This I think sounds great, (from allrecipes.com) - then again, I did just make my first pate and am excited (but using chicken livers; they are incredibly cheap in Australia).
INGREDIENTS
says serves 2 but if you make it more as an appetizer instead of a meal, it should serve about 6.
1 pound fresh chicken livers
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices bacon
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse livers, pat dry.
2. In a small bowl mix the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper and add mixture to chicken livers.
3. Coat the chicken livers with the powder and set aside.
4. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown, not too crispy as it will be cooked more later, but long enough so that you have quiet a bit of bacon grease.
5. Remove bacon, leaving bacon fat in skillet, and set aside.
6. Cook coated chicken livers in bacon fat covered over medium high heat until almost done, about 17 to 20 minutes.
7. Add bacon strips and cook together until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Enjoy; I know I have,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
p.s. There was one girl who suggested using this for sandwiches as well. That sounds amazing and I think I might have to do that. Another suggestion was to cook it with garlic and mushrooms... I think I'm starting to drool.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Bacon wrapped dates
This sounds absolutely amazing. We've had bacon wrapped figs with goats cheese and last year the Bacon Boys had bacon wrapped dates with a gorgonzola dipping sauce, but I like this idea from all recipes.com
INGREDIENTS
serves around 32 so a good size for Bacon Day
1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half or fourths if it's longer bacon
1 pound pitted dates
4 ounces blue cheese (I think goats cheese or gorgonzola could easily be a great substitute, but not something like cheddar)
optional: roasted pine nuts or macadamia nuts (I'm sure other kinds would also work, but these are my favorites with dates)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Slice dates in half, and open them up or if you are better with a knife, only half of it so that one side is still attached This helps me keep it all together.
3. Pinch off pieces of the cheese, and place them into the center of the dates, along with the nuts if you are using them. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap the sliced bacon around the outside. If you only half way cut the date, try to wrap the bacon along the seem of the date to help keep all the cheesy goodness inside.
4. Secure each one with a toothpick and arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease. Having cut the date only half way through, if you keep the open half up, this should help prevent any cheese from falling out.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.
Enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
INGREDIENTS
serves around 32 so a good size for Bacon Day
1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half or fourths if it's longer bacon
1 pound pitted dates
4 ounces blue cheese (I think goats cheese or gorgonzola could easily be a great substitute, but not something like cheddar)
optional: roasted pine nuts or macadamia nuts (I'm sure other kinds would also work, but these are my favorites with dates)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Slice dates in half, and open them up or if you are better with a knife, only half of it so that one side is still attached This helps me keep it all together.
3. Pinch off pieces of the cheese, and place them into the center of the dates, along with the nuts if you are using them. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap the sliced bacon around the outside. If you only half way cut the date, try to wrap the bacon along the seem of the date to help keep all the cheesy goodness inside.
4. Secure each one with a toothpick and arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease. Having cut the date only half way through, if you keep the open half up, this should help prevent any cheese from falling out.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.
Enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bacon Rice krispies
It seems like a natural progression, and an easy enough desert to make, so why not make Bacon Rice Krispies. I heard about this on a new site to me, Pork, Knife, and Spoon. For the Rice Krispy recipe, I use the original.
My recipe -
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®
3 - 4 strips of crispy bacon
1. Make crispy bacon and dry off all grease (this will help keeping it all crispy and stick better).
2. In a sauce pan melt butter
3. Once the butter is melted add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted.
4. Add the Rice Krispies and stir well making sure that they are all coated.
5. Crumble the bacon into small pieces (bacon bit size) and add to the mixture stirring well.
6. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with cooking spray or line with wax paper.
7. Pour/ press the mixture into the pan, and let cool.
8. Cut into squares and serve.
My recipe -
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®
3 - 4 strips of crispy bacon
1. Make crispy bacon and dry off all grease (this will help keeping it all crispy and stick better).
2. In a sauce pan melt butter
3. Once the butter is melted add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted.
4. Add the Rice Krispies and stir well making sure that they are all coated.
5. Crumble the bacon into small pieces (bacon bit size) and add to the mixture stirring well.
6. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with cooking spray or line with wax paper.
7. Pour/ press the mixture into the pan, and let cool.
8. Cut into squares and serve.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Springfield Chili
Springfield Chilli
Serves: 6
This recipe is from September's Cooking Light magazine. According to the magazine, "The Illinois version of chili is typically spelled with an extra "l" and features coarse-grind beef."
• Ingredients:
1 bacon slice, finely chopped
2¼ cups finely chopped onion, divided (2 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound coarsely ground turkey breast
½ pound coarsely ground sirloin
1 (12-ounce) can beer (such as Budweiser)
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Oyster crackers (optional)
• Instructions:
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat five minutes or until browned. Stir in 2 cups onion; cover and cook until onion is tender (about five minutes). Uncover and stir in garlic; cook for one minute.
Increase heat to medium-high; add turkey and sirloin to pan. Cook five minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add beer; cook until liquid is reduced to ยช cup (about seven minutes). Stir in chili powder and next five ingredients (through tomato sauce). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle 1 cup chili into each of six bowls. Top each serving with 4 teaspoons cheese and 2 teaspoons onion. Serve with crackers
Serves: 6
This recipe is from September's Cooking Light magazine. According to the magazine, "The Illinois version of chili is typically spelled with an extra "l" and features coarse-grind beef."
• Ingredients:
1 bacon slice, finely chopped
2¼ cups finely chopped onion, divided (2 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound coarsely ground turkey breast
½ pound coarsely ground sirloin
1 (12-ounce) can beer (such as Budweiser)
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Oyster crackers (optional)
• Instructions:
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat five minutes or until browned. Stir in 2 cups onion; cover and cook until onion is tender (about five minutes). Uncover and stir in garlic; cook for one minute.
