an ode to bacon

mmm i'm getting pretty good at breakfast. ran the oktoberfest 5k yesterday and one of the best things of the day was the smell of bacon coming from old boy's brewery ... so i had to treat myself to a nice brunch the next day. and yes. i did consume the bacon fat to 6 pieces of bacon.

Mini Bacon and Potato Frittatas - fills 4 ramekins

INGREDIENTS:

6 strips Bacon

1/4 Onion

Potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

4 Eggs

2 tbsp Whipping Cream - approx

Parmigiano reggiano

METHOD:

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

1. In a non stick skillet fry 2 strips of bacon for its delicious bacon fat. After the bacon is crispy to the point where the fat will melt in your mouth, remove from pan and consume.

2. Add onion and potatoes to delicious bacon fat and fry until crispy and golden.

3. In a bowl, whisk 4 eggs with approx 2 tablespoons whipping cream and pour mixture into ramekins. Sprinkle little bits of parmesan cheese into mixure in cups.

4. Take a pair of kitchen shears and cut up remaining bacon into small delicious pieces and add to potato and onions. Fry Fry Fry. When the bacon is crispy and done adding even more bacon fat to the potatoes, use a pair of tongs and place mixture into ramekins.

5. Place ramekins into oven for 15 minutes

6. Remove from the oven - your mini frittatas should rise and puff up over the top of the ramekins and have a delectable golden sheen.

7. Consume

word on the street sangria

on a whim this weekend me and lisa - my friend from college - decided to make up a pitcher of sangria based on what we "knew" what was in it... and it was amazing. we basically combined two of our favorite wines - bottles we just happened to have laying around - and then we picked up some tasty fruits from meijer, juice, and some club soda and we had our very own sangria mixed up.

i like how my first legit recipe i made up is a giant gallon pitcher of an alcoholic beverage... aha i guess we all need to start somewhere -

Ingredients

1 bottle Menage a Trois Red

1 bottle Woop Woop Shiraz Red

1 bottle Everfresh orange juice, 10 oz size

2 bottles Everfresh cranberry juice, 10 oz size

½ liter club soda

1 orange, pinwheel slices

½ red delicious apple

½ asian pear

1 jar peaches, strained, but not rinsed

Method

Combine both bottles of wine into a large pitcher, atleast 1 gallon in size. Add the orange juice, cranberry juice, and the club soda into the wine mixture. Cut the orange into large pinwheel shape slices, and dice the remaining fruit into bite size pieces and add to the pitcher. Refrigerate for atleast an hour and serve with ice.

i love sangria. this was a definite success. the menage a trois balanced really well with the woop woop and with all the fruit juices and fruit bits it didn't taste like i was downing glasses of wine... it was like glasses of juice, and yeah, i like juice. and alcohol.

this sushi is legit

yep. looks amazing right. spicy california rolls with inarizushi sushi pockets! this recipe makes a ton of rolls and theres way more then enough rice to stuff an entire can of inarizushi pockets as well.

the method to rolling sushi is pretty standard, but making the rice mixture is key to really legit sushi, and i found this one from my beloved food network chef masaharu morimoto and i will use it until the day i die -

Ingredients

3 cups short-grain Japanese rice

⅓ cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp sugar

1 teasp kosher salt

Method

Make the rice - no need to rinse sushi rice

Combine the vinegar, sugar and kosher salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl, plastic or glass, and drizzle a quarter of the vinegar mixture over a wooden spoon or spatula onto the rice. Fold the rice gently with the spoon to cool it and break up any clumps; be careful not to smash the grains. Fold in the remaining vinegar mixture and let the rice cool to room temperature. (Covering the bowl with a damp paper towel will help it from drying out. )

this was a success! an absolute success! sooooo tasty! inside my inarizushi pockets along with the sushi rice i added some furikake flakes, and then i like to throw in whatever i have with my sushi, like the spicy crab salad mix - which is really just imitation crab flakes shredded up with sriracha sauce and kewpie japanese mayonnaise - and it was heaven. honestly if i could sustain life just by eating stuffed inarizushi pockets, i would do it. sometimes after i go running i'll treat myself to a couple of pockets with rice and avocado and it makes my day. yum yum.

