Bourbon Bacon Peaches

I almost never eat or make sweets or deserts. However, I was reviewing our posts the other day and I realized almost every desert I have made in the last year or so has been post worthy.  I might have a flair for creating items I don't eat. Correction, that I usually don't eat. And yes, I really enjoyed this one. I even made it twice. Actually, that isn't fully correct. The second time I made it the UB made a Manhattan killing almost all my rye whiskey. Inventory control in the kitchen is important to those who cook. I ended up making a variant -I will list that too.


How to make:
First make the sauce by covering and heating in the 'nuker' for 30-45 seconds one ounce of maple syrup and the leaves from 1/3 sprig of fresh rosemary.  Once cooked and cool mix in the whiskey and a pinch of salt. Stir.

Halve the peach. Melt the bacon fat on medium. (yes, you heard me - bacon fat) in a pot/pan (with a lid) that can barely hold the two peach halves flat side down.





Once the fat is liquid, coat inside of the peaches with bacon fat (pour some of it inside each peach) and then place them in the pan face down.

Cover, bring to medium heat, lightly boiled  for 8-10 minutes, until cooked.

Pour sauce on top of peaches, make sure rosemary stays on top.


Place the peaches on small plate and spoon the now thickened sauce on top of the peaches. Eat and enjoy the goodness of making a healthy snack unhealthy.


Ingredients:

1 peach halved
1 1/2 tsp bacon fat

Sauce:

1oz maple syrup
1/3 sprig rosemary (8-10 leaves)
1 oz rye whiskey: Variant:1/3 oz rye whiskey, 1/3 oz dark rum, 1/3 oz cognac
A titch of salt

Got Pears?

Ahhh, Pears. It could be me, but pears seem to be making a comeback. They are sweet, like most fruit, but have a subtle, fresh taste that is reminiscent of summer. They can do savory just as easily as sweet and are just a bit unexpected. I work with really picky, McDonald's loving, adolescent girls and even they love pears. The cook has to put them out one or two at a time and even raw, they are snatched up and enjoyed.

The AC has been on a pear kick lately too, and it's pretty awesome. Even better, the pear kick has equaled more desserts, which is always good for me.

Exhibit A

I present to you three dishes, four pictures. The fourth is just to demonstrate the end result, and I liked the image- remember, this is also about photography for me.

Exhibit A. Made while we were hosting some new friends for Art-a-Whirl. Preparation was scant and overall, these were quite spontaneous- The AC gets up from the dinner table around midnight after an evening of over indulgence. He doesn't say a word.  I don't disturb him. And my art friends and I get a treat. Kinda like my sister when she visited. see the fried bananas post and you'll get the idea. A common, green Bartlett pear was sliced thin and marinated in St. Germaine Elder Flower liqueur for a little over 20 minutes. The AC put the pears and the sauce used to marinate in a med-high frying pan, coated with butter. He added cinnamon and ground ginger and fried on both sides until browned and slightly soft. He halved some dried cherries and served.  All were eaten voraciously. The result was a semi-sweet, buttery, warm, just perfect follow-up to a meal.

Exhibit B

Exhibit B. Oatmeal. Served on a standard Saturday morning, with bacon, or course. This was added to demonstrate yet another way to add excitement to oatmeal. Honestly, oatmeal had no idea how exciting it could be until it met the AC.

This version used the pears, again Bartlett, marinated in St. Germaine. The oatmeal was prepared with ground clove, cinnamon, orange and lemon peel and a small hint of french lavender. Think about that, meaty, hearty oatmeal, balanced with citrus, subtle pear sweetened with St. Germaine (yes, I guess that means we consumed alcohol for breakfast) and the clean taste of lavender. This is your license to go crazy on your oatmeal...ready?? Go!

Exhibit C

Exhibit C. Caramelized roasted pears. Enough said. This is truly bringing out the total dessert potential of this fruit. The AC really outdid himself with this. Bosc pears are used. They are the pears with the brown skin, they are ultimately slightly less sweet and very good for cooking.

