips of bacon with brown sugar.

Press it into the bacon well.

Place the bacon, sugar side down, on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. You are going to want to cover the baking sheet with a Silpat or aluminum foil, the drippings will burn and be difficult to clean.

Top the other side of the bacon (the side facing up) with more brown sugar and press into the bacon.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Using a pair of tongs, turn each slice and continue to bake until a dark brown and cooked through.

Bacon will not crisp in the oven. Bacon will not get crispy until it cools and the sugar has hardened.

Allow bacon to cool, chop and use in all sorts of amazing ways.

 

Chocolate Stout and Bacon Skillet Brownies

 

I hope you don’t mind my excessive use of stout over the past few weeks, but to be honest I’m really not sorry. I love stouts, I’m  unreasonably excited about stouts being back "in season," and we are only about 2 weeks away from International Stout Day.

I’m geting you all stocked up on stout recipes, in case you want to celebrate via beer infused baked goods.

Which, of course, I hope you do.

You can use a chocolate stout for this, and that will be perfectly fine. You can also use a smoked porter or stout, or you can use a coffee or espresso stout.

Whatever you choose, this is best served warm, in the middle of a table full of fun people, each with a spoon in one hand and a stout in the other.

Chocolate Stout and Bacon Skillet Brownies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 strips thick cut bacon
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 3.5 oz 100g dark chocolate (60%), broken into pieces
  • 1/2 cup stout chocolate or coffee stouts work best
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tbs espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • Preheat oven to 350.

Instructions
 

  • In a 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet cook the bacon until done. Remove bacon from skillet. Swirl the bacon fat to coat the pan, discard the excess bacon fat.
  • Add the butter to the skillet, return to heat and cook until melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add beer and stir.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and espresso powder over the eggs, whisk until just combined.
  • Add the egg mixture to the chocolate skillet and stir until just combined. Chop bacon and sprinkle over the top.
  • Bake until the top has set (don't over bake) about 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, top with vanilla ice cream if desired (and I'm pretty sure you should desire) set in the middle of a table full of hungry people. Add spoons.

Stove Top Beer And Bacon Mac And Cheese

I’m not a beer snob. To be honest, the term has always rubbed against the grain.

I’m a beer fan, a beer lover, a girl fascinated by beer, but I’m not a snob.

I spent years on the fringes of the music industry in LA, and the beer snobs I meet now echo those same phrases I heard then. And so do my responses.

If you loved The Killers when we saw them play free shows at The Spaceland, you should still love them when they win Grammys.

Good music, is good music. Regardless of how many, or how few, other people like it.

If you loved Rogue Dead Guy Ale when no one carried it, you should still love it when it has mass distribution.

Good beer, is good beer. Regardless of how many, or how few, other people like it.

At a beer event a few months ago I asked the rep from North Coast Brewing why he hadn’t brought any Scrimshaw, "The Beer Snobs would eat me alive if I poured that!" And then whispered to me that it was what he drank more than anything else.

Stop doing that.

Good beer is good beer. Don’t be afraid to drink what you like, even if everyone else likes it too.

In celebration of good beer, I give you my favorite one pot, quick and easy, make this for Thanksgiving, you will never make it from a box again, Mac & Cheese. Hope you still love it even when everyone else does too.

Stove Top Beer And Bacon Mac And Cheese

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups elbow macaroni
  • 4 strips of bacon cut in half
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup beer pale ale, blonde, bock, and Hef work well, an IPA will give you a very strong beer flavor
  • 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese fresh grated, pre-shreaded has additives that prevents it from melting properly
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook until just before done. Don't over-cook the noodles or this will end up mushy.
  • Drain the pasta, return the pot to the stove and cook the bacon until crispy, remove from pot and allow to cool.
  • Drain off bacon grease and return drained noodles to the pot.
  • In a separate bowl, add the beer, egg and sour cream, beat until well combined.
  • Add the butter and the beer mixture to the noodles and return to medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted.
  • About 1/4 a cup at a time, add the cheese. Stir until cheese has melted before adding more.
  • Add the spices and chopped bacon, stir.

 

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Crab Cake Eggs Benedict with Bacon Hollandaise

I think we know each other well enough by now that I don’t have to try and pretend. If a dish is easy, I’ll tell you. If it’s quick, I’ll tell you. If it’s healthy, I’ll tell you.

This is none of those things. It is, however, worth the effort. It’s a special occasion breakfast to keep in your back pocket, for, you know, if Bradley Cooper stops by for breakfast. It could happen.

