Tater Skin Quiche

¾ lb bacon, cut into ¾ inch pieces

3 C frozen tater tots, thawed

1 tsp pepper

¾ tsp salt

½ C grated sharp cheddar

4 eggs

½ C crème fraiche

½ C chopped chives

½ C grated mild cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook bacon: in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally until bacon is crisp and fat has rendered out, about 20 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to cool. Reserve fat in pan for later use.
2. Make tater tot crust: Brust ½ tsp reserved bacon fat inside a 9 ½ inch pie dish to grease. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix tater tots, ½ tsp pepper, ¼ tsp salt and grated sharp cheddar cheese. Stir 2 T reserved bacon fat until incorporated. (Mixture should hold together when pressed in your palm). Transfer hot tater tot mash to pie dish pressing to form a crust.
3. Place pie dish in oven and parbake until crust is set, cheese melts and edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from over and cool completely. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
4. Make filling: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until well combined. Whisk in crème fraiche and remaining salt until incorporated and smooth. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle remaining pepper over filling and gently stir in. Sprinkly chives evenly over filling, followed by bacon. Top with cheddar.
5. Bake until center is just set and cheesy crown is brown and puffed, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let sit about 20 minutes before serving.

Key Lime-Buttermilk Icebox Pie

1 store-bought graham cracker crust (They now come in 2 sizes. If you get the smaller size, use these proportions. If you get the larger one, I have been doubling it for a thicker pie)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C Key Lime Juice

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup buttermilk.

Beat ingredients together. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes. Pie will be a little jiggly. Cool on a rack. Cover with plastic wrap (might want to spray the plastic wrap). Put in the freezer for 4-6 hours.

Pumpkin, Sausage & Squash Pasta

The tricky part of this is that you need pumpkin pasta sauce. Giant came out with one this year and sent me this recipe with coupons. I was skeptical (the boys definitely were), but I thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did!

16 oz box penne pasta
1 jar (25 oz) Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
1 pkg hot Italian sausage
1 tsp olive oil
1 T butter
3 C butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 in chunks
1 small onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 x 6 oz bag of fresh baby spinach
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

Slice sausage into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat and cook sausage until brown. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In same skillet, melt butter and add garlic, onion and squash. Cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and slightly browned.
Put water for pasta on to boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain
Return sausage to pan with vegetables, add spinach and stir until wilted
Add past sauce and pasta for vegetable/sausage mix.
Stir, add parmesan cheese. Serve.

Caramelized Bacon From Julie K via the Barefoot Contessa

1/2 C light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 C chopped or whole pecans

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

2 T pure maple syrup

1/2 lb thick sliced applewood smoked bacon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning) and place a wire baking rack on top.

Combine the brown sugar and pecans in a food processor and process until the pecans are finely ground. Add the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and pulse to combine. Add the maple syrup and pulse again to moisten the crumbs.

Cut each bacon slice in half crosswise and line up the pieces on the baking rack without touching. With a small spoon, evenly spread the pecan mixture on top of each piece of bacon, using all of the mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is very browned but not burnt. If it is underbaked, the bacon won’t crisp as it cools.

While it is hot, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside to cool. Serve at room temperature.

Tomato Soup ala Maplewood

Named as such from what back when Alex played Maplewood and this was served at the end of year party. Serve with a topping of parmesan cheese and croutons…and of course with a grilled cheese sandwich! Great for a cold night!

1 large onion chopped

2 T butter

1T oil

salt and pepper to taste

4 T sugar

1 Box (6 cubes) vegetable boullion

3 large cans of plum tomatoes

1 C heavy cream

Parmesan cheese and croutons as desired.

Saute chopped onion in oil and butter (rough chop because it will be processed later). Once translucent, add sugar and carmelize stirring occasionally about 3 minutes on medium high heat. Add salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes, boullion, and 4 C water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low- medium for 1-1.5 hours. Blend with a hand blender. Add cream and serve.

Mocha Chocolate Mousse

This came from Southern Living and I made it for friends. Super easy and really good. My friend Julie brought caramelized bacon and as crazy as it sounds, the bacon made a great garnish for the mousse!

3 (4oz) bittersweet backing bars (60% cacao), chopped

2/3 C strong-brewed coffee

1/4 C bourbon

1/2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 2/3 C heavy cream divided

1/4 C sugar

1. Microwave chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 min or until slightly melted.

2. Bring coffee, bourbon, vanilla, and soy sauce, and 2/3 C of cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour cream mixture over chocolate in bowl. Let stand 15 seconds, and stir until smooth. Cool completely–about 30 minutes.