Exhibit D

To make this, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, cut the pears in half and core. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on both sides. Turn round side up and then lightly drizzle vanilla extract and generously sprinkle with brown sugar. Place the pears on a baking sheet that has a lot of butter coating it, it will be used for more than release but part of a sauce when we're done. Create the sauce using various liqueurs, for these we used a combination of cointreau and plain triple sec. Add cinnamon, ginger, allspice, a bit of salt and a bit of cayenne. Cook the sauce until reduced, pour the sauce over the pears after the pears have cooked about 25-30 minutes (somewhat soft all the way through) and then place under a broiler. Broil until brown and bubbly. Remove from the broiler, pour the remaining sauce from the pan over the pears and then top with chopped dried cherries and fresh mint leaves.

Place in front of your lucky dinner guests and see Exhibit D.

Bacon Fried Bananas

Have you ever noticed that we don't mention desserts on this blog? There's a story behind that. The AC doesn't have a sweet tooth, a fact he always brags about whenever it comes up. Conversation drifts towards favorite candy, that new bakery that makes the best donuts, and AC gets quiet, waiting for his opportunity to shrug his shoulders and say "I don't eat that stuff, I don't have a sweet tooth, never have". Then he'll talk about the super-human, weight-lifter convenient fact that instead of sweets, he craves protein. Meat. Not sugar. This is usually followed by the story about his mother hiding sweets in his room because she knew he would never eat them. Apparently the Thanksgiving turkey was another story. It was gone before the first sandwich was made. Guess you have to pick your poison. 

As a result we don't order dessert often and make it even less. I, the UB, do have a sweet tooth, but feel like a pig if I eat more than a few bites of the dessert I ordered for myself, the one AC will have "a bite" of, and he does have just one bite. So it turns into a pretty great diet plan for me too. When we're with friends who want dessert, I joyfully join them, happy to have a partner in the crime of utter indulgence.

Out of the two of us I am the baker. I have learned to bake things AC will eat. Pancakes are one, and as you can see, I have several recipes. The recipe with cottage cheese and yogurt are his favorite...no duh. He also enjoys my fruit cobblers, his favorite is cherry/rhubarb, that really is amazing. I add very little sugar and a scoop of ice cream or coconut sorbet. If it ever warms up around here, I'll post the recipe. He'll also eat crepes with nutella, bread pudding, certain fresh baked cookies (but never day-after) and once ate a chocolate cupcake at a bonfire party we hosted, after several rounds of drinks. I was very pleased.

You can imagine my shock then, when AC offered to cook myself and my lovely sister (who was in town and happened to be over for dinner- yay!) bacon-fried bananas. He even said it this way "I've never made you my bacon fried bananas have I?" Apparently he's had this recipe forever and after eleven years hadn't thought about cooking it for me. I guess saving that stuff up makes for new discoveries? Anyway. They were fabulous. He took about five minutes to make them and here is the recipe:

1. Take 2 bananas, and slice into 1/2" slices.
2. Dredge the bananas in panko breadcrumbs to coat.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Take bacon fat and melt in a hot frying pan. He used enough fat to cover and coat the pan, about 1/8 inch. (Did I tell you we got a new hood? One that actually vents outside? Oh the possibilities...)
5. Place the bananas in the pan, flip when golden brown and cook the other side until golden brown. If you like it sweeter, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
6. Place in a bowl and put down in front of shocked partner and sister-in-law.
7. Earn major points. 

They were made before we even got through the first bit of crazy family gossip and gone before that bit was over. My sister and I were both awed that AC would even suggest a dessert, let alone get up from the table and start to make it, finishing before we even processed what had happened. Anything is now possible. Yes, I realized the dessert involved bacon, but let me have my moment.

Beta Baguette French Toast

I love the idea of making french toast from left over baguette, but I've never liked the execution. The very thing that makes a baguette so satisfying, the chewy, crunchy crust, just gets too hard, making it too difficult to cut with a fork and too difficult to chew.

But I still like the idea. We really don't buy much bread, just baguette when we eat antipasto and the occasional roll for a sandwich.

After a night of antipasto we always have some leftover and a couple days later it's hard as a rock. The next day though, it's just stale enough to make the perfect french toast. I figured out how to make it work.