It’s actually not that difficult. Although, I do hesitate to say that since my "not that difficult" is someone else’s "Oh my GOD, is she nuts??"

But really, you can do this. I even gave you a food processor version of a hollandaise, which is SUPER easy, you don’t even have to worry about turning your sauce into scrabbled eggs, which is what I did the first time I tried to make it the traditional way.

If you want to make this in stages, you can assemble the crab cakes ahead of time, put them on a plate, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then cook the following day. You can also make the sauce ahead of time, and then reheat slowly in a double boiler. You can EVEN replace the poached eggs with fried eggs to make it even easier. But really, it’s not that difficult.

And I believe in you.

I think all food people have a small stash of items that we buy at Gourmet Food Stores that we save for special recipes. Spices, the good salt in those fancy containers, crab meat, things like that. This is a recipe I found worthy of breaking into my Gourmet Food Store stash. Rare for a breakfast recipe, but this one made the cut.

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict with Bacon Hollandaise

Ingredients

For The Crab Cakes:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbs green onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
  • 1 tbs melted butter
  • 8 oz lump crab meat
  • 1 cup Panko bread crumbs, plus one cup divided
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • pinch cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning

For the Hollandaise:

  • 4 strips bacon
  • 4 tbs butter
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 tbs lemon
  • pinch cayenne
  • 4 eggs (for poaching)

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  1. Combine all the crab cake ingredients in a bowl (reserving one cup of Panko for the coating). Form into 4 patties, about 1 inch thick. Place remaining Panko in a bowl. One at a time, place the patties in the Panko and press until well coated on all sides with bread crumbs. Place on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. In a pan over medium high heat, cook the bacon, turing frequently, until crispy and cooked trough. Remove the bacon and set aside. Once the bacon is removed, add the crab cakes to the pan, cooking in the bacon grease until golden brown on the underside, flip carefully and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat.
  3. In a food processor, add the bacon, process until only crumbs are left. Add the egg yolks and process for about 3 minutes. Melt the butter in a pot on the stove (or in the microwave) until hot and steaming. While the food processor is running, slowly, slowly add the butter until well combined with the yolks. Add the lemon and the cayenne, process until combined. If your sauce is too thick, add water to thin, about a teaspoon at a time.
  4. Poach the eggs in simmering water.
  5. Place one crab cake on each plate, top with poached egg, then sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

Beer & Bacon Pecan Bars

 

 

Clearly, I’m ready for fall. And in Los Angeles, that just means that Dodgers games are starting to end and I get to wear a light sweater. If I feel like it. Oh, and fall produce. If I haven’t mentioned to you before my favorite part of living in Southern California, its this: Farmers Markets.

This Golden State that I live in grows half of all the produce grown in the United States (that’s a lot) and we get to have Farmers Markets nearly every day of the year. And although mid-rant I realize that this post doesn’t even contain any produce, it does contain those fabulous flavors of fall. With bacon. And beer. And fall farmers markets are my favorite. No matter what day of the week, somewhere in Los Angeles there is a Farmers Market in which I can unnecessarily bundle up and walk from stall to stall with a cup of coffee buying local vegetables in the "chilly" mid 60 degree weather.

Pecan pie will always remind me of fall and for nearly a year I’ve wondered what it would be like to add bacon. And of course, beer.

Turns out, these are the best damn pecan pie bars I’ve ever had.

 

Beer & Bacon Pecan Bars

Ingredients
  

For The Crust:

  • 1 stick plus 2 tbs 10 tbs unsalted butter
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs water

For the Filling

  • 1 cup stout
  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 cups chopped pecan
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 strips of bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • In a food processor add the flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and salt, pulse to combine. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the food processor. Process until butter is incorporated into the flour mixture. Add the water and process to combine. Add additional water, 1 tsp at a time if there is flour that still hasn't been dampened.
  • line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper (this will make it easier to remove from the pan) and dump the shortbread into the pan. Press into the bottom of the baking pan in one even layer.
  • Bake at 350 for 12 minutes of until a light golden brown. Allow to cool before adding the filling or the crust and filling will mesh together.
  • In a pot over medium high heat, add the stout, cook until reduced by half. Add the butter and stir until melted, remove from heat. Add the sugar, pecans, cream, corn syrup and stir until melted. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the eggs and stir until combined.
  • Pour the filling over the crust, sprinkle with cooked bacon and bake at 350 until the filling no longer jiggles when you gently shake the pan, about 25-30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Pig Newton Jam (Bacon & Fig Jam) With Puff Pastry Biscuits

I love forming culinary obsessions. Foods that I can’t stop thinking about, that work their way into my kitchen via said obsession on a regular basis. Maybe you have tired of my bacon jam post, and if that is the case than I can pretty safely assume that you have never made it. It is completely worthy of prolonged obsessions. I promise.

