roasted radish & bacon tartine

not so long ago

i roasted radish

for a delicious

albeit a matter of taste

salad

(recipe here)

i loved

hubster did not

i wondered

how a veggie lovin' girl

and a

meat & meat lovin' guy

could

agree on radish

a radish referendum, if you will

here it is

radish

mellowed by roasting

spiced with a sauce of its greens

open face

layered on

a toasted whole-grain raft

joined by

bacon and soft goat cheese

roasted radish and bacon tartine

 

maple bacon

here is something i can hardly believe myself

i shunned bacon

for 5 years

it was complicated

and in hindsight

foolish

i mean really

religious convictions aside

i can't think of a reason NOT to eat it

it is 

just. that. good.

recently

curing my own bacon has elevated to
obsession status
a few bats of my baby blues
and
 hubster agreed to buy a smoker

it was time

he is itching to make venison jerky

and of course

i have my bacon thing

here is my first attempt

and an honest report

it is good

now

i made the mistake of washing off the brine, but not soaking the bacon before smoking

which meant
it came out very salty
i soaked it after the smoke

in desperation

which meant
i not only soaked out the salt, i also soaked out the smokiness

so i cold smoked it again

and it just isn't perfect

but it is close

maple-brown sugar-rosemary bacon

(printable recipe)

3lbs pork belly

1/4 cup +/- kosher salt

1/4 cup +/- brown sugar

3 Tbs good quality maple syrup

1 Tbs fresh rosemary

place pork belly in a large tupperware type container

3 Tbs maple syrup & rosemary sprig (post curing)

apple or cherry wood chips for smoking

rub all sides with salt

mix together the brown sugar, maple syrup and rosemary. rub all sides of the pork belly with the mixture. cover and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  after 24 hours, repeat the process and place back in the refrigerator.  check daily, if liquid begins to gather on the bottom, pour it off and place back in the refrigerator.  at 5-7 days, you should be done. the pork belly will be a bit more dense, and firm.  rinse the pork belly well and dry with paper towel. slice off a small piece and fry.  if too salty, place the belly in a bowl of cold water and place in the fridge for 1 hour. dry, slice off a piece and fry a piece.  if it is still too salty, repeat the soaking process, 1 hour at a time.  once the bacon is to your liking, dry off.  rub the fatty side with maple syrup and place rosemary sprig on top. 

meanwhile prepare your smoker

i smoked my bacon at 120 degrees and smoked it to an internal temperature of 130.  there are so many different philosophies on this. you can cold smoke it, hot smoke it, not smoke it at all.  this will not keep in the fridge like store bought bacon...it does not have nitrites.  it is best to cut what you will eat within a week, then freeze the rest.

it is very important to keep your pork belly at proper temperatures and to keep all surfaces it touches very clean. this is not a time to be lenient in your sanitary rituals.  bacon should not be eaten raw, once cured and smoked, it should be cooked fully before enjoying.

brown-butter bacon shortbread with bourbon-maple glaze

at a recent food-swap

i traded jam for 

browned butter shortbread 

it was
out of this world

within minutes 

of finishing the very last crumb

i was conspiring to make my own

the gal with whom i swapped

was kind enough to share the recipe 

from gourmet magazine

(insert long sigh and whimper mourning the loss of this fabulous magazine)

while browning the butter

i was reminded a bit of the smell

of bacon

caveat

i have been know to swear
that i smell bacon

at a kosher deli

i'm only slightly obsessed

i do draw the line

at

chocolate covered bacon

don't love it

but

here is what i do love

these 

crispy, nutty, salty 

with a throat warming

bourbon glaze

 brown-butter bacon shortbread

with bourbon-maple glaze
*this recipe only slightly resembles its inspiration. the addition of bacon, bacon fat, nuts, and glaze are all mine
original recipe here
(printable recipe)

shortbread

4 oz browned butter-cooled to solid in fridge

2 oz bacon grease--cooled to solid in fridge

1/2 tsp grey sea salt (kosher is fine)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup bacon--cooked crispy and finely chopped

1 1/3 cup+ 3 Tbs all purpose flour

1 cup toasted and chopped pecans

in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cooled butter, cooled bacon grease and brown sugar. add the salt and vanilla and stir to mix.  mix in the bacon bits, then the flour. mix only to fully incorporate the flour, do not over mix. 

remove the dough from mixer and form into a cylinder on plastic wrap

roll the dough into the chopped nuts, cover and place in refrigerator.  let rest in fridge for an hour.

when ready to bake, heat oven to 350f. slice the roll into 1/4" slices and place on lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1/2" between each cookie. these will spread a bit.

allow to bake about 10-12 minutes or until they start to brown on the bottom. remove from oven and let cool.  

once cool, drizzle with glaze.

bourbon maple glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp maple syrup

up to 1 Tbs bourbon

place powdered sugar in a bowl. stir in the maple syrup.  add bourbon 1 tsp at a time until it reaches a nice runny consistency, that will barely hold its shape.  pour into a piping bag or use a spoon to decoratively drizzle over the cookies.  allow to sit until the glaze has firmed up.

i am parading this recipe

is if it is a

pig at the county fair

at foodbuzz' baconalia

with 

fingers crossed

that it is blue ribbon worthy

Tuesday Night Supper Club--BLTs with a bit of sophistication

my larder is nearly empty

but my garden is nearing full

and the heat is starting the wear on me

which is why

we are having bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches

for dinner

but an adult version

with crispy bread, and thick bacon

freshly picked heirloom tomatoes

garden arugula

fresh mozzarella

and homemade basil, roasted garlic aioli

this is definitely,

not your mama's b.l.t.

and if it is...

then 

i really want to meet your mama!

