Still Damn Near 40 or: How I Learned to Hide Both Bacon and Booze Inside a Lovely Pecan Pie

Yesterday I decided to pickle up some eggs.  I turned to my old blog to find the recipe and was shocked that it has been almost a year since I wrote here last.  Lord knows I've had a lot to say over the last year, but I guess most of it has been better kept to myself, haha!  Reading through some of these old posts made me remember  how much I enjoyed it.   I should have known food would be the reason for the return, although food was not the intended subject when I first started this thing and I don't want it to be the only subject of my ramblings.  But I just can't help myself,  food is so much fun.  Fun to cook, fun to photograph, fun to write about, and most of all, fun to share.  There is not much in this world that makes my heart happier than knowing  that something I cooked conjured smiles on the faces of those that I love. 

Every winter I get the urge to cook and cook and cook.  During the summer I love to grill, but I don't get to do nearly enough of it.  Grilling for me is an event to be shared, usually with a crowd, something that must be planned and thought out and coordinated.  Cooking and baking in the kitchen is a little different.  I can cook and bake at work for a captive audience, or I can cook and bake at home and deliver it to someone who hopefully eats and enjoys it as opposed to chunking it in the garbage.  

I always love to try new, different, completely unhealthy things, like stuffed jalapenos deep fried in egg roll wrappers, or mac n cheese topped with a woven bacon crust.  But in all my Damn Near 40 years, one thing I had never attempted to produce is a pi. Until now.  I have assisted (watched) my Sweet Mama in making pies in the past, but I don't think I ever was allowed to put my actual hands on the actual ingredients.  Pie-making has been a daunting, scary task to me, and now I know why.  

Buttermilk pie with ugly crust

I am horrible at pie crust.  I have tried every different way I can find to make a crust that is both beautiful, flaky, and most importantly delicious.  So far they have indeed been delicious.  And hideously ugly.  They have shrunken up into the pie plate.  They have dripped over the edges and formed burned curtains of crust-like matter.  I have tried butter-only , shortening-only, butter and shortening, butter and lard.  Each has tasted delicious and looked horrible.  Everyone tells me "just go buy a crust at the grocery store" but I can't give up yet.  I MUST MASTER THE CRUST. Probably I'll eventually get over how it looks and just be glad that someone will eat it.  I am not a big pie eater myself and have only actually tasted one of the few I've made so far, and I gotta say, it was a delicious buttermilk pie and I was very happy with it.  Except for how ugly the crust was.

Calf slobbers!

A couple nights ago I decided to try my hand at a coconut crème pie with calf slobbers.  I have never had a coconut crème pie, but I tasted the filling and it  made me want a pina colada.  The funnest part was making  the calf slobbers themselves.  I don't eat meringue, have never liked it at all.  I pick it off the top of my Mama's chocolate pies and give it to someone else.  But it was so fun to make, and so beautiful on top of that pie, I may top everything with calf slobbers from now on. I delivered that one to my friends the Rushings, and Venna said it was good til I called them calf-slobbers. Somehow the image of a slobbering calf drooling all over her pie just didn't do it for her.  Hahaha!  I guess meringue does sound a bit more appetizing, but calf-slobbers is what they'll always be to me.

Last night,  I decided to try a pecan pie.  This was not just any pie, this was a MAN'S pecan pie.   

I have to preface this story by mentioning that I love bacon.  And I guess a lot of people know it because I get text messages and emails about bacon pretty much every day.  I had received a couple of text messages that demonstrated how beautifully bacon can be woven into a lattice-work that resembles the top of a pie crust, and it sparked the idea for a mac n cheese pie with a woven-bacon top.  But that's a story for another time.  

The point is, while I was googling for instructions on the art of bacon pie weaving, I came across a recipe that knocked my socks off.  MAPLE BACON BOURBON PECAN PIE.  Holy Pete!  Pie with bacon AND booze! You can find the recipe HERE. 

Boozy, bacony pecan filling ready for the shell

I knew that one day I would have to make this, but as I read about it to the fellas at work, they seemed a bit skeptical about bacon being mixed in with their pecan pie.  The truth is most of these crazy concoctions I like to try are met with apprehension until the initial tasting is over,  so I decided not to share the true nature of the pecan pie with my guinea pigs (the Rossers) until they had tasted and loved it first.   

 Then I revealed the delicious secret.   

6 pieces of bacon, cleverly disguised

Right there smack dab in the middle of all that Pe-Can gooey goodness are six pieces of center-cut bacon.  All chopped up small enough to be in full disguise.  And another little tidbit:  there is no butter involved, because the pecans and maple syrup were cooked in the bacon grease instead.  How could you go wrong!  Well, in my case you could go wrong with the pie crust, but at least the innards were tasty.  Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie.  You must try it for yourself.  And so must I.  

Pecans and maple syrup bubbling in bacon grease

A Cup O' Breakfast Goodness

Over the Christmas holiday, my cousin Jennifer baked up a wonderful breakfast of Prosciutto Egg Cups for the whole family.  I am a huge fan of breakfast, and these were even delicious reheated the next day.  Rachel Ray has a recipe for them here. 