This jam, this lovely spreadably pig and fig hybrid is so good that I beg you to make it. And then you’ll get it.

If I hadn’t already scoured my kitchen and spread this on everything from Trader Joe’s Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies to stale graham crackers, these are the things that I would have made with this Pig Newton Jam:

Bake shortbread bar cookies + spread jam on top + chill for a few hours + cut into squares = Pig Newton Cookie Bars

Tortilla + Gouda + Bree + PN Jam = Pig Newton Quesadillas

Bake a tart crust in a tart pan (let cool)+ PN Jam + fresh arugula + goat cheese + Fresh tomatoes = Best tart ever

Above ingredients Tart crust + crusty bread = Pig Newton Crostini’s

PN Jam + Puff Pastry + Wheel of Bree cheese = Baked Pig Newton Bree

Crepes + PN Jam + Mascarpone = Breakfast Hog Heaven

 

I know that I have friends and readers who don’t dig the pig, so I’ve added a How To Veg It Up alterations to this post.

 

 

Pig Newton Jam (Bacon & Fig Jam)

Ingredients

  • 12 Black Mission figs
  • 5 strips of bacon
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup cooking sherry
  • 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a pot with a lid, like an enamel dutch oven, cook the bacon until browned. Remove bacon and set aside. Drain off all of the bacon fat except about 1 tbs. Return pot to the heat and add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer. Chop bacon and add to the pot.
  2. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Place the lid at an angle to vent and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy.
  3. Add to a food processor and process until smooth.

*To make vegan, replace the bacon with 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 5 additional fig and 1 tsp olive oil.

 

Puff Pastry Biscuits

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

2 tbs butter, melted

1 tsp salt

Roll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface several times in each direction. Cut out 20 to 24 circles with a 3 inch biscuit cutter (note that circles will shrink as they cook). Place circles on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Brush the circles with melted butter and sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until light golden brown. Split across the middle, fill with jam.

 

 

Bacon, Blue Cheese & Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad

I’m torn. On one hand, I’ve never been the sort of person to trash a company in public, but on the other hand I want others to be aware of companies that form borderline abusive relationships with clients whose livelihoods they hold in their digital hands.

I will tell you this:

I am so glad to have broken free of blog.com and I am appalled by they way they treat their customers. I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to protect my content and my ability to continue to do what I love. I would strongly recommend NOT using them as a host, and instead using wordpress.com or even better, using wordpress.org as a self hosted site. If none of that made sense to you, Julie at Burnt Carrots has a great How To Start A Blog post that can clear some of that up. If you need more evidence, other than my desperate pleas, that blog.com is horrific you can ask this guy or this girl.

I feel better. And I will be eternally grateful to my friend Andrew of Eating Rules who helped me switch both of my blogs to self hosted wordpress sites. He has a company called Blog Tutor who does that sort of thing. A tech guy who is also a food blogger, who else would I have used?

On a lighter note, I booked my first TV gig!

I was contacted through my other blog, The Beeroness to do a live Cooking With Beer demo on TV in Los Angeles on August 31t! I’ll update you will more information once that date gets closer.

I’m so glad you all let me get that off my chest and now we can truly appreciate the magic of roasted potato salad.

It is very possible that I am one of the only people in this world that has issues with boiled potatoes. Most of the time I seem to over boil them into a near mushy state with my lack of long term attention abilities. And the water washes away a lot of that great starch that we love so much about potates. Roasting helps me to fix both of those issues, it’s more forgiving with the time and it expands the flavors instead of removing them.

And I added duck fat. I bough it at Sur La Table and a little goes a long way.

I made this twice in one week, it’s really great. By far the best potato salad I have ever made.


Bacon, Blue Cheese & Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs red potatoes, diced
  • 3 tbs duck fat, warmed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup pepper
  • 1/3 cup green onions
  • 6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 2/3 cup blue cheese dressing (some dressings contain gluten, check package if needed)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, toss with duck fat. Roast in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes, toss/stir potatoes and roast for an additional 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender, remove from the oven.
  3. In a bowl add the remaining ingredients, add the potatoes and toss to coat. Serve warm.

