BEER, BACON and Cheese Soup!!!

As with all cooking, quality of your ingredients matter.

I am lucky enough to have a home town brewer, Boulevard Brewing Company with a full range of annual, seasonal and specialty beers great for drinking and just as fantastic to cook with.

Most often when I want true beer taste to come through the rest of the ingredients I use their BULLY PORTER Beer... "A dark colored, medium-bodied beer with a prominent burnt, roasted malt aroma and flavor and an equally prominent hop aroma, flavor and bitterness."

When choosing a beer to cook with, try to avoid the Lite beers and even the big names and hunt down a specialty that compliments and makes your food shine!

Especially pick something that will stand up to a complex level of tastes like this recipe with sharp cheddar cheese, garlic, Cajun spices, Mustard and just to make this something really amazing I used some Honey Chipotle Glazed Bacon that I posted about the other day. Heat, Sweet, Salty and that unique bacon flavor.

Roll all this together and you have a beer lover's Soup.... And a Bacon Lover's Soup!

Thick, rich, complex flavors... Complex, but still the flavors of bacon, beer and cheese Shine!

OK... Here's what I did...

BEER, BACON and Cheese Soup!!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Pound Bacon, cooked, reserve the bacon fat
• 4 TBS Butter
• 1 Medium Red Onion, Chopped
• 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped
• 2 Medium Carrots, Chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 TBS Flour
• 1 Bottle (12 OZ) Beer, I used Boulevard Bully Porter
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 8 OZ Sharp Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated
• 1 tsp Mustard Powder
• To Taste, Optional Cajun Spice Mix (I use just 1 tsp)
• For Garnish 1 tsp Sour Cream
• For Garnish 1/2 tsp Chives

Cooking Directions

1. This cooks perfectly in a crock pot with a wand blender. First, cook the bacon, reserve the grease, set the bacon aside, divide in half.
2. In a large saute pan with the bacon grease, add the butter and mix (and melt).
3. Add the vegetables, onion, carrots and celery and saute for 5 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
4. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 1 additional minute
5. Add the flour and stir to combine.
6. Deglaze the pan with half the bottle of beer. Move all of this to the crock pot slow cooker.
7. Add the remaining beer, chicken stock. Set the cooker on high, cover and cook allowing all of the flavors to mingle.
8. After 4 hours, take a hand mixer (or move the "soup" to a stand blender in batches) and blend everything until completely smooth.
9. Add the cheese and mustard powder. Blend until melted and smooth.
10. If desired, add the Cajun Spice mix.
11. Serve HOT, garnish with additional chopped bacon, Sour Cream and Chives and ENJOY!

Pairs FANTASTIC with a Better BACON BACON Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (Double Bacon and MORE)!

This is such a rich thick complicated flavored soup.  Best of the beer soups I have ever tasted.  Fantastic!

Of course this makes my growing list of "52 Recipes for Soup, Chili or Chowder"

Great tasting and has the advantage of crock pot set and forget easy!

And if you think you might want to give this soup a try yourself (very easy), please take a minute and "Pin" it to your Pinterest Boards. And if you want to see more of my Soup Recipes, feel free to join the fun and Follow me...

Pizza Party Pizza... Steak and Gorgonzola Cheese

Pizzeria Pizza at Home...

A goal of mine (and an earlier blog post, double click the blue letters).  In that post I go into details about the best way to achieve the goal of a making a seemingly simple flat bread, topped with a sauce and cheese.  I have a never fail yeast pizza dough recipe, a deliciously fresh rich pizza sauce (from scratch) and a bit of history.

Once you learn the tricks of the trade, Pizzeria Pizza at home is simple and addictive.  My dough recipe makes 4 dough balls, so each time I make pizza I have 4 canvasses to create.  Generally I make a pizza Margherita (pictured to the right, sauce, cheese and basil).  The Margherita is recognized by many as the first and original version of the modern pizza.

BUT WAIT...

How would you like to be ... THAT GUY (or Gal) That can (and regularly does) do amazing things on a grill...

A Couple of weeks ago I went into detail on GRILLING a pizza on a standard backyard grill.  Easy, Fun, Spectacular.

This week I am going back to my adventures of Island Living.  During my all too brief time of living on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands I fell in love with this pizza.  Steak, Blue Cheese, Onions and Chunky Tomatoes, grilled to perfection and served up with a bottle of wine ($25 on the island, priceless when made at home).

And once you know the tricks, easy as could be...

