Grilled Scallops with Bacon-Shallot Vinaigrette

 

Have you ever eaten a bacon wrapped scallop?  If your experience was anything like mine, either the scallop was sweet and tender, and the bacon was raw and chewy, or the scallop was annihilated and the bacon perfectly crispy.  It’s pretty obvious the dish is virtually impossible to master.

As an alternative, this recipe still gives you the flavor pairing of the scallop and the bacon, except the bacon is crispy as it should be and the scallop is still tender and sweet.  The tangy vinaigrette also adds a nice level of acid to even out some of the fat from the bacon. I served the scallops with prepared couscous as an entrée. However, this would work well as an appetizer too.

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Roasted Swordfish with Lentils

roasted-swordfish-with-lentils

Swordfish has a firm ‘meaty’ texture that gravitates in the direction more like a steak to me, than seafood.  The rule of thumb for baking fish is to allow 10 minutes of cooking time for every inch of thickness. That rule is an especially easy guide with steaks of swordfish or tuna because they’re typically cut to a thickness of 1 inch and therefore require only 10 minutes of cooking.

When it came to what I wanted to pair with the swordfish, I decided crispy bacon, roasted garlic, and nutty lentils would be perfect companions. This meal was a nice healthy, hearty winter weekend dinner packed with lots of great flavors.

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Roasted Jalapeño, Cheddar & Bacon Cornbread

Roasted Jalapeno, Cheddar & Bacon Cornbread

I moved to Texas mid-way through my junior year in high-school and lived there for seventeen years before my heart called me back to the mid-west where I was born.

What I remember most about traditional southern-style cooking include chicken-fried steak, fried okra, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. The okra and black-eyed peas were pretty good, but I didn’t care for the chicken-fried steak, and I found the cornbread to be dry, gritty and flavorless. Mind you; I was smart enough to know you never tell a Texan you don’t like their food.

But I’m a bread lover, so I was convinced there had to be a way to make cornbread enticing. So after a few tries, I found the flavor and texture I was looking for in this version made with buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and sour cream. Aside from the fact it also has cooked bacon and roasted jalapeño (how could I go wrong there?), it has just the right balance of moisture to the cornmeal, smokiness from the bacon, and a nice low heat from the peppers.

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Bacon and Date Glazed Sticky Buns

Bacon and Date Glazed Sticky Buns

Reese’s peanut butter eggs are delicious on Easter morning. However, a close second would have to be these bacon and date glazed sticky buns! And they’re so easy to make – you only need 9 ingredients and 30 minutes. Using pastry dough results in a much flakier and crispier crust than the pre-made cinnamon rolls you’ll get from a cardboard tube.

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Pan-Roasted Mussels with Bacon, Bourbon and Jalapeño

Pan-Roasted Mussels with Bacon, Bourbon and Jalapeno

I’ve been having this insane craving for bacon and jalapeños so get ready for a string of recipes featuring those two ingredients the next couple of weeks.

I made this dish last weekend, and as I was about to add the white wine to the broth, I looked over and saw my bottle of bourbon. Then I thought, “Hmm…”

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Bacon, Broc & Butternut Mac N Cheese

Bacon, Broc & Butternut Mac N Cheese

Okay, parents with picky eaters.  This recipe is for you!  I even taste-tested it on my pasta loving, extremely veggie-selective daughter, and she spooned out a second helping onto her plate without even realizing I snuck in a second vegetable.  Of course if she reads this post, my secret is out but, hey,  it was totally worth it!

And of course, there’s the generous addition of applewood smoked bacon… Need I say anything more?

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Red Quinoa and Bacon Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Red Quinoa and Bacon Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I’m pretty open minded when it comes to cooking with an ingredient I haven’t used before. So the first time I saw a recipe listing an ingredient called ‘quinoa,’ I was curious and looked it up.

Interestingly, I read that it was a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.  “Okay,” I thought, “That’s not so bad.”  Reading further, I saw that quinoa is related to a species of tumbleweed.  What? No way! That had to be a joke.

So the skeptic within me tried another search, asking the internet universe, “Is the grain quinoa, related to a tumbleweed?”  Surprisingly, there were many results indicating that it was true.  Huh. (I still think it’s a joke.)

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Firecracker Pepper Poppers

Firecracker Pepper Poppers

What better way to kick off the 4th of July weekend get together than with these delicious bite-sized poppers.  Each one has the perfect ratio of smoky bacon, creamy cheese and spicy jalapeño.

One word of warning; make sure you have plenty of them on hand.  They’re always a hit and they’ll be gone before you know it!

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Bourbon Bacon Marmalade Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Bourbon Bacon Marmalade Brussels Sprouts

As a self-proclaimed ‘foodie,’ there are times when I am faced with challenges due to having two very picky eaters in my home.  I’ve learned over the years, that there are times to pick my culinary battles as to what I serve for dinner that we will all enjoy, versus when I have a taste for something that I know I will be eating all by myself.   For example, Brussels sprouts.  My husband and daughter have another, less appetizing word for them.  I, however, call them delicious.  And hello – they’re glazed with bourbon bacon marmalade!  Double-delicious!

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Bourbon Bacon Marmalade

Bourbon Bacon Marmalade

I am a bourbon gal and have a few fellow bourbon-enthusiast friends who like to share new bourbon finds with me.  This past New Year’s, one of those friends brought me a bottle of the Knob Creek Maple Bourbon as a hostess gift and I seriously thought I heard angels singing when I took my first sip.  Booker Noe, the man who put that flavor profile together at the Knob Creek distillery, is a genius!

And then there’s bacon.  Sigh.  What can I say about bacon that those of us who truly appreciate it, don’t already know?  As long as that little piggy goes to market and brings me bacon, I’m the one going “Whee! Whee! Whee!” all the way home!

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