BLT Mini Tarts With Bacon Jam

In my world, 4th of July is a lot like Thanksgiving. But with sunburns and pyrotechnics. An underlying feeling of patriotism and national gratitude, a day off work and an evening of food and celebration with friends and family. 

But unlike Thanksgiving, the food is all fair game. There are no requisite poultry centerpieces, or traditional casseroles, you are free to cook and eat whatever you like. Most people gravitate towards easy, low maintenance grill style food, or appetizers and dips that can just hang around the kitchen waiting patiently for attention. 

Here are some of my favorite foods for low key afternoon get together:

1. Brown Sugar Chili Chicken Wings

2. BLT Caprese Slider with Puff Pastry Buns


3. Jalapeno Popper Potato Bites 

4. Boozy (Or Not) Watermelon Stars  

And the Man of The Hour:

BLT Mini Tarts with Bacon Jam, Arugula & Grape Tomatoes

For the tart dough:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/3 cup ice cold water

For the topping:

A double batch of Bacon Jam

1 cup arugula leaves

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

In a food processor, combine 1 1/3 cup flour, salt, sugar and butter, process until well combined. Add the remaining flour and process again until combined. Transfer to a bowl and add the water with a wooden spoon (don’t add the water while the dough is in the food processor or your dough will be brittle and cracker-like). If the dough isn’t moist enough, you can add more water, a tsp at a time until the consistency is right. Form dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 375.

Roll your dough out on a floured surface. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut out 20-25 circles. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough circles on the bakign sheet. Prick eat circle with a fork. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Spread each mini tart circle with bacon jam, top with arugula and grape tomato halfs. 

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Roasted Jalapenos with Bacon Jam & Goat Cheese

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” – Jose Narosky

(Photo source unknown)

Thank you for all of the people who had fought, those who have died, the ones who will always nurse wounds and the mothers and fathers who had to stand back and watch it happen.

Thank you for the gift of peaceful days, Sundays with our families and the ignorance that allows us to enjoying without a full realization of the true sacrifice that was made.

To those who have died and those who were left behind, Thank You will never cover it.

Roasted Jalapenos with Bacon Jam & Goat Cheese

12 fresh jalapenos

3 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup Bacon Jam (posted last week on The Beeroness)

3 oz goat cheese

1 tbs butter

1/2 cup Panko

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the jalapenos lengthwise, removing the seeds and the inner membranes.

Place on a baking sheet and roast until soft, about 10 minutes.

Using a butter knife, smear the inside of the jalapenos with cream cheese.

Top the cream cheese with bacon jam.

Using your fingers, top the bacon jam with goat cheese.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the panko and stir until coated.

Top the jalapenos with the buttered panko and roast at 450 until the panko has browned, about 5-8 minutes.

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Butternut Squash and Bacon Pot Pie & Job Interview Tips

This has been a long week for me. I’ve been in the process of hiring a new person at work. Through out the interview process, from reading resumes to second interviews, I’ve been able to learn quite a bit about the behind-the-scenes-process. It is incredible what people think is completely acceptable behavior in an interview, here are some examples:

In response to the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Here are some of the responses I got:

"Oh…I’m going to win the lottery. I am. But don’t worry, I’ll give you a big donation, It’s a tax write off."

"Ummm…A lawyer? I think maybe I’ll be a lawyer." (I don’t work for law firm and we don’t employ lawyers)

"I don’t know. I mean, I only want this job for like…18 months? But don’t worry, I’ll help you find someone really good to replace me!"

I’ve never been a "tell me what I want to hear" kind of person, but this really comes down to professionalism and good judgement. If you aren’t able to answer that question correctly, It makes me worry about how you will answer more difficult questions that clients may ask you. 

The correct response, in one form or another: "I am looking to find a company that I can work for long-term. I want to be at my next job, hopefully, for the rest of my career so I’m looking for a place that has opportunities for advancement and will allow me to grow as a professional."

Proper attire:

Don’t wear a shirt that intentionally shows your bra. I don’t care if it is La Perla. 

6-inch platform Lucite heels are not a good choice for interview footwear. 

For the LOVE OF GOD do not, under any circumstances, wear a BLUETOOTH in an interview. Unless you hold the keys to missile defense, you are not that important. I promise. 

Written communication, the first impression:

Before you even get an interview, your resume, cover letter and initial email will give the first impression. Here are some tips to make sure you aren’t weeded out right of the bat:

Make sure everything is spelled correctly

Write a cover letter, this alone will put you above half of the other applicants and give you a voice. 