oh and just a note, i love kewpie mayonnaise, for my spicy mayo it was just a combination of sriracha sauce and kewpie mayonnaise to taste and its just like what i get at all those god forsaken sushi restaurants i go to on a weekly basis to spend my paycheck on. kewpie mayonnaise - way lighter then hellman's and what not, and totally worth the trip to the asian grocery store.

thank you morimoto for sharing your tasty sushi rice recipe

*http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/masaharu-morimoto/vegetable-sushi-recipe/index.html

french vanilla ice cream

for my bday present my mom and dad gave me money to buy my own present, and i bought the kitchenaid stand mixer ice cream attachment and it was the best idea ever! i made the first recipe listed in the little hand book - the french vanilla ice cream recipe and it was super tasty. its been in the freezer for a while and its been holding up pretty well.

Ingredients

2½ cups half-and-half

8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2½ cups whipping cream

4 teasp vanilla

⅛ teasp salt

Method

In a medium saucepan over medium eat, heat half-and-half until very hot but not boiling, stirring often. Remove from heat; set aside.

Place egg yolks in sugar in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and wire whip to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds, or until well blended and slightly thickened. Continuing on speed 2, very gradually add half-and-half; mix until blended. Return half-and-half mixture to medium sauce pan; cook over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Strain mixture, and transfer half-and-half mixture into a large bowl; stir in whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 8 hours.

Assemble and engage freeze bowl, dasher, and drive assembly as directed in attachment instructions. Turn to Stir Speed 1. Using a container with a spout, pour mixture into freeze bowl. Continue on STIR Speed 1 for 20 minutes, or until you hear a loud audible clicking noise. That indicates the ice cream is done. Ice cream will be a soft serve consistency, freeze in an airtight container.

i would definitely make this again. sooo creamy and delicious. but it didn't taste awesome until about a day in the freezer, such a lengthy process for such a tasty treat

*from the kitchenaid manual

sugar cookies are so tasty

this is my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe, i found it on food gawker, gasp, instead of food network

Ingredients

1½ cups granulated sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teasp baking powder

½ teasp salt

14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks) softened

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 lrg eggs

Method

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined.

Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using wet palms, roll 2 Tablespoons of dough at a time into balls. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies with the floured bottom of a drinking glass.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

sooooo good.

adapted from * http://www.delish-blog.com/2009/12/soft-sugar-cookies/

i love nuts (and cookies)

still on this food network kick, and first thing i made with my brand new stand mixer was alton browns chewy chocolate chip cookies. same recipe, just added walnuts because i love nuts

ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter

2¼ cups bread flour

1 teasp kosher salt

1 teasp baking soda

¼ cup sugar

1¼ cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1½ teasp vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups walnuts

method

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

2. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts

3. Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

these were soooooo easy. i should probaly get back into taking pictures, but i was too busy eating. ( p.s. bread flour helps make the cookies chewy)

success! made a ton of cookies though. sad to say, had to throw some away...

* http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-recipe/index.html

Not so scary Ghoul-ash

so i watch alot of food network, and when i see something tasty, i like to try it out. but the recipes kinda freak me out sometimes so i normally tweak it a little bit. heres my take on paula deens goulash recipe

Ingredients

2 lb lean ground beef

1 lrg onion, chopped

3 cups water

1 can tomato sauce (29-ounce)

2 cans diced tomatoes (15-ounce)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Italian seasoning

3 bay leaves

black pepper

garlic powder

salt

3 cups dried elbow macaroni

1. In a Dutch oven or a large stock pot, saute the ground beef over medium-high heat, until no pink remains. Break up meat while sauteing; spoon off any grease.

2. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender about 5 minutes.

3. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 20-25 minutes.

4. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and allow the mixture to sit about 15 minutes more before serving.

paula deen's original recipe calls for soy sauce and a lot of salt but i read a lot of complaints about it being too salty so i just added it to taste. turned out very tasty. then her recipe said to let the pasta simmer in the water for 20 minutes, then let it sit for another 30, but the pasta would have gotten too mushy so i pulled it earlier. (the simmering for 10 min is really cooking the pasta, and then the resting part is just the pasta soaking up the goulash juices, yum)

but it was a success! i'm on a roll....

* http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/bobbys-goulash-recipe2/index.html