Easy like taking a ball of dough, hand form the shape (always rustic on the grill, never a perfect circle, part of the charm), Grill the dough, add toppings and create something unusual and FANTASTIC!

This makes a great appetizer, side dish or main course....  And it is a real crowd pleaser!

Oh... And it is beyond easy...
Anyone can do this...   Anyone can be that GUY (or Gal) on the grill!

All you need for this...

1 Ball of Pizza Dough
A couple of TBS of Pizza Sauce
4 OZ Mozzarella Cheese, Grated
Thin slices of ribeye steak
1/4 of a Red Onion, Thinly Sliced
1 Medium Tomato sliced
2 OZ Gorgonzola Cheese, minced

The rest is all technique.  Read over the post on Pizzeria Pizza at Home, then try this...

Start with a Ball of Dough.  It's the same recipe I almost always use.  Cold rise, easy and never fail (does take about 4 hours of sitting around (or overnight) to make the dough, so plan ahead).  Or any store bought pizza dough would work as well.

Next is the only real trick... HOT!  Get your grill HOT.  If using coals, preheat the grill for at least 20-30 minutes or set your gas grill, all burners running on high for at least 10 minutes.

OK, The photo directly above is the dough after I formed a sort of circle.  Tossing in the air is not really how it's done, flattening between your two palms and then stretching along the edges all the way around, allowing gravity to pull down.  Once you get it evenly thin, slap it on the HOT grate.

It only takes about 3-4 minutes for the dough to start to bubble.  use a wide turner or tongs and test the doneness.

The bottom will be starting to crisp up...

And get grill marks.

Since it has started to crisp, the soft dough has started to cook and turn solid.  Easy to turn.  Since the grill grate was hot, it never sticks.

Time for toppings...

Sauce first...  Plop a couple TBS of sauce in the center and spread evenly around the crust

Since this is HOT, don't worry, sauce will heat and the cheese will melt.  So, spread the handful of cheese around

Again, no design, stick with the rustic look.

Add the Steak, Tomatoes and Onions

And at the last minute... spread the Gorgonzola over the top

And that's it!

Close the lid and let everything get really HOT for only another couple of minutes...  And here you are!

But as with most recipes, the basics can be learned in minutes; mastering the art will take a lifetime (or at least 52 tries).  You can achieve success with my Pizzeria 101 Link, a cookie sheet, standard oven and items in most every kitchen.  But... eventually you will want to try the toys of the trade  So if you want to dig deeper, I recommend these books and items...

Enjoy your Pizza making... Let me know what pizzas you are making and be sure to come take a look next Sunday to see what I come up with this week!

This is Pizza #5 in my list of 52 Pizza Party Pizzas...

Week #1 ...

A simple Salami Pizza (break free of the addiction to Pepperoni).  A classic example of the Italian belief that less is more... Allow a quality ingredient like the artisanal Dry cured sausage, the sauce and the cheese balance beautifully!

This Sausage pizza is Pizza #2 in my list of 52 Pizza Party Pizzas...

I made a fantastic HOT Sausage Pizza... Made with mini balls of sausage (there is a small trick) that also looks as dramatic as it is tasty!

Week #3

I was on the grill making a dessert or Appetizer FANTASTIC Honey - Goat Cheese - Arugula Pizza... Delicious and PERFECT if you want to WOW your friends with something unique on the GRILL!

Week #4

A Pizza from my youth, the (then) exotic sounding Canadian Bacon and Onion GRILLED pizza!  Loaded with color and the unique taste of the sweet juicy back bacon that became a legend back in Pekin, Illinois in the 70's.



OK, be sure to come back next Sunday... I already have plans for next weeks' Za!

Steak and Eggs Breakfast Fritatta or Week 5 of What I had for Dinner Last Night Fritatta

Last night I grilled a steak...

Nothing special (salt, pepper, a little oil and fire).

So this morning I am indulging.  There was a bit of leftovers, but not really enough to do much with.  Certainly not enough for another full meal.

But plenty left overs to make a FANTASTIC Steak and Egg LOADED Fritatta!

No better use in the world for the little bit of left over steak than an  Italian omelette, loaded with a beef and a few slices of a  wonderful flavorful Tomato.

