Bacon

Remember the commercial where the dog runs around the house and he is thinking 'Bacon, Bacon, Bacon'.  That's how I feel sometimes!  I love the stuff.

Baking it in the oven is now my rule.  I saw it on a Food Network show and haven't looked back.  It's way too easy and there is very little mess.  You just throw it on a wire rack over a baking sheet with rims to catch the grease, 375 for about 30 minutes.  Check it for doneness, some like it crispy and others not so much.

But wait, there's more!  My favorite thing is to cut the bacon slices into thirds, then toss them in a mixture of brown sugar and red pepper flakes.  Oh My Gosh.  It's like heaven in your mouth.

You take a bite and it's so sweet and then, it gets you on the back of your tongue.  Like wow, that's flavor.

Think of the possibilities.  It's a great snack.  Good crumbled on ice cream.  Yes, you know it is.  Throw some on a salad.  Or you could make sandwiches.

BLTs are a staple around here.  I usually throw some turkey on mine and a few onions.  I wonder when it stops being a blt and has to have another name?

Plus we've been making sliders recently, which are great for portion control!  If you haven't seen it yet, Rhodes has some warm and serve rolls that are terrific.  And the perfect size for sliders. 

Back to the Bacon.  The turkey offsets the sweet and spiciness of the candied bacon making this...the perfect sandwich.  You should try it very soon.  Yes, you should!

So Good!

Live, Laugh, Love!

Karen and Charlie

Chicken Scarpiello

Charlie and I watch Food Network shows all the time.  It's a hobby or an addiction.  I'm not sure which but it works for us.  One of our favorite's is 'Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'.  We love Anne Burrell. She loves brown food.  Brown food tastes good.  She says it and we believe it.

One of the must try recipes that Anne did on the show was Chicken Scarpiello and immediately we knew we had to try it. You can get the recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/chicken-scarpiello-recipe/index.html but here's the run down.

Fennel Sausage (we used breakfast sausage and added fennel seeds)
Chicken Thighs
Onion and Garlic
White Wine (we used apple cider vinegar)
Hot cherry peppers ( we used hot chili peppers)
Chicken Stock
Oregano

I read through the reviews before we started cooking since we didn't have any wine and got the suggestion of the apple cider vinegar.  I wish I had gotten a different pepper when I couldn't find the hot cherry peppers.  The chili peppers were extremely hot but did give a good flavor to the chicken.

It's simple to put together -

Brown the sausage.
Brown the chicken.
Cook onions until tender then add the garlic.
Add the sausage and chicken back to the pan.
Put in the rest of the ingredients and partially cover.
And walk away.
Let it work its beautiful magic.

We served it with rice.  Wonderful!!!

Live, Laugh, Love

Karen and Charlie

Osso Buco

Let me start by saying that we aren't extravagant people.  I look for bargains and even sometimes use coupons.  This time, went went overboard and it was so worth it.  Have you ever paid $19.95 a pound for meat?  That what we did when we bought veal shanks and I'll tell you why.

Charlie and I have made a deal that if we see an ingredient in a magazine or on a cooking show twice in a short amount of time, well, it's a sign and we need to try it.  We watched Anne Burrell cook it on 'Secrets of a Restaurant Chef' then Charlie saw it on Giada's Food Network Site.  We HAD to give it a go.

Did you know you can't buy veal shanks at just any ol' store?  Nope, had to drive for 30 minutes to get to Central Market to buy it.  That was an adventure in itself.  I'd never been there and it is awesome!  The sign read '117 different organic fruits and vegetables to choose from today'.  Apparently they change the number as their selection changes.  The meat counter was at least 50' long as was the seafood counter.  Plus, I can't tell you how many varieties of fresh baked bread they had.  I wish I had taken my camera so I could share it with you.

Now on to the good stuff.  Just enjoy the pictures.  I'll add the recipe later.  But trust me, this is the best stuff you have ever eaten.

This is what $57.50 of veal looks like.

Seared to perfection.

Then you make a sauce with tomato paste, chicken stock, celery, onions, white wine.  We took what we liked from both recipes and it was so tasty! 

Next you nestle the veal shanks, all nice and cozy, into the sauce.  Throw it in the oven for 2 1/2 hours and this is what you get to eat.

No knife required.  It is so good.

Do you have an indulgence?  Something that you splurge on?



Live, Laugh, Love!

Karen and Charlie

Fried Steak

Time is flying by me like a stealth bomber.  That's seems to be my theme here lately.  So much to do so little time.  And I always thought that when the kids were out of the house, I would have all the leisure time I wanted.  Nope, the time I spent with them is just replaced with other stuff.

 Good news though. 

We finally bought a gas range. 

HOORAY!!!

It's a thing of beauty and I love it so.

First meal on the new range was a recipe we saw on "Worst Cooks in America".  We DVR it so we can skip all of the commercials.  In fact, that's the only way we watch anything now except for sports.  Anyway, my mind is wondering again.  Fried Steak.....Anne Burrell, who is fabulous in my opinion.  Anybody who can recognize and state without abandon, 'Brown Food Tastes Good' is a goddess in my book.

If you haven't seen the show, they take people who have no cooking skills whatsoever and try to teach them basic skills and who to put together some pretty elaborate dishes.  And of course, someone gets eliminated each week.  On this show, Anne's dish was a fried steak.  Now, whenever I think of fried steak I think of a breaded chicken fried steak or maybe even a pan fried round steak.  Both are good but this was different.  A good sirloin steak rubbed with a mix of brown sugar, cayenne, salt and garlic powder.  Then you don't even seare it, you just drop it in a pan with hot oil.

How beautiful is that?

Perfectly medium rare with a crispy crunchy outside.

It was wonderful!