Change the "Objective" field to fit the company you are applying for. It is a huge red flag if it does not match who we are. Either you are sloppy and have no attention to detail, or you really don’t want to work for us. 

If you have a email address, such as ChicanaSkank69@[domain].com don’t put it on your resume, take the ten minutes to set up a free, more professional looking email address using your name, for instance: [email protected]. That was an actual email address I got from one of the applicants (domain has been changed to protect the obviously not so innocent). 

If I call you for an interview, don’t wait 3 days to respond. I’m not some chick you banged in the bathroom of a TGIFridays, the three day rule does not apply. 

If you say that you are "Detail Oriented" at least spell both words correctly. 

Ugh. I have lost a bit of my faith in man kind after this week. But I have not lost my faith in a good soup with a pastry crust. And bacon makes everything better. 

This recipe was inspired by a Butternut Squash Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

Butternut Squash and Bacon Pot Pie

Pot Pie crust:

Pie dough (enough from one pie crust)

OR

1 sheet puff pastry

Pot Pie Filling:

6 strips of bacon, cut in half

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 7 to 8 cups)

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves

½ tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

In a dutch oven, over medium heat cook the bacon until most of the fat has been rendered. Remove from heat, allowing to drain and cool on a stack of 2-3 paper towels.

Drain off most of the bacon fat, leaving only about 3 tbs in the pot.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the onions and carrots to the pot, cooking in the bacon grease until opaque. Add the garlic and cook just until you are able to smell them, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and squash, allowing to simmer until the squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add the smoked paprika, and sage, stir to combined. Add the salt and pepper, seasoning to taste.

Chop the bacon into small pieces, add to the pot and stir.

Place four ceramic, oven safe bowls on a baking sheet. Divide the filling equally between the four bowls.

Place desire pot pie crust on a well floured surface, add flour to the top of the disk as well. Roll out into an even thickness.

Cut out 4 circles that will cover the dishes with at least a one-inch overhang on each side.

To prevent sticking, spray the rim of the baking dish with cooking spray. Top each dish with the dough circle, pressing into shape. Cut a few slits in the top to vent heat. Brush with melted butter.

Cook at 400 for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool a bit before serving. 

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Bacon Fat Biscuits

I’m a bit of a bacon fat hoarder. I make excessive amounts of bacon on weekends, straining and storing the bacon fat that gets left behind into small containers that are now littering my fridge. 

I have to find ways to use it. I make tortillas with bacon fat, which are delightful and this past weekend biscuits were also made in an attempt to decrease my ever-growing stash. 

Bacon and biscuits. Saturday Breakfast Indulgence at its best. 

Bacon Fat Biscuits 

1 cups cake flour 

1 cup all-purpose  

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

5 tbs bacon fat

2/3 buttermilk, plus an additional 1/4 cup, divided 

1 tbs melted butter 

Preheat oven to 450

In a food processor, combine both types of flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Give a quick pulse until combined. Add the bacon fat and process until the flour and bacon fat are well combined and look like course crumbs. Add 2/3 cup milk and pulse until just barely combined. Add additional milk, a bit at a time until all of the dough has been dampened and pulls away from the sides of the food processor. Don’t over process or your biscuits will be tough. 

Remove from food processor and place on a floured surface. Form into a long rectangle and cut into squares with a sharp knife. This will give you square biscuits without any waste. Since over worked dough becomes tough, "scraps" left over from cutting out round biscuits can’t really be re-rolled and used, they should be discarded. Forming the dough into a long rectangle and cutting with a sharp knife will allow you to use all the dough as biscuits without any waste. 

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the biscuits on the sheet. Brush with melted butter. 

Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Jalapeno Popper Filled Potato Bites

Everyone has guilty pleasure foods. No matter how "foodie" you think you are, there is a food that you love, but would never want to be eating if Thomas Keller decided to peek in your kitchen window. 

For me, that’s good ole American bar food. Nachos, potato skins, jalapeno poppers, onion rings. Love it. Plus, it just brings up good memories. Do you have any BAD memories of eating chicken wings and drinking a beer? 

Here are two of my great guilt pleasure loves, in one bite. The love child of Jalapeno Poppers and Potato Skins. 

Jalapeno Popper Filled Potato Bites

12 baby red potatoes

3 tbs butter

1/2 cup chopped red onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 medium sized fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese 

4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped (you can leave this out if you are vegetarian)

1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In a large pot of lightly salted water, boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 18-22 minutes. You want the potatoes to be soft enough to bite into, but firm enough to hold their shape as mini cups. 