Basil Garlic Aioli

2 large egg yolks--room temperature

1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil leaves

3 cloves of roasted garlic--roughly chopped

salt and pepper

2 cups (approx) lightly flavored olive oil

squeeze of lemon juice

put yolks, basil, garlic, pinch of salt and pinch of pepper in food processor or blender. whirl until smooth.  slowly drizzle olive oil until mixture comes together and becomes thick and creamy.  add the lemon squeeze and adjust seasonings.

--if you are worried about serving raw eggs to your friends and family, you can take the basil leaves and garlic and whirl in a blender or food processor until they form a paste.  add a bit of lemon zest for freshness, then stir into prepared mayonnaise. you should not need the salt and pepper.

appetizer angst

it is no secret that i absolutely love ina garten

i have blogged about my obsession before

and told anyone who will listen

how i wish to be her friend

and have contemplated taking up bridge just to increase my chances

for a dinner invitation

while i have never actually owned one of her cookbooks

nor

made any of her recipes

i am in awe of her style

particularly her entertaining style

i could never only serve a hearty salad and crusty bread for dinner

with a dessert of chocolate bark

i'm not the sort

but i envy it in her

and every time i have guests for dinner

i try and imitate her unapologetic rule

of

only making 2 items for dinner and then buying the extras

but i never get there

i'm just not the sort

last evening we had guests for dinner

2 couples we have come to know over the years and have become good friends with

and i made a dinner of homemade pasta, chicken saltimboca, 4 veg and dessert

I thought maybe I shouldn't serve appetizers

Ina wouldn't

she would serve nuts or something

so that is where i stood

until about five o'clock

when i began to panic

i couldn't give it up

i had to have some sort of nibble for my guests

and i wanted it to be really simple

to go with my very french aperitif

kir royale

i turned to what i had on hand

and made this a simple yet absolutely delicious

start to our evening

Walnut Stuffed Figs

(printable recipe)

dried figs

toasted walnuts

mascarpone cheese

finely diced bits of well-cooked bacon

stem and split the figs, stuff with toasted walnuts, top with a small dot of mascarpone, and then sprinkle the bits of bacon on top.  These are also lovely with a bit of blue cheese in place of the mascarpone.

The Renovation and What I Ate Part 3

We are making great progress on our renovation...while the cabin will always be a work in progress...
..we are now comfortable inviting guests to come and stay.


One of the tricks we found for enjoying a project of this size, is to take the time to enjoy a meal out, or the company of friends.  We had such an opportunity on Friday night.


Our friends Joe and Monica invited us for a small holiday gathering at their home.  Although the drive was an hour, it was well worth it.  We had a wonderful time visiting and I couldn't believe the spread Monica put out..and Joe's zagat worthy bar!.  


I hope Monica won't mind me sharing this...but she served an appetizer so yummy that I had to remove myself from the actual kitchen area, for fear that I would eat them all.  I am conscious that there is a polite amount of consumption at a  party. And I am pretty sure the entire platter isn't it.  So as a result, I talked about the bits all the way home and well into the night.  I then got up early the next morning and hit the grocery store to get the supplies for said delight.
..and then we had them for lunch...
my oh my oh my....

I didn't get a picture, because well...the hubster and I were burning our fingers plucking them from the dish fresh out of the oven. I completely forgot my senses...
it wasn't until the dogs were "cleaning the pan" that I thought...hmm..i should have taken a photo.


so here's the recipe (gleefully stolen)

Monica's Smokin' Little Smokies
(printable recipe)

1 pkg little smokies

1 pkg bacon

brown sugar

cayenne pepper (my addition)

Cut the bacon pieces in thirds...and wrap a piece around each link.  Place in a casserole dish.  Sprinkle brown sugar over top.  Lightly sprinkle cayenne pepper (if desired).  Place in 375 oven until bacon is cooked and brown sugar is beginning to look like it will ruin your pan.

Now...for the renovation. I have been working on two of the guest rooms.  The loft had been portioned off to 2 rooms and for the time being we are keeping it that way. Our ultimate goal is to knock down the wall and make a nice large loft-slash-den area for music and lounging.  Hubster plays the banjo and the acoustics will be great for bluegrass jammin'.

So...here's what I have done...

rooms before

both rooms looked like this...mirror images of eachother

another angle

and for the after...

green room

and

blue room

to see more of our renovation: see here and here

Now I am off to get more projects done before the crowd arrives on Wednesday...lots of cleaning to do!