Bacon Baklava

I know I've recently bestowed the incredibly delicious bacon jam upon you all, and you probably thought that was quite enough bacon debauchery to last me a while, but it was most certainly not.  In the same vein as the bacon-pecan cookies, I've yet again managed to take an ordinary sweet and bacon it up right into the ranks of amazing.

Apple, Brie, and Bacon Jam Panini

 I am extremely excited about this post because it involves bacon and sandwiches.  I feel very strongly about both.  Bacon is one of the only meats that I actually missed when I didn't eat meat.  Occasionally a burger also sounded good, but mostly bacon was what I found myself longing for if ever wanted meat.  Bacon is also really one of the only meats I like in a sandwich.  Most deli meats disturb me- have you seen the "turkey breast" at the Boar's Head counter?  No turkey's breast ever looked that uniform and unstriated.  It's completely unnatural.  And speaking of sandwiches, I can go on a good rant if I'm served one with sub-par ratios among the various ingredients, or worse, if there isn't an arrangement such that each bite contains some of each ingredient.  How annoying is it when you get a sandwich with one round tomato slice, a pile of onions, an squirt of mustard all in the center of the sandwich so that the corner bites have nothing but cheese and bread crust?  It's really annoying, that's how.  

Bacon Pecan Cookies

We had our first snow last weekend.  Snow is always magical in the south.  You spend days hearing it's going to happen, finding it hard to actually believe the forecast, but secretly hoping and praying it will happen (and preferably on a weekday as nobody works in the South on a snow day).  Then it does happen, all of a sudden you look out the window and there are these big, soft snowflakes coming down, melting right into the ground.  And two hours later, they're still falling, now accumulating and coming down faster, but still such big and soft flakes that it actually feels good to stand out in it.  And everything is so quiet.

Boozy Pork with Polenta and Roasted Broccoli

I love to cook with alcohol.  Meaning, I enjoy a beer or glass wine while cooking AND I enjoy splashing a little of my libation of choice into what I'm cooking.  I think booze can be utilized in so many different dishes, and often it's not even something I've planned in advance to do.  Sauces are an obvious place to put some wine or beer, or even liquor.  But I also like to use alcohol to deglaze sauteed veggies, add acidity to soups or marinades, and whet my appetite (oh I mentioned that already, right?). Plus, if you're cooking fish, they can really help remove the fishy odor when added to the pan.   


Anyway, I wanted to use some polenta in the pantry and since E's favorite protein is pig, I picked up some pork chops.  However, I am a big fan of having many colors on my plate- and pork chops and polenta seemed like too much in the yellow-brown vein.  Red wine to the rescue! A nice drizzle of buttery, oniony, red wine sauce over some crispy pork chops and creamy polenta... all topped off with a beautiful splash of green from the world's best vegetable- broccoli.  (You'll have to just trust me on the beautiful part- my camera parties like it's 1999 because that's when it was made.)

Spaghetti Squash, Chestnuts, and Sausage

This meal was like a big plate of autumn. Which is good, because until it all came together, I was worried it might be a big plate of fail. Sometimes my culinary instincts aren't right on point, and I ignore the cautionary voice in my head and power through anyway.  (This mostly affects my baking, resulting in lumpy icing and dry bread, which I never know how to rescue.)

First Galette- a success story

I love the change of seasons, but especially the beginning of fall.  Fall is my favorite time of year for so many reasons- all the ones you're thinking of, I'm sure.  Who doesn't it love it when the weather demands that you snuggle up on your dog bed with a pillow and a blanket?

 But food-wise, fall is my favorite time.  I mean spring's great with all the peas and asparagus and whatever else, and summer has the corn and tomatoes and general healthy bounty, but I really could eat roasted vegetables every day of the week, and they're at their best in autumn.  The fall and winter squashes beat the heck out of summer squash (don't even get me started), and then there's sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips... Couple this with the fact that your neck and butt no longer sweat just from chopping onions in the kitchen while the oven preheats, and the sudden perfect pairing of heavy, dark beers with the crisp evening air and you have one happy girl.