Increase heat to medium-high; add turkey and sirloin to pan. Cook five minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add beer; cook until liquid is reduced to ยช cup (about seven minutes). Stir in chili powder and next five ingredients (through tomato sauce). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle 1 cup chili into each of six bowls. Top each serving with 4 teaspoons cheese and 2 teaspoons onion. Serve with crackers
Enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Bacon Popcorn: a use for left over bacon grease
Part of Bacon Day is the viewing of an appropriate bacon movie, Tremors, Footloose, or maybe Frost/Nixon, or you could always go with Babe, piglets big adventure, or Charlotte's Web. In any case pop corn is always a good companion. So here is a recipe for bacon popcorn.
Serves 10
1/2 cup bacon grease
3/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons bacon bits (optional)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Measure the bacon grease into a 6 quart pot and place over high heat. Add one or two popcorn kernels as testers. When the test kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and cover with a lid. As the popcorn starts to pop, shake the pan back and forth constantly to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they can pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat and let it finish popping.
Pour the popcorn into a large bowl or paper sack. Season with half of the seasoned salt and stir. Taste before adding more salt if desired. Toss with bacon bits and shredded Cheddar cheese for an extra special treat. Store leftovers in lunch sacks or sandwich bags.
This, I'm guessing, will be a new Bacon Day classic
enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
Serves 10
1/2 cup bacon grease
3/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons bacon bits (optional)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Measure the bacon grease into a 6 quart pot and place over high heat. Add one or two popcorn kernels as testers. When the test kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn and cover with a lid. As the popcorn starts to pop, shake the pan back and forth constantly to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they can pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat and let it finish popping.
Pour the popcorn into a large bowl or paper sack. Season with half of the seasoned salt and stir. Taste before adding more salt if desired. Toss with bacon bits and shredded Cheddar cheese for an extra special treat. Store leftovers in lunch sacks or sandwich bags.
This, I'm guessing, will be a new Bacon Day classic
enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chicken livers with Red wine and bacon
Chicken Livers with red wine and bacon
serves 6
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 pound chicken livers, rinsed and trimmed
1 1/2 cups Burgundy or other dry red wine
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
Fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp (or how ever you like your bacon). Remove bacon from the pan and pat dry on paper towels . Drain off grease from the pan leaving enough to cook the livers, onions, and bacon in.
Using the same pan, add the onions and mushrooms; cook and stir over medium heat until tender. Stir in the chicken livers, quickly browning them on the outside. Pour in the red wine, adding more if needed to cover the chicken livers. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the bacon. (next time I want to try maybe adding some cream to make it a bit of a thicker sauce, and maybe a table spoon of mustard as well after the simmering).
Enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
serves 6
8 slices bacon, chopped
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 pound chicken livers, rinsed and trimmed
1 1/2 cups Burgundy or other dry red wine
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
Fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp (or how ever you like your bacon). Remove bacon from the pan and pat dry on paper towels . Drain off grease from the pan leaving enough to cook the livers, onions, and bacon in.
Using the same pan, add the onions and mushrooms; cook and stir over medium heat until tender. Stir in the chicken livers, quickly browning them on the outside. Pour in the red wine, adding more if needed to cover the chicken livers. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the bacon. (next time I want to try maybe adding some cream to make it a bit of a thicker sauce, and maybe a table spoon of mustard as well after the simmering).
Enjoy,
Alexa and the Bacon Boys
Monday, February 16, 2009
Bacon (white) Chocolate
Please make sure to take all safety precautions when cooking, and cook everything thoroughly
ingredients
1 block of white cooking chocolate
1 package of bacon
Pepper and cayenne (optional)
1 apple (optional)
1. Prepare the bacon to be cooked (I used the oven since it creates less of a mess). Since I was using plain bacon I crushed up some black pepper and cayenne pepper and rubbed this mixture into the bacon. It would be interesting to try it with some other spices like rosemary or lavender
2. Cook the bacon in the oven at about 200 Celsius for around 15 - 20 min. Make sure that the bacon is crispy.
3. Drain the bacon grease, pat dry, and let cool.
4. melt the chocolate in a double boiler or if like me you don't have one do the following. Boil a pot of water, use a slightly smaller pot that you can have in the boiling water to melt the chocolate with, there are many great sites which can tell you how to melt chocolate.
5. Once the bacon has cooled off and no longer appears to have grease on it (not liquid grease anyway) either dip the bacon in the chocolate, or pour the chocolate over it.
6. Place apple slices on the chocolate (I really liked it), let cool and enjoy.
ingredients
1 block of white cooking chocolate
1 package of bacon
Pepper and cayenne (optional)
1 apple (optional)
1. Prepare the bacon to be cooked (I used the oven since it creates less of a mess). Since I was using plain bacon I crushed up some black pepper and cayenne pepper and rubbed this mixture into the bacon. It would be interesting to try it with some other spices like rosemary or lavender
2. Cook the bacon in the oven at about 200 Celsius for around 15 - 20 min. Make sure that the bacon is crispy.
3. Drain the bacon grease, pat dry, and let cool.
4. melt the chocolate in a double boiler or if like me you don't have one do the following. Boil a pot of water, use a slightly smaller pot that you can have in the boiling water to melt the chocolate with, there are many great sites which can tell you how to melt chocolate.
5. Once the bacon has cooled off and no longer appears to have grease on it (not liquid grease anyway) either dip the bacon in the chocolate, or pour the chocolate over it.
6. Place apple slices on the chocolate (I really liked it), let cool and enjoy.
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