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The Secret to Extra Crispy Bacon

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Very Crisp Bacon

Have you heard about using flour to make your bacon extra crispy? I saw this method for cooking posted a few places and I decided I had to try it. The posts said that bacon would be extra crispy if you sprinkled it with flour before baking. The theory is that the flour holds on to a little of the fat and that makes the bacon crisper than if you didn’t use the flour.

The bacon is baked, not fried. That is fine with me because I normally bake my bacon. I wasn’t sure how much flour to use, so I did three batches in all. One with no flour, the way I normally cook my bacon. The second batch had what could be called a dusting of flour. The third batch I used a heavier hand when adding flour to the bacon.

The results: I found the bacon with flour was crisper than the non-floured bacon. Huh. Go figure. I did think the light coating was the best. When I dusted the one batch with a heavier amount of flour I could still see it after baking and it felt uncooked to me. When the batch with a lighter dusting of flour was done I really could not see flour. So here are the directions. If you try it, let me know what you think. Thought you would like this post, David.

Floured Dusted Bacon

1 lb. bacon

2-3 T. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange bacon slices so they don’t overlap. They can touch, as they will shrink quite a bit when cooked. You might have to use a second baking sheet if the bacon in thin sliced, because there are more slices. Lightly dust the bacon with flour. I put the flour in a fine strainer and tapped it over the bacon. Place the bacon in the oven and cook until crisp. This can vary due to the thickness of the bacon. Start checking after 10 minutes for thin sliced bacon. Thick sliced bacon takes at least 15-20 minutes.  I never turned the bacon over. I don’t turn it when I bake it without flour. When it looked crisp and golden around the edges I took it out and turned it over. It was darker on the down side, so I removed it from the pan and placed it on paper towels to drain. The result, very crisp bacon. You can drain and save the bacon grease on the pan.

Flour dusted bacon ready for the oven
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Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

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Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

Tomatoes are still in season but not much longer.  I have been enjoying tomato sandwiches, tomato salad and fresh tomato sauce.It’s chilly today so hot soup felt right.

This is a great recipe for some of those tomatoes. A simple soup, with lots of flavor, it is a favorite of mine. So much better than the canned tomato soup of my childhood.

I enjoy it served hot, but this soup can also be served cold. On a  hot day, this soup, served chilled, is a wonderful change from a salad with dinner.

I prefer to use fresh tomatoes, but I have used my home canned tomatoes, in a pinch.

If you want a stronger tomato flavor- use a couple extra tomatoes.

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

 3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1/4 t. ground cloves

1 small bay leaf

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 t. salt

3 c. milk or half and half – if you want to you can use non dairy “milk” instead.

Peel and chop tomatoes. Place tomatoes in saucepan with onion, celery, cloves and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and cover, simmering 15 minutes. While that is cooking melt butter in a large saucepan then stir in flour and salt. Cook mixture until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove bay leaf. Puree tomato mixture through a strainer, food mill or in a blender or processor. Add to milk mixture and heat through. Serves 6.

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Coconut Shrimp

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Coconut shrimp is a favorite of mine, and pretty easy to make.  Cleaned, raw shrimp are dredged in flour, egg wash and a Panko bread crumb- desiccated coconut mix, then fried or baked.  I added some homemade Ethiopian seasoning to the eggs, for a little extra flavor.

You can serve coconut shrimp as an appetizer or with rice and veggies as a main dish.

At a recent dinner with friends  I was talking about using desiccated coconut in a dessert. I was asked a lot of questions about it. This is not the coarsely shredded sweetened version you will find at the local grocery store. Desiccated coconut looks like white bread crumbs. That is the coconut used in this dish. You don’t want to get them mixed up. I buy it at my local Asian grocery store.

Here is my recipe for coconut shrimp. You don’t need a special occasion to make it, but it makes any occasion special.

Coconut Shrimp

1/4 -2 cups oil – depending on if you are frying or baking them
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut- often found in Asian grocery stores or in candy making stores
1 pound  shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1-2 t. Ethiopian seasoning, or to taste, recipe follows
Frying method: In a large bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut; set aside. Combine eggs with Ethiopian seasoning, set aside. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste. Working one at a time, dredge shrimp in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the coconut mixture, pressing to coat. Set aside until all the shrimp are breaded. Heat 2 c. oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Working in batches, add shrimp to the Dutch oven and fry until evenly golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately,with sweet chili sauce, if desired. Serves 4.

Baking Method: In a large bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut; set aside. Combine eggs with Ethiopian seasoning, set aside. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste. Working one at a time, dredge shrimp in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the coconut mixture, pressing to coat. Set aside until all the shrimp are breaded. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Using about 1/4 cup of oil, brush oil on a baking sheet , place shrimp on the oiled sheet, then drizzle shrimp with a little more oil. Bake shrimp 10 minutes, then turn shrimp over and bake 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Serves 4.

Ethiopian Seasoning

1 T. paprika

1 t. each cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder and ginger

½ t. allspice

¼ t. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients. Store in a cool, dry place.

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Fresh Plum Torte

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Fresh Plum Torte

I got this recipe from a friend a couple of years ago and then somehow lost track of it. With Italian plums at the market this time of year I wanted to share this recipe with you. It really is one of the best plum desserts I have ever had. Plenty of plums that give the torte a wonderful flavor and texture, too. Fine on its own, or even better served with a scoop of ice cream. So here is the recipe.

Enjoy.

