Easy, but Not Quick: Pig Candy (candied bacon)

Candied Bacon

This is a recipe for a really simple, beautiful garnish – made from bacon.

You’ve probably already experienced the phenomenon that is pig candy, which makes me late to the party - but I live a sheltered life and only just heard about it.

The flavor and texture is that of crispy praline.

It is very sweet up front, the smoky flavor comes next; then salt, toasted nuts, and slight heat at the finish if you use the brand of nut butter that I did (Nutty Vermonter Maple Chipoltle).

There is a lot to love about a recipe where the size of the bacon at the finish is pretty much the same as it was when it started, and it only improves by making it ahead of time and letting the flavors come together overnight.

My husband Dan said that he’d like it on a salad, but I think it is best as the final flourish to a humble bowl of vanilla ice cream or peanut butter-frosted chocolate cupcakes.

Oh, heck – enjoy with cupcakes and ice cream together!

Coated Bacon Slices, ready to go

Pig Candy (candied bacon)

Serves 12 -20 as a garnish

½ lb. Bacon

¼ Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Maple Chipoltle Nut Butter (Nutty Vermonter) or natural chunky peanut butter

Equipment: sheet pan, cooling rack, aluminum foil

Mix sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add bacon.

Use your hands to mix everything together so that the bacon becomes coated on both sides.  (I recommend covering hands with plastic food storage bags).

Cover, refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 250f*

Line sheet pan with foil, top with rack. Arrange bacon in a single layer. Top with any remaining sugar.

Bake for 45 min to an hour on each side.

Allow bacon to render a further 25 minutes a side until golden and caramelized.

First Batch

Remove from oven and let cool; turn after a few minutes to minimize sticking. Bacon should be crispy, if not – return to oven.

Store in a single layer under refrigeration. Use plastic wrap between layers to prevent sticking.

Pig Candy

So beautiful -- and sweet.  What I really like is that it is an easy to do, and it makes whatever you serve appear like you went all haute cuisine for your guests.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving we are having: a cold.  Though, I did manage to drag myself out to the store for a turkey take-away (but really, we just needed more Kleenex).

And cat food.  I fear that at least two of the cats would try to eat us if they run out of treats, and I bought them turkey dinner, too.

Here's some more food photos from the dashboard. (Sniffles)

Veggies Assembled

A "before" photo of a simple soup made in the crockpot.  Low, slow and delicious - frozen homemade stock is always around for situations like this.

Vegetable Soup

 Beautiful and easy.

Whole Pork Loin Roast

Another before shot.  This is a store-bought loin, and pork meatballs wrapped in bacon.  I sprinkled Dizzy Dust over the top and put it in the smoker until a thermometer registered 141f.

Smoked Pork Loin

 After resting on the counter for 20 minutes, medium-well.  Very moist.

Pork-stuffed Shrimp

This wasn't an epic fail, but it wasn't as good as it sounded.  Still, I ate it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!

Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup

Back in the day - in my teens and early twenties, I did a lot of babysitting. 

For cashy money.  Gurl needed a curly perm!

Though, I didn’t take on many actual babies - preferring to "watch" pre-adolescents in need of an earnest cook/minder.

My specialty was Campbell’s Tomato Soup and grilled cheese (Kraft slices, white bread, butter) –made with the ubiquitously soft, and crispy-when-fried Wonder Bread.

Through an ordinary sitter’s day of distractions hijinks over-stimulation, I discovered that if the soup hit the boil-over mark, it tasted much better.  And they liked it - they really, really, liked it - for the impromptu hysterics, if nothing else.

(Yes, the ultimate secret to souper yumminess and babysitter success is making a total mess.)

It was quite the culinary discovery, and one I hope my past charges remember with the humor and fondness we had at the time. 

I meant it for the best.

In this one-upped tomato soup recipe, I have once again dragged an old-time staple into the forties.

(And that would be my forties).

What follows are simple techniques that take only time, loving, and fresh ingredients.

(A soup can’t help but turn out right with local produce; and I thank both Arethusa and Half Pint farms for providing such delicious ingredients.)

Yup, threw some bacon on that!

Oven-Roasted Tomato Soup

Makes 6 Cups, 6-8 servings

3-4 lbs. Tomatoes, Thick Sliced

1 Head Garlic, Cut horizontally

1 Large Onion, Quartered

1 Quart Stock (chicken or vegetable)

Melted Bacon Fat (or local oil)

Kosher Flake Salt

Equipment: Sheet Pan, 4-quart Saucepan, Blender, Sieve  

Preheat oven to 425f.  Spread 3-4 TB of fat/oil on sheet pan, place vegetables on cut side down. 

Sprinkle lightly with salt and roast for 40 min. to an hour, until caramelized. Repeat process until all are done.

Remove onion, garlic cloves, and tomatoes to saucepan. Add stock; simmer to reduce by half, 30- 40 minutes.

Let cool slightly.

Pureed roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions.

Process in blender until smooth. 

Pass through sieve to remove any solids.

Taste, salt if necessary, and serve.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Bacon

Weekend Cook: Killer BLT's

Grilled BLT

Dad stepped up to the proverbial plate when my siblings and I were growing up. 

You have to imagine service in front of the television on plastic TV trays.  We loved not sitting at a formal table.  And, I think we may have been watching Gunsmoke.

My favorites?

“Souper Minute Rice”

A Campbell’s Soup recipe: cream of mushroom, instant rice and smoked pork chops (Pop’s variation).  Pork with savory rice -  that’s comfort food!

“Old School Popcorn”

This Sunday treat was popped in a giant aluminum stockpot over an electric burner - shaken back and forth by hand – then poured over newspapers laid over a laminate countertop.  Salt and Parmesan from the can were requisite.

“Short-order Eggs”

These are unctuous, silky, butter-poached eggs, which I still make when the craving arises.

(Don’t snitch and tell my doctor, she’s already on to me).

You’ll notice that there are no green or orange vegetables, which was aces with Tooth Fairy believing kiddies.

The Best BLT

“BLT’s”

We had them only once or twice a year because ripe tomatoes were immediately canned.

This updated recipe gives a tip of the hat to Daddy: sweet, caramelized baby tomatoes; grilled bread, local bacon, crisp leaf lettuce, and a tangy horseradish sauce. 

There’s nothing I’d rather eat on a hot summer’s day.

All Ready To Go

 BLT Sliders

Makes 4 - 6

1 LB Bacon, fried (12 slices)

12 Cherry Tomatoes

1 Small Head of Leaf Lettuce

4 - 6 Slices of Buttered Bread (I used Udi’s gluten-free)

Special Sauce:

2 TB Mayonnaise

1/2 TB Prepared Horseradish

Additional Equipment: Bamboo Skewers

Prepare sauce, taste (I increased the horseradish). Set aside. 

Preheat grill to high. Thread tomatoes on skewers.

Grill bread and roast tomatoes until toast is crispy and tomatoes are split and nearly cooked through.

You have to try this!

Assemble mini sandwiches – two-four slices of bacon, three to four tomatoes each, cream, lettuce.  Press sandwich so the tomatoes release their juice.

No additional salt or seasoning is necessary.