The 4 Food Groups...

Bacon, Eggs, Cheese, Pasta.   
It seems every time I make pasta, I always have leftovers.  Every. Single. Time.    I used to hear the phrase "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" on an almost daily basis and I think it may still be true.

So, seeing that sad bit of pasta hanging out in the fridge I felt the need to rescue it.  I'm not a fan of throwing food in the garbage (unless of course it has started to look like a science experiment gone horribly wrong).   With that sense of resolve,  I scanned the kitchen to see how this bit of leftover pasta could transcend its current state into something seriously good.

Staring into the refrigerator, I felt a bit like the woman from "Romper Room"...  you remember her right?   She would look through her looking glass and say the names of the kids she saw.  Every week I waited and waited to hear my name.  Never happened.  

Back to the fridge...  I saw bacon, cheese, eggs and I knew where this was going. 
Express train to delicious-ville.


Spaghetti Bites

• 1/2 pound of cooked pasta (I used cut spaghetti, any small/short pasta will do)
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, room temp
• 1 small onion, diced very small
• 5 strips bacon
• salt & pepper

1. Cut bacon into very thin pieces and cook over medium heat until most of the fat is rendered out.

2. Add onion to pan and cook until softened and translucent.  Remove from heat and strain to remove bacon fat.  (Reserve for another use, like frying potatoes or eggs...)  Set aside to cool slightly.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and add cheese.  Then add bacon & onions and cooked pasta.  Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4.  Spoon mixture into a mini muffin tin and lightly press down.  I wanted to sprinkle extra cheese on top, but as you can see I forgot...   They were still good without it, but a crunchy, cheesy crust would've been nice!

5. Bake at 325 for 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy on top.



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If You're Afraid of Butter, Use Cream...

The above is one of my favorite quotes from Julia Child, one of the gutsiest broads to ever hoist a meat cleaver. (and I use that term lovingly)

On August 15th of this year, Julia would have turned 100 years old and I'd like to think would still be cooking.
In the 100 days leading up to Julia's birthday, the JC100 is celebrating this culinary powerhouse and her recipes.  Each week, a new recipe is featured and this weeks offering was Coq au Vin...  one of my all time favorites.

I remember watching Julia & Jacques and loved her candor and fearless approach to cooking.  She made it seem fun and most importantly, possible.  She had a way of walking her audience through a recipe that made complex dishes seem effortless and isn't that all we really want? To feel like anything is possible?

Her sing-song voice demonstrated her unmistakable excitement for what she was doing, especially when butter was involved.  She made no apologies for anything, especially her occasional mishaps in the kitchen.   For example, you dropped the chicken?  No big deal, pick it up & rinse it off!   I loved that.  It was like being told, it's ok if it all doesn't go perfectly as planned...  just keep cooking.

Her contributions to cooking and bringing knowledge of French cooking to the American public are unparalleled.  She was truly one of a kind. 

This is my all time favorite quote and precisely why I can relate to her... 

“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. ”
― Julia Child


Coq au Vin

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying-chicken parts (roughly 1 whole chicken, cut up)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups sliced onion
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 - 2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes
• 3 cups young red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• beurre manie for the sauce: (1 1/2 tbsp each flour and softened butter blended to a paste)
• chopped parsley
• 3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sauteed
• 1/2 cup bacon, cut into 1/4 inch strips (original recipe calls for bacon to be blanched, however I like the saltiness of the bacon so I omitted this step)

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, saute the bacon and remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the pan.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil if necessary.  Remove and set aside.
4. Add the onions into the pan and saute over moderate heat until fairly tender, then raise the heat slightly to brown lightly.  Drain to remove excess fat.
5. Return chicken to the pan with the onions, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, tomato and mushrooms.
6. Pour in the wine and enough stock to barely cover and simmer slowly for 20 minutes.
7. Remove chicken from pan and spoon surface fat off the cooking juices.   
8. Taste the mushroom/onion cooking juices, boil down if it needs strength, adding seasoning if necessary.  Off heat, whisk in beurre manie to make a lightly thickened sauce.  Bring briefly to a simmer- the sauce should be just thick enough to lightly coat a spoon.
9. Return chicken to pan, basting with sauce, onions and mushrooms.

* I always serve this over lightly buttered egg noodles, it goes perfectly with the sauce.  You could also serve it with rice or to avoid starch completely, serve with a green salad.

Excerpted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child. Copyright © 1989 by Julia Child. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Sticky Sweet Bacon Goodness

It's bacoooon!  Who doesn't love bacon?! (besides vegetarians and even some of them come to the dark side for the love of the slab)

My Mom had come across a recipe for bacon jam and being the good Midwestern woman she is, promptly got my Dad to make it.  When she called raving about how delicious it was, I knew it had to be shared.

I will forewarn you that while the bacon jam is simmering away in the crock pot you may want to focus your energy elsewhere.  The smell is incredible and the hours waiting for it to be done feel like years.

This is something that would make a great gift sealed in pretty glass jars or a topping for crostini for a holiday party.  I took my Mom's lead on how I chose to enjoy my bacon jam...

There is one correction to the original recipe,  it says that it yields 3 cups but it actually only yields 2 so you may want to make a double batch if you plan to gift it.

Slow-Cooker Bacon Jam

recipe courtesy of Everyday Food

• 1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1 inch pieces
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup brewed coffee

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is slightly browned, about 20 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve for another use); add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.  Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes.  Add bacon and stir to combine.
2. Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  Transfer to a food processor, pulse until coarsely chopped.  Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks.

Unctuousness defined.

Soup's On!

While the cooler temperatures are not my cup of tea, the food that comes with them is.  I love soups, stews, braises, roasted dinners, etc.
It is comforting, stick to your ribs kind of food and when the weather is chilly that's exactly what I want.  Gone are the days of salad for dinner...

One of the benefits of  this type of cooking is that you have leftovers.  This for me is key because along with this time of the year comes my hectic work schedule and being able to come home and heat something up instead of trying to figure out what I'm going to cook is a life-saver.

This particular meal comes together in no time at all as long as all of your prep is done ahead of time.
When I have a few extra minutes, I make sure all of my ingredients are ready to go so that the actual cooking part is a snap.  This is perfect for a weeknight meal when energy is not in abundance.

This recipe uses leeks and if you have never worked with them before, this is how to handle them:
- use only the white and light green parts
- split in half lengthwise and rinse VERY well, there is sand between the layers that needs to be removed.


Potato Corn Chowder with Leeks & Bacon

• 1 cup bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 1 tbsp bacon fat)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 cups diced leeks
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 5 small yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cups corn
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 1/2 cups milk *

1. Heat the bacon fat and butter in a stock pot and add leeks.  Cook until soft.  Like onions, leeks will cook down quite a bit. 
2. Add flour to make a roux.  Let this cook out for a few minutes until it starts to turn a golden blond color.
3. Add chicken stock and water, whisk to combine.
4. Add potatoes, corn, garlic and pepper.
5. Simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through, remove garlic clove.
6. Add bacon and simmer an additional 5 - 10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and add milk.  *if you are a size 6 or less, please substitute heavy cream for milk.  
8. Garnish with fresh herbs.