Fresh Plum Torte

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. plus 1-2 T. sugar

1 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

 2 eggs

dash salt

24 halves pitted Italian prune plums (or 6-7 larger red or black plums, pitted, quartered)

1 t. cinnamon

ice cream, optional

Place rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Add flour, baking powder eggs and salt and beat to mix well. Spoon batter into 9- or 10-inch ungreased springform pan. Place plums on top, skin side down. Combine remaining sugar (add what you like based on taste and sweetness of plums) with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the torte.

Bake 40-60 minutes, or until pick tests clean. Serve at room temp or a little warm. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Serves 6-8.

Plum Torte right out of the oven
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Fried Green Tomatoes

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Fried Green Tomatoes

Tomato season is all about those firm, ripe, juicy tomatoes. For me, tomato season is also about fried green tomatoes.

Green tomatoes have a very different flavor than ripe tomatoes. It is like tomatoes and lemons had a baby. There is a distinct citrus-like tartness in green tomatoes. I made some recently for a friend. She really enjoyed them.

Green tomatoes are pretty firm, compared to ripe tomatoes, which makes them great for frying. They soften, but don’t fall apart when fried.

There are a number of variations on exactly how to fry your tomatoes. I do a traditional breaded method, flour, egg wash and cracker crumbs. Then I pan-fry them.

I like using cracker crumbs, but you could use bread crumbs instead. I have friends that love to use cornmeal instead.

So here is my recipe. I hope you give it a try.

Fried Green Tomatoes

1 c. flour, or 1/2 c. flour and 1/2 c. cornmeal

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

5 green tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick

1-2 c. cracker crumbs, saltines preferred

2 eggs, beaten

butter or oil for pan frying

Place flour and seasonings in small bowl. Place crumbs in second bowl and eggs in a third bowl. Dip tomato slices in eggs then in flour. Dip slice in egg again and then in crumbs. Fry slices in hot oil until golden and tender in the middle, turning to cook evenly.  Drain and serve warm. Serves 4-6.

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Fresh Tomato Salads

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Marinated Tomato Salad

Tomato season is too short around here. I can never get enough of what my mom called “real tomatoes”. The first few tomatoes never made it in the house. Warm from the sun, they were too tempting. We would pick them right off the plant and eat them. Deer have made it pretty impossible for me to grow tomatoes right now. Luckily, local farm markets have many beautiful tomatoes.

I am enjoying eating fresh tomatoes right now. Later in the season, I will purchase enough tomatoes to can and dehydrate to enjoy once the season is over.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite tomato salad recipes with you.

They are pretty simple. I think that is how it should be. When you have something as close to perfection as a ripe tomato, little more is needed.

Marinated Tomato Salad

3 large tomatoes, cut in wedges, or 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 basil leaves, cut into thin strips
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and serve at room temperature. Serves 4-6.

Tomato and Feta Salad

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
12 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil -I used a lemon infused olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 2.

Warm Pasta Salad

1 lb. Plum tomatoes, chopped

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

4 oz. Fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped

1 T. dried basil or 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

1 T. capers, optional

1 t. dried oregano

½ c. olive oil

¼ c. red wine vinegar

3 T. balsamic vinegar

Dash of hot red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

1 lb. Uncooked pasta

Combine all ingredients, except pasta and chill overnight. Cook pasta, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Mixture should be served right away . Serves 6.

BLT Salad

6-8 slices bacon

2 slices rye bread

2 slices Swiss cheese

5 c. torn up lettuce or mixed greens

3 T. olive oil

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. balsamic vinegar

Salt and fresh ground pepper

2-3 tomatoes, diced

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, drain and crumble. Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan. Make a sandwich with the rye bread and the Swiss cheese. Toast in the skillet over medium heat until golden brown and cheese is melted. Set aside. Place lettuce in bowl and toss with the oil to coat the leaves. Toss with the vinegars and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes and the bacon and toss. Cut the sandwich into cubes and place on the top of the salad. Serves 2.

Note: you can make two sandwiches if you want more bread and cheese in the salad.

Tomato Feta Salad

Tomato Feta Salad

Warm Pasta Salad

Warm Pasta Salad

BLT Salad
BLT Salad

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Homemade Butterscotch Sauce

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Butterscotch Sauce over Ice Cream

Any time is a good time for an ice cream sundae, in my opinion. Still, when the weather warms up- it is even nicer. I have been known to have an ice cream sundae for dinner on really hot days.

I was talking to some friends about ice cream sundaes and our favorite toppings. I had mentioned how much I loved a hot fudge sundae. My friend said that she loved butterscotch sauce. I had to agree. I love a butterscotch sauce, too. I had made butterscotch sauce before, but not in a very long time. I found my old recipe and made it. I thought it could be better, so I played around and tweaked it a little. The end result is bliss. Creamy, sweet, smooth and buttery with just a hint of saltiness.

This sauce is a great topper for ice cream, but is also a tasty sauce for cakes, and fresh fruit.

It is really easy to make, which is a nice bonus. Start to finish, this sauce can be done in about 10 minutes. No special equipment needed, either. I used a heavy bottomed pan, which worked great. I didn’t want my sauce to scorch while cooking. I think I might have stirred it once, just to be safe. The sauce will thicken when it cools down. Thickens even more once stored in the fridge. It is best served warmed up a little or at room temp.

So here is my butterscotch sauce recipe.

Butterscotch Sauce

6 T. butter

½ c. half and half

½ c. brown sugar

1 t. molasses*

½ -1 teaspoon salt

1 t. vanilla

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Add remaining ingredients, except vanilla, to the pan. Stir to mix well, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Store in fridge and warm a little before using. Makes about a cup of sauce. Keeps for weeks in the fridge, but you’ll eat it long before that.

*The