Bacon Doesn't Live Here Anymore

OHMYGOSHYOUHAVENOIDEAHOWEXCITEDIAM! I am as excited about the new website as this lady is about rainbow sponges:



I have been feeding my design team (also sometimes called a "boyfriend") bacon and other treats for months to keep his strength up while he lovingly slaved away on a new shiny website. And it's here!

So, kindly redirect your URL and bookmarks to the brand new http://baconandotherbadhabits.com and click one of the "subscribe options" in the upper right corner to subscribe by rss feed or by email. Recipes delivered straight to your email box? It's like a squiggly rainbow-sponge dream come true [see above video] but with more bacon!

Bacon Is Meat Candy When Candied

Do you know what's better than bacon? Candied bacon. Do you know how you candy bacon? You add sugar of course! I mean, okay, I didn't say "Do you know what's better for you than bacon..." did I? No. And with the addition of cream cheese and pastry crust this isn't exactly the healthiest recipe I've ever posted here. So, let's suffice it to say that these are meant to be served/eaten as appetizers. Delicious candied-bacon pâtisserie appetizers!

Candied Bacon Pâtisserie
--4 slices of bacon
--4 TBSP un-packed brown sugar
--1 refrigerated pie crust rolled out into even thickness
--1/4 brick of low fat cream cheese or neufchâtel
--1/4 cup of sun-dried tomatoes

Space the bacon slices on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle each piece with brown sugar and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Cook until bacon is golden brown. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Pour excess grease from pan into a jar or container (you never want to pour grease down the drain!).

When the bacon is cool enough to work with, use scissors to cut the bacon slices into 1/2" wide pieces.

Slice the pie crust into 20 squares. Place a pat of cream cheese on each square. Top with 2-3 sun-dried tomatoes and 1 piece of sliced candied bacon. Roll up the crust into a nice little package and place on to a new clean cookie sheet. (You don't want to re-use the bacon cookie sheet without wiping it down really well first. Otherwise the bottoms of your pastries will burn due to any remaining bacon grease on the pan. If you have a second cookie sheet it's usually easier just to use that).

Cook the pâtisseries at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving (else the cheese might burn your mouth!). Unlike revenge, this recipe is a dish best served warm.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 20 pâtisseries
Calories: 93 calories per pâtisserie

Pasta With A Pinch Of Pine Nuts

Pine nuts (or pinon seeds) were once a hot trading commodity in Colorado and New Mexico. While times (and currencies) have changed, pine nuts still remain a pricey little taste of heaven. I buy mine in bulk to help curb costs and to allow me to have pine nuts to use at my disposal whenever I deem fit. When toasted, these nuts can be added to salads, pastas, or served as a snack.

Today's recipe is a summery pasta that also incorporates another bulk food fave--sun dried tomatoes--to a yogurt based cream-lite sauce. If you have a lemon handy, I also recommend adding just a little zest to each portion for a bright finish.

Chicken Spinach Pasta W/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Toasted Pine Nuts
--1 cup fettuccine or linguine noodles
--1/4 cup pine nuts
--cooking spray
--1 large chicken breast, sliced into strips
--salt and pepper to taste
--1 medium onion, sliced vertically into strips
--garlic, minced
--crushed red pepper
--1 cup 1/2 and 1/2
--1/4 cup plain yogurt
--1 tsp flour
--1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
--1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
--1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
--4 oz. grated parmesan cheese
--lemon zest (optional)

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting oil and salt.

Spread the pine nuts out on a cookie sheet or metal baking pan. While the pasta cooks, roast at 250 degrees for 7 minutes before turning and continuing to toast. Do not let the pine nuts burn, you want them to be golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Season the chicken pieces with a smidge of salt and a healthy dose of black pepper. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray and cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan when done. Re-coat the pan with cooking spray and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until the onion begins to get translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

In a bowl, combine the 1/2 and 1/2 and yogurt. Whisk in the flour. Add the mixture to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes before adding the spinach, basil, chicken, and cooked pasta. Cook until thoroughly heated and serve, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts, parmesan, and lemon zest.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories: 442 per serving (includes 1 oz. cheese)

Toasty Buns=Tasty Brunch

Brioche is delicious, let's start there. I have a hard time imagining anything made from eggs and butter wouldn't be tasty, for obvious reasons. Some of the best French toasts I've ever had were made with brioche. But brioche is also hard to come by, unless you happen to live down the street from a boulangerie. So, I make my French toast with the poor-man's brioche––slider buns.

I know, you're thinking how intrepid that is and I'm blushing just thinking about all the compliments your internal monologue is surely bestowing upon me. Thank you! But speaking seriously, the only thing that goes better with tiny buns than sliders is surely french toast slathered with fresh fruit compote. Plus, slider buns are about 100 calories each, so split it half... Well, screw the math: Let's make brunch!

Brioche-style French Toast with Compote
--3 slider buns, tops and bottoms separated so you have 6 pieces of toast
--2 eggs
--1/4 tsp cinnamon
--1 tsp butter
--1 ripe pear, cored and chopped into chunks
--1 cup blackberries
--1 TBSP honey
--1 tsp maple syrup*

[*Please note, Aunt Jemima, not maple syrup. Maple syrup is delicious and comes from trees (yum, trees). If it doesn't say "Maple Syrup" on the label then it's made out of corn syrup. Corn syrup, while also delicious, is not the same as maple syrup. Okay, tirade over.]

Crack the eggs into a bowl and use a fork to whisk them into an egg wash (but not an over-beaten egg mess). Add the cinnamon to the eggs and stir one more time to spread the spice out a bit. Dredge each bun piece in the egg mix, soaking for about one minute total per bun piece.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the buns and cook until each side is golden brown.

While the toast cooks, add the pears and blackberries to a smaller skillet. Heat on medium-low heat. You do not need to add any oil to the pan as the juice from the fruits will both lubricate the pan and slowly carmelize. Add the honey and maple syrup and stir to combine. Stir the fruit regularly so that it begins to soften and is warmed throughout.

Serve the toast topped with the compote and enjoy! The compote creates a lovely syrup, don't you think?

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
Calories: 378 per serving