These can be done in muffin tins, which is very handy when you're cooking for a large group, or individually in ramekins, which is very handy when you're cooking for just yourself.   I decided to give them a try a couple of mornings ago.  I was in the mooda for Gouda, so I used it in place of the Mozzarella.  And skipped the basil since I forgot to buy some, but it woulda been better with basil. In the interest of fat reduction, I thought about subbing turkey bacon, but one slice of prosciutto is only around 30-40 calories, so it's really not too bad, as long as you don't overdo it on the cheese. 

Fresh from the (toaster) oven.

Nice and simple, just coat your ramekin with a little cooking spray, layer in your prosciutto and cheese, crack in your egg, squeeze in a little more cheese because cheese is yummy, pop it in the oven (the toaster oven is perfect for this!) and bake until the egg white is set.


After they have had a chance to cool a bit, use a knife to nudge them from their cups and slide them out onto a plate.  A dash of salt and pepper and they are ready to enjoy!

New Year's Eve Pot Roast

If you've read much of this blog, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food.  If you've ever seen me walking down the street, you know I'm a big fan of the comfort food, hahaha!  As I told my good friend JunBug a long time ago while in the process of ordering a huge breakfast at Peggy's Place at 2 a.m. after a little light beer drinking, (in a screeching, slightly defensive voice) "I didn't get this way by eatin' salads!"

This year for New Year's Eve, instead of going out on the town and ringing in 2012 with friends and booze, I opted to stay home and ring it in with dogs and food.  I had watched "Julie and Julia" for the first time that day, and I was tempted to try Julia Child's recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.  But once I read the recipe, I realized that 4 p.m. was probably not the time to start such an undertaking.  I hadn't even been to the grocery store yet.   Plus I wasn't sure I would be able to find chunk bacon for the lardons in Podunk, USA.

What I mostly wanted was something involving beef and wine, and my big red dutch oven.  Enter Guy Fieri, and his recipe for his Mama's Pot Roast.  It turned out to be the right choice, even though it was almost 2012 by the time I got it finished.  Normally I do a pot roast in the slow-cooker with a little broth, carrots, onions, and potatoes.  But here, the addition of beef stock, wine, mushrooms, and shallots make it AMAZING!

The original recipe and instructions are here:   Guy Fieri's Family-Style Pot Roast Recipe.

Browned on all sides and ready for a long nap in the oven.

It all starts with a beautiful Chuck Roast.  The local supermarket had two different cuts of Chuck Roast; I opted for the Certified Angus Brand because it was a noticeably better looking cut of meat.  Probably quite a bit fattier, but absolutely delicious.  I threw some butter and olive oil in the Dutch Oven and browned the roast on all sides. Guy says to truss it up all fancy-like with some butcher's twine, but I just slapped it in there and let it sizzle.

Looking tasty with the addition of wine, beef stock and veggies.

Then I removed the roast and carmelized the onion & shallots, then added garlic & baby carrots.  I'm not a celery fan, so I skipped that part.  Stir in some tomato paste, deglaze with a little Zinfandel & beef stock, throw in some baby portbellas & fresh thyme, and you're ready to roast.



Finally, I put the roast back in and added some Baby Reds.  Shoved it in my poor old avocado green oven and said a little prayer as the oven rack bowed under the weight of all that cast iron.

Baby Reds, ready for the oven.

A little over 2 hours at 325 and it's cooked to comforting perfection.

Veggies instead of gravy. 

Guy tells you to blend the veggies and use them as gravy, but that sounded yucky to me, so I just skipped that part and dished it up as is.  It's plenty juicy and delicious. Yummy!!  Give it a try, and enjoy!

Easy to Peel Boiled Eggs

More than one boiled egg has been hurled across my kitchen in a fit of disgusted rage due to its un-peel-ability.  I actually have shed tears over pitted, ugly, ruined boiled eggs that were meant to be beautifully deviled and delicious.  After much research (thanks Mama and Ina Garten, among others) and a little practice, I believe I have compiled the information needed to make boiling and peeling eggs as pain-free as possible.  Most any information you read will tell you that the older the egg, the easier it is to peel, so it's not a bad plan to use eggs that have been around for 5 to 7 days.  I have used fairly fresh eggs with this procedure with very good results.  Here goes...

Just about to boil.

1. Place your eggs in the pot and cover with cold water.
2. Put 'em on the burner and crank up the heat.
3. While heating, add a tablespoon of baking soda to the water.  This is supposed to raise the pH and make the membrane beneath the peel stronger, making them easier to peel.
4. Bring the water to a boil, then immediately remove them from heat and smack a lid on them.
5. Let them sit for 10 minutes, then immediately place them into a bowl full of ice water.
6. Let them sit for 5 minutes in the ice water, then immediately remove. This will keep the center of the egg a little warm while the outside is chilled, helping to loosen the shell.
7. Now this part is a little strange, but it helps.  Tap the egg on each end to crack the shell, and remove a small section from each end.  One end should have a little air pocket in it, which makes it easier to start.  Now tap around the sides to crack the shell all around the egg.  Next, take the egg in your fist and blow into the narrow end of the egg, where you removed the shell.  Pretend you're trying to blow the egg completely out of the shell.  You might actually accomplish that, but odds are, you will blow around the egg and help loosen the shell so that it will peel off in one piece.  Look this up on youtube, there are tons of videos on the subject.
8. Start peeling and the membrane should separate from the egg and prevent pitting or peeling away little parts of the white.  GOOD LUCK!!