Have A DELICIOUS Day
Thanksgiving 2020 recipes!
Thick cut bacon is the foundation of this recipe for bacon upside down jalapeno cornbread. One of my FAVORITE Thanksgiving 2019 recipes! I cook the bacon for a bit to crisp (more…)
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BaconDoneWright #CollectiveBias
BACON SALAD WITH ROASTED SWEET POTATOES AND CARAMELIZED PEARS IS A FANTASTIC SALAD FOR FALL AND WINTER…ACTUALLY IT’S GREAT ANY TIME OF YEAR! (more…)
Celebrate INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY or any day with this BACON KETTLE CORN RECIPE. Bacon kettle corn is a smoky, salty, sweet treat that’s the perfect movie night snack (more…)
I love ramen. Love it. LOVE IT! I keep some in my house at all times. I have only one rule when it comes to ramen (more…)
The Saturday before Labor Day is International Bacon Day! Is there a better way to celebrate the fruits of our labor than by eating bacon?!…I don’t think so (more…)
High bacon prices nationwide are making headlines. (more…)
How to Host Brunch
Sometimes, as a personal chef, you are challenged to cook in tough situations. Last weekend I had the opportunity to prepare brunch for 75 people for a groundbreaking ceremony. The site is a vineyard currently under construction. (more…)
I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, British Blokes Cooking, when I came across a great looking recipe for Milton’s sausage and potato soup. I guess I shouldn’t read food blogs on an empty stomach because I got REALLY HUNGRY! Now, here’s the thing, I can never follow a recipe…NEVER (almost never). I get inspired by them but then I take off in a completely different direction. In a nod to my Southern roots I used collard greens instead of the kale that was in the recipe. I went to the market and saw some beautiful Kabocha squash that I absolutely could not resist. I had some smoked sausage and some of my homemade bacon in the fridge and I omitted the cream altogether. This soup was FANTASTIC!! The broth was smokey and slightly spicy from the bacon and sausage and a little sweet from the squash.
So here it is, my kabocha squash and collard green soup recipe, I hope you try it or are inspired by it. Either way I’d like to hear about what you cooked and how you change things up.
Kabocha squash and Collard Greens Soup
| 4 ounces of diced bacon1 small onion diced (about ½ cup)1 bunch of collard greens washed and julienned ( about 15 ounces)1- 12 ounce package of smoked sausage sliced
1 small kabocha squash (about 1 pound) cut into 3/4 inch cubes (substitute butternut or acorn squash or pie pumpkin) 3 cups of chicken broth |
Cook diced bacon over medium heat to render the fat from the bacon. Remove the bacon and save, keep the bacon fat in the pot.Add onion into the bacon fat and sauté until translucent for about 4 minutes. Add collard greens into the pot and stir around to wilt greens a bit.Add sausage, kabocha squash and chicken broth. Simmer on medium-low for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.You could also bring the soup to a simmer then put it in the oven and let it cook, covered, gently at 300 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until squash is tenderTop soup with reserved bacon, serve and enjoy |
I’ve been wanting to try these shirataki noodles for a while as a pasta substitute. The noodles have only 3 grams of carbohydrate and 20 calories in each 4 ounce serving. The brand I used is made from tofu and yam flour. I’ve been eating low carb for about two months now and I was having a bit of a pasta craving. I purchased the package a couple of weeks ago but I was a bit nervous because of something written on the label in the directions that frightened me “Drain and rinse thoroughly. Parboil for 2-3 minutes to reduce the authentic aroma”. REDUCE THE AUTHENTIC AROMA? ummm, that made me nervous. I finally got up the nerve to try it and, yes there is a bit of a faint fishy smell to the noodles, but it’s not bad. After rinsing, parboiling, draining and drying I didn’t smell anything. I tasted one plain and it had no taste at all, which is a good thing I think.
A carbonara style dish is what I had been craving so I crisped up some bacon, sauteed spinach in the rendered bacon fat, tossed in the noodles, stirred in an egg and mixed in some Parmesan cheese. With a little black pepper it was pretty tasty. The noodles have a slightly different texture from wheat pasta but it was not unpleasant. I’d make it again. I found the brand pictured above at my local grocery store but you can also order it and other brands of shirataki noodles from Amazon.com. Next time I make this I’m going to try the Miracle Noodle brand, with less than 1 gram of carbs per 3 ounce serving. I’ll let you know how they are. Here’s a great recipe for Miracle Noodle Shirataki Noodles with sauteed Greens
Here’s the recipe for Shirataki noodle carbonara, makes 2 servings
7-8 ounces of Shirataki noodles
4 ounces bacon
3 ounces of spinach
1 egg
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
fresh cracked black pepper
Rinse the shirataki noodles and par-boil them for 2-3 minutes (or follow the preparation directions on the package) Drain the noodles well.
Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch slices and cook over medium heat to render the far out, remove the bacon from the pan and reserve. Saute the spinach in the bacon fat, add the noodles and stir. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the beaten egg and Parmesan cheese. Season with fresh cracked black pepper and top with reserved cooked bacon.
I’ve been curing and smoking my own bacon (insert yo mama joke here) for quite a few months and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever learned to do in the kitchen. It’s so good that I’ve totally given up on purchasing bacon from the grocery store. Here’s the recipe, let me know if you give it a try, I think you’ll be happy that you did.
We’ve been out of bacon for a quite a while, which I don’t mind because we don’t need to eat it everyday. If it’s in the house it WILL be eaten so it’s best not to have it available all the time. My people were starting to crave it. My Mom asked why I didn’t bring any on my last visit and my youngest son has been walking around the house singing the bacon pancake song (yes, that’s a real thing) so I had to get a batch started. It’s not difficult to make but it is time consuming. It takes over a week but it’s well worth it.
My latest batch is finally ready and this is what we did with it:
MARINATED TOMATOES
| 2 Cups of fresh tomatoes chopped into1 inch pieces
1 shallot thinly sliced (2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon of sea salt 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Mix all ingredients together and let marinate refrigerated for about an hour |
BACON AND ROSEMARY KETTLE CORN
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon bacon fat
½ cup unpopped popcorn kernels
¼ teaspoon fine salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup bacon, finely chopped and cooked until crisp
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
Use a large heavy bottomed pot with high sides and a lid. Please be careful.
Add canola oil, bacon fat and three popcorn kernels into the pot ( these three kernels are used to test the heat of your oil), cover and heat over medium/high flame. When the popcorn kernels start to pop your oil is ready to add the rest of the popcorn kernels, sugar and salt. Cover and shake the pot to keep the kernels from burning, carefully moving the pot off and on the heat.