3. Beat remaining 1 C cream at high speed with a heavy-duty mixer until foamy; gradually add sugar beating until soft peaks form. Stir in 1/2 C coffee mixture until blended; gradually fold in remaining coffee mixture.

4. Spoon chocolate mixture into shallow 2 qt bowl or 6 (8-10 oz) glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 2-3 hours. Can serve with different toppings, fresh raspberries, whipped cream. Earlier in the day I saw Jeffrey Zacharian do 1/c C whipping cream and 1/2 C sour cream…I choose that and it was good! Oh…and don’t forget the caramelized bacon! 🙂

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce

My friend Lisa passed this recipe along. A little bit of prep up front, but it then it just cooks all day. I typically do short ribs in the oven and these were every bit as good.

Ingredients:

3 ½ lbs beef chuck short ribs

2 whole shallots, minced

3 stalks celery, diced

4-5 carrots cut into spears

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 ½ cups red wine

1 cup beef broth

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 ½ tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp pepper, divided

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. When hot, add the short ribs. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the ribs in the pan and brown. This will take about three to four minutes per side. You want them very nice and caramelized.

After the ribs have browned, remove from carefully and set them at the bottom of your slow cooker. Take the pan off the heat briefly to cool down, then return to medium heat and add the minced shallots and diced celery. Saute for about five minutes until tender, then add the flours and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mash into the veggies using a rubber spatula and continue to sauté on medium heat for another four minutes.

Pour the wine and the beef broth into the skillet and stir. Add the brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper.

Bring sauce to a boil, then to a simmer. Pour sauce right over ribs in the slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper on top. Add carrots. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on HIGH for seven to eight hours or on LOW for 11-12 hours. When done, the meat should literally be falling off the bone.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Hoisin and Cilantro

My sister-in-law Margot passed this recipe along and they were REALLY good! I made a double batch and froze for later.

1 Tbs. canola oil or vegetable oil

1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 medium clove garlic, mashed to a paste with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 lb. ground turkey

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice; more to taste

4 split egg twist rolls or sesame seed hamburger buns, toasted if desired

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spatula, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, ginger, and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the turkey and cook, stirring constantly and breaking it up into small pieces, until it no longer looks raw, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce and hoisin sauce, increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice, adding more lime juice to taste. Serve in the buns.

Drunken Chicken

If Drunken Chicken is on the menu, I order it. I saw this recipe and thought I’d try. It is very quick and easy. Most ingredients are on hand except maybe the fish sauce, but pick up a bottle and stick it in the fridge. To make it even easier, use rotisserie chicken…which equates to taking as long as it takes to cook the noodles! Serves 4

1 pkg wide egg noodles (recipe calls for rice noodles, but Giant doesn’t carry them)

2 T butter

2 T sesame oil

½ C tequila

¾ C soy sauce

2 T fish sauce

2 T brown sugar

8 gloves garlic minced

1 lb boneless chicken (I use tenders)

1 red pepper cut in thin slices

2 T Sriracha sauce (we like it spicey…dial back if you don’t)

½ C chopped basil

Chop chicken into small bites and cook until no longer pink. Set aside.

Cook noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, tequila, fish sauce, sriracha sauce and brown sugar.

In a large skillet, melt the butter, then add sesame oil. Add garlic and peppers and sauté for a few seconds. Add chicken and soy sauce mixture and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add noodles and basil and toss to coat noodles. Serve warm.

 

Amante Picante Margarita

1/2 large seedless English cucumber, thinly sliced + 8 slices for garnish

1/2 medium jalapeño, very thinly sliced

1/4 C cilantro + more for garnish

18 oz silver tequila

8 oz fresh lime juice

6 oz light agave nectar

1/2 tsp celery bitters (optional, I didn’t have this)

1 lime wedge

1/4 C kosher salt mixed with 1 tsp finely grated lime zest

Ice

In a pitcher, muddle the 1/2 sliced cucumber with the jalapeño and 1/4 C cilantro. Add the tequila, lime juice, agave and bitters and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 hour.

Moisten the rim of 8 rocks glasses with the lime wedge and coat with lime salt. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Working in batches and adding fresh ice, shake the cocktail and strain into the glasses. Garnish with cucumber and cilantro.