Of course, you remember everything I have said about Fritattas (think Italian Open faced Omelette).  In this case, a basic Italian Omelette, the Fritatta!  I have done a couple of posts on making a Fritatta... A basic, sort of Fritatta 101, and a Tomato Fritata (see the photo).  They are basically the same and I worked hard on the details so that indeed, "Anyone can cook" these if they read over those blog posts.  The Fritatta really is the easiest of all the omelette recipes to make.  No vigorous shaking (the French), no Folding (This might be an American invention, certainly popularized in American cuisine).

Well, making a Firtatta has become a way of life for me.  Aside from the two blog posts mentioned above, I stopped even looking at a recipe *they are simple, eggs, a little cream, butter for the pan and whatever extra you want to use).  The technique is important, so do take a look at the Fritatta 101 post to see what I am talking about.  I stopped asking permission to change the recipe long ago.  Mostly I make fritattas from whatever I had for dinner last night.  Fish, beef, pork, vegetables, cheese, salami... Everything but soup.

So, here's my series... Once a week for a year I am going to give you permission to try something yourself... The Whatever I had for dinner last night Fritatta!

So, what I had for dinner last night was a Steak.  Steak and Eggs is of course a classic indulgent breakfast...

For the indulgent Steak and Egg  fritatta, Here's What I Did...

4 Eggs
1 TBS Heavy Cream
111/2 Cup Leftover Steak
1 Small Kumatu Tomato, chopped

1. Dice up the Steak.
2. Preheat the oven to Broil setting
3. In a Non Stick oven safe saute Pan, over medium high heat melt a TBS of Butter
4. Whisk together 4 Eggs and a TBS of Heavy Cream (sure,milk will work)
5. Loosely cover the bottom of a non stick saute pan with the Steak and Tomatoes
6. Add the eggs gently over the Meat
7. heat for 4 minutes on the stove top, until the eggs around the edge are set but the center is still jiggly wet.
8. Move the pan to the oven and broil for 2 minutes.  Check to see if the top is set and is just starting to brown.
9. Repeat if needed, only in 1 minute segments
10. Flip the fritatta onto a preheated plate.  This may take practice, but by the time you do a couple of weeks' worth you will have it down perfect, place a plate upside down over the saute pan, hold the bottom of the plate (now n top) solidly with the palm of your hand and holding the handle of the pan, quickly and smoothly, FLIP
11. Serve HOT and ENJOY!  Serves two.

Now, what's your idea for a
Whatever I had for dinner last night Fritatta!!!

here's my list ... SO FAR!

Fritatta #1...

 I had a rare plate of take out food, Sweet and Sour Chicken from my local Asian take out place.

Turned into a FANTASTIC Sweet and Sour Chicken Fritatta!

Fritatta #2...

I Really spiced things up with another grilling gem when I cooked up a GRILLED Curry Chicken Fritatta, balanced heat and sweet with a side of some seasonal Pineapple!

Fritatta #3

This time I actually made a CLASSIC TRUE Italian recipe with leftover potatoes and onions to create a Fried Potato, Onion and Blue Cheese  Fritatta.  Some grapes and tomato slices really made for a wonderful breakfast!

Fritatta #4

A dinner of Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes turns into yet another delicious loaded up specialty breakfast....  The MEATLOAF FRITATTA is made with an Italian meatloaf recipe, loaded with Sofrito vegetables.  I even made up some mahed potato cakes also from the leftovers!

Better BACON BACON LETTUCE AND TOMATO SANDWICH (Double Bacon and more)

Build a better sandwich.  And when I tell ya'll how much effort there was in this you will probably say not me.

BUT, except for the garlic toast, everything was either on the sandwich raw (tomatoes and lettuce) or was made for other dishes.  I just made extra cause I knew I wanted this sandwich to pair with the Bacon Beer Cheese Soup (Monday's post, be sure to come back for that).

There are two specialty types of bacon on this bad boy...

My favorite cousin of my wife's (Cousin in law???), Cousin David is also a smoker, griller, fire cooker.  He likes to stretch the home cooker even further than I do.  He dry roasts his own coffee beans, makes smoked bacon from pork belly and just this month he gifted me with a BIG hunk of Canadian Bacon.  He did all the spicing and massaging and aging so I really can't give his formula.

Canadian Bacon is "back Bacon", made from a loin cut.  It is very lean with almost no fat.  Salting and curing a pork loin into a back bacon is a project that takes several days (no real work, just allowing a salty marinade to penetrate deep into the ham).  The meat is then slow smoked and turns out with a unique taste... slightly salty, sweet and juicy... And delicious.