Remove from water and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut each potato in half, down the middle. You want to cut the potatoes in a way that will allow them to lay as flat as possible. The best may to do this is to just place them on a flat surface and see how they naturally want to lay and cut parallel to the surface they are sitting on. If you cut them according to what looks nice, they may roll all over once they are filled. 

Once they are cut, remove most of the inside with a mellon baller, leaving enough of the walls and bottom intact to hold the filling. 

Make sure and save that potato middles you just scooped out, you will add them to the filling. 

In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook until opaque. Add the jalapenos and stir, cooking until Jalapenos are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and add the potato middles and mash with a potato masher until combined. Return to heat and add the bacon, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted. Allow to cool, then fill the potatoes. Serve warm. 

Printable: Jalpeno Popper Potato Bites

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Party Food: Mini Galettes {Strawberry Brie & Bacon Goat Cheese}

The requirements for party food are pretty simple, but hard and fast.

  1. Yummy
  2. Must travel well
  3. Must have the ability to sit at room temperature for extended periods of time
  4. Bonus if it evokes this sentence from at least one other party goer: "Can I get that recipe from you?"
Mini galettes also have the added bonus of being adorable and fairly easy to make. If you want to make them with store bough crust, I may pound on you a little bit. The crust takes about 8 active minutes plus it’s really, really SO much better than store bought.
Feel free to make these your own and use what ever flavor combinations you love.
Miniature Galettes

CRUST

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/3 cup ice cold water

FOR THE STRAWBERRY BRIE

4 oz brie, cut into slices

3/4 cups strawberries, chopped

1 tbs butter, melted

2 tbs sugar

FOR THE BACON GOAT CHEESE

6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

3 oz goat cheese, crummbled

1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped (don’t use frozen, too much water)

Makes 12 (6 of each)

In a food processor, combine 1 1/3 cup flour, salt, sugar and butter, process until well combined. Add the remaining flour and process again until combined. Transfer to a bowl and add the water with a wooden spoon (don’t add the water while the dough is in the food processor or your dough will be brittle and cracker-like). If the dough isn’t moist enough, you can add more water, a tsp at a time until the consistency is right. Form dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. You can make this up to 5 days ahead of time, just place the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, in a large zip lock bag.

Place your chilled dough on a well floured surface. Top with more flour and roll until your dough is fairly thin and even. Cut out 12, 4 inch circles. I didn’t have a biscuit cutter that size so I used a margarita glass.

Place the dough circles on baking sheets that are either covered with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray.

Strawberry Brie:

A Trader Joe’s just opened on Friday down the street from my house. I am inappropriately excited about living within walking distance from such a fabulous food source. I bought these cute mini brie wheels. These are also fantastic to make mini baked brie out of, but that is for another post.

I cut each wheel into 3-4 slices. If you don’t live by a Trader Joe’s, you can also just use regular brie and cut it into slices small enough to fit inside the circle.

Place about 1 tbs of brie in the center of 6 of the circles. Top with about 2 tbs of strawberries.

Fold the edges up over the filling, leaving the center open. Pleat and press the edges when necessary.

Brush each of the 6 Mini Galettes with melted butter, sprinkle with about 1 tsp of sugar each.

Bacon Goat Cheese:

For the remaining 6 circles, add about 1-2 tbs of goat cheese to each circle. Top with 1-2 tbs of chopped spinach, sprinkle with bacon.

Fold the edges up over the filling, leaving the center open. Pleat and press the edges when necessary.

Brush the folded edge of each of the 6 Mini Galettes with melted butter.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden brown.

Figs In A Blanket

Only three ingredients. Perfect for a party, and I do believe that Halloween kicks off the party season. The fall is filled with holidays, parties, my birthday…OK, so maybe there is a chance you’re not thinking about that last one. The number one food related question people ask me is about recipes for easy, yummy party food. First, party food generally has to travel well. Second, it has to survive at room temp for extended periods of time. Third, it has to be a crowd pleaser. I do believe, Figs in a Blanket meet all of those requirements.

Figs in a Blanket

12 figs

12 slices of bacon

3 oz goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cut the figs in half.

2. Scoop out a large portion of the insides with a melon baller (a small spoon should do fine as well).

4. Fill the hole with yummy goat cheese.

5. Re-assemble the fig and wrap it tightly with a strip of bacon. Secure with a toothpick.

6. Place figs on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8 minutes, turn over and bake until the bacon is cooked through, about 8 more minutes.