It's all in how you cut the bread- very thin. Keep in mind, I took the pictures very close-up, so the bread looks much thicker than it actually is. I'd say it's cut in about 1/2 inch thick pieces, if not thinner. I only used one medium banana, which was enough for two, so it is sliced paper thin. Use it for scale when viewing the pictures.

This recipe may be the simplest of all my breakfast specialties, in fact, I don't even measure. I made it up off the top of my head and I'm not the AlphaChef. Believe me, after reading this once you won't even have to refer back to the posting.

I made enough for two people, about eight small slices each, which ends up using a little more than a third of the baguette. Mix four eggs with some vanilla- about a teaspoon and a half, 1 tsp cinnamon and about a half cup of milk, but I didn't measure, just add enough milk to dilute the eggs into enough liquid to soak the bread. I heated, on medium-high, two skillets so I could make them in about two batches. I hate trying to keep them warm prior to serving. Put a pat of butter on each skillet when hot. Throw the bread into the egg mixture for about 30 seconds, just enough to coat and soak briefly. I then put the coated bread on the skillet and cook until each side is golden brown.

I piled the pieces on a plate, added bananas and strawberries because I had them around and thought it would look good and served with maple syrup. That's it. Takes about 15 minutes for the whole process. The result is a crisp, but just soft enough, sweet and savory, delicious version of french toast. You can cut it with your fork and chewing is not a problem. Dilemma solved- baguette will never again be wasted in our house.

Apple Schmarren; a Beta breakfast specialty

Sunday morning, Spring is coming!

For all my breakfast loving followers: I have another pancake recipe that is so easy but looks really impressive and tastes amazing. This is an Apple Schmarren aka Apple Puff Pancake. I've been making this for a number of years after discovering a recipe in the fabulous book "Jewish Cooking in America" by Joan Nathan. This recipe serves four, I cut it in half which is perfect for the two of us.

Preheat your oven to 350* and place an oven safe skillet to heat on your stove top on a medium/low flame. Mix 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt. I will often add about a tsp of cinnamon or a tsp of vanilla. Add 3 large eggs, 1 cup of milk and beat until smooth. Add 2 cored, peeled apples cut into eighths and stir into the batter. Once you've made this a couple times, start experimenting with different fruit. I have used pears, various berries, all with good success.

Brush the heated skillet with butter and pour in the batter. Place the skillet in the oven. I have found that it takes about 20-25 minutes to cook. Monitor it closely, as I've found the cooking time varies. You want the batter to rise around the apples, become crispy on the sides and the batter should appear cooked, not wet.



Once it appears cooked I remove the skillet from the oven and sprinkle it with raw sugar. I turn off the oven and turn on the broiler to high. I put the skillet under the broiler and watch it closely (once it starts to brown it goes fast!) until the sugar starts to brown and the pancake cracks around the apples. Remove from broiler and cut into pieces.

There are many options for serving- syrup, preserves, my favorite is to squeeze a slice of lemon and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The result is light, crispy, a perfect balance of tart and sweet, ideal for a lazy Sunday breakfast. This is one you HAVE to try.

Oatmeal Cakes

One morning, at a local restaurant for breakfast I ordered steel cut oatmeal. I was a little taken aback when an oatmeal cake arrived instead. What a pleasant surprise. It was a perfect combination of crispy and chewy, served with a tangy fruit compote, it was a completely new experience in oatmeal. So, when it was eventually removed from the menu I challenged my chef to recreate the experience. I really should have started with him in the first place.

We're calling them Oatmeal Cakes with fruit and yogurt. Made a couple days ago when I was in dire need of yogurt. Start with a pot of Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal. Add approximately 10% more oats than specified on the recipe (without extra water), to make a thicker base. When adding the oats to the water, add 3-4 ground cloves, 1 tsp dehydrated orange peel, 1/2 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. About 1 minute before the oatmeal is done cooking, add 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp powered ginger, 1 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp brown sugar. Turn heat to simmer, cook 2-3 minutes to thicken, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat frying pan on medium high flame, add 1 tbsp butter. Spoon oatmeal by the heaping tbsp onto pan, flip when brown, place on plate, top with whatever combination of yogurt and fruit you prefer. We obviously chose bananas and blueberries, add bacon. Devine.