You can easily find slices of Canadian Bacon at the store.  Just be sure to serve it cold or at room temperature as the more you cook, the more it dries out.  Especially for a sandwich, it is best served juicy!

Of course you can also marry into Cousin David's Family to get your own home made back bacon!

I also had made up a bit of my now world famous Cajun Garlic Aioli (must be famous, nearly 20,000 page views and even more "Pins" on Pinterest and one of my top 10 most viewed recipes).

In simplest terms, an Aioli is flavored mayonnaise.  this is seasoned with Cajun spices, garlic, lemon, mustard and savory spices... It is a wonderful condiment to make up once a month just to add a little zip to a sandwich (Like this one)!

And just yesterday I posted some fantastic complex mix of heat, sweet and salty with a Honey Chipotle spiced Glazed Bacon!  I wanted to use this in my Bacon Beer Cheese Soup (Monday's Post).  It is so easy, I just made extra for this sandwich.

Add all this up and you have my BETTER Double Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich!

Not much of a recipe for the sandwich.

I did crisp up some fresh made slices of bread (using my usual ENG Bread Recipe (Bread Machine Easy)).  Follow the blue lettering link to see a photo instruction if you want to start making your own bread.

I made it garlic bread by slicing a garlic clove and rubbing the exposed side on the bread before toasting.  I then spread a little butter and toasted in the broiler.  I like to only toast one side for a sandwich.  This way I still get the toasty crunch but the inside is still soft and absorbs the mayo and juices from the tomato.

It is off season for raw tomatoes.  General rule of thumb for off season, the smaller the better tasting.  Ignore the vine ripened and hot house tomatoes.  generally speaking they are marketing tricks only.

I have found a brand called Kumato Tomatoes that even off season still has plenty of flavor.  Just a tiny sprinkle of salt will help you get the most from a slice.

And Romaine Lettuce

Add everything together and it is the BETTER BLT Sandwich!  Even the simple classics can get a make over!

Honey Chipotle Glazed Baked Bacon... EASY EASY EASY

This is a two part blog post... Of course the basic recipe (simple as it is), but also a technique that will get you professional food stylist looking slices of bacon every time.  Of course adding a glaze makes it even more photo worthy.

First, the technique...

BAKED BACON.  Perfect, reasonably flat every time.  Perfectly crisp and crunchy yet soft and chewy.  You may never make bacon the same way again.... Oh, and it is very very easy!!!

All you need is a baking sheet, parchment paper so clean up is easy and an oven preheated to 375 degrees...

line the baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper folded on the edges to prevent grease from spreading.

single layer of bacon

bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the bacon and desired crispness.

Drain and allow to cool on a paper towel.

If you glaze (like these), add an additional couple of minutes to the cooking time.

And that's it.  Even those directions make it sound more difficult than it really is.  PERFECT EVERY TIME!

And Best of all... Baking Bacon gives you a chance to "Flavor" the bacon...  Salty, Sweet, Heat, Bacon-y  ... PERFECT!

OK, Here's what I did...

Honey Chipotle Glazed Baked Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Thick Slice Bacon
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1 tsp Chipotle Spice

Cooking Directions

1. In a small sauce pan, over low heat, add the honey and mix in the Chipotle Spice.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, folding the edges to collect the grease
4. lay out the bacon in a single layer
5. Brush the honey chipotle mix on the bacon
6. Bake for 10 minutes
7. Flip the bacon, glaze the other side, return to the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes
8. Drain and cool
9. Serve in a sandwich, or make some Beer Cheese Bacon Soup or even just eat like candy and ENJOY

Chunky Chocolate Walnut Drop Cookies with SECRET INGREDIENT

There ain't nothing better...

Ice Cold glass of milk and a rich chewy chocolate chip cookie loaded with chunks of chocolate and walnuts.  And let's face it, you really can not get too much better than the recipe on a package of Nestle Chocolate Chips...

Not much better, but you can get a little better.  First, there is a taste bud trick that I add... A very very tiny pinch of cayenne pepper.  You need to know a little bit about how the taste buds work.  Taste buds react differently to different tastes.  Feed a taste bud only something sweet and they bore (ever tasted anything too sweet?).  Same for too salty, too bitter, too hot spicy  etc.  But load something up with several different tastes, even on a tiny level and they sit up, pay attention, sing Hallelujah and dance a jig... The proverbial party in your mouth.  They tell you that something tastes good.

So just a tiny amount of heat (Cayenne Pepper) will help excite your taste buds.

But also I have gotten in the habit of adding a bit of Almond Meal (same stuff that French macaroons are made with).  This adds an extra grainy texture plus a strong taste of almonds, nuts.

Like I said, The package recipe is very very good... Mine (to me) is just a little better!

OK, Here's what I did...

Chunky Chocolate Walnut Drop Cookies
with SECRET INGREDIENT

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1/4 Cup SECRET INGREDIENT (Almond Meal)
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Large Pinch of Salt
• 1/8 tsp (smallest amount you can still measure) Cayenne pepper spice
• 1 Cup Butter, Room Temperature
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Cups Chopped Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks (Chocolate Chips will work, or a bar of chocolate chopped)
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together Flour, Salt and Baking Powder
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together Butter and sugars.
4. Add the vanilla and mix until creamy.
5. Add eggs one at a time, then add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time.
6. STIR with a spoon or spatula in the chocolate and nuts.
7. Drop by rounded TBS onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
8. Bake for 9 minutes until just starting to crisp
9. Cool on the sheets for 3 minutes then move to a cooling rack.
10. Serve while still warm with a COLD Glass of Milk ... and ENJOY!

Inventing a better cookie and mousetrap...

Uniquely Delicious!

And a fantastic one of my "52 Cookie, Bar and Truffle Recipes". Load up the cookie jar, plenty of classics as well as interesting new combinations, sure to please!

And if you think you might want to give this Cookie a try yourself (very easy), please take a minute and "Pin" it to your Pinterest Boards. And if you want to see more of my Cookie Recipes, feel free to join the fun and Follow me...

...

Grilling Time - Grilled Pineapple Jerk Chicken Thighs

A long time ago (well, three years ago anyway), I was lucky enough to spend six months in St Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands.  That's me kissing my wife on the ass that hangs out at a scenic overlook.  I did a blogger thing and posted a photo or story a day while I was there... makes interesting reading (at least to me).

Well, there were lots of things I loved about my island time.  This recipe is one of my fondest memories.  There is a restaurant called WICKED very close to where the cruise ships let the tourists disembark.  It has a great view and for a glorified island bar, a pretty good menu.  For me, I always had their chicken wings.  First, a great bargain (something VERY rare on the island, especially near the cruise ships).  They were 75 cents each.  But even better, they are simply addictive how good these are.  Little hints of sweet from the pineapple to the island heat of a Jamaican jerk spice.  One bite and I am back on the island for just a bit...

 My cooking method is a bit unique, especially over a grill.  BUT, it practically guarantees moist tender chicken every time.  If you have ever been to a backyard BBQ and had the tough, dry as sand over cooked chicken you will appreciate this tip...

Muffin Tin!

Yep, look close, I line the muffin tin with aluminum foil (just to make it easier to clean).

 And I use this to aid in indirect grilling.  Your grill becomes a convection oven, with the hot air circulating around the muffin tin, heating (and beautifully browning) from the top, while the juices and rendered fat pools in the bottom of each muffin space and then simmers and steams from the bottom.  Best cooking method ever for chicken!

And once you start adding the sauce, that flavors the steam, again adding another layer of flavor to the chicken.

This method is easy, cooks fast, makes your chicken come out perfectly cooked every time and versatile.  I have already done posts with the chicken seasoned with Curry and a wonderful Orange Ginger Chicken!

OK... Here's What I did...

Grilling Time - Grilled Pineapple Jerk Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Jerk Chicken Spice Mix (Commercially available)
• 1 Cup Pineapple Chunks with juice (I used a fresh pineapple, canned works as well)
• 8 Chicken Thighs
• Salt and Pepper a pinch each

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat the grill
2. First, make the glaze sauce... In a blender, combine the Pineapple with juice and the Jerk Spice.
3. Arrange the thigh suspended over a muffin pan.
4. Brush and pour the half portion of sauce evenly distributed among the 8 thighs.
5. Season with Salt and Pepper
6. Move to the grill. You will be using the grill as an oven. Put the muffin tins over a medium hot heat and close the lid. You will cook until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees. This should take about 20-25 minutes. The skin will take on a crispy golden caramelized appearance.
7. Brush with remaining sauce and close the lid for the sauce to heat... just for an additional 2 minutes.
8. Do not over cook, that dries out the meat.
9. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
10. Serve HOT and Enjoy!

Makes a beautiful, wonderfully tasty meal when paired with GRILLED Tomatoes and Snow Peas and a bowl of leftover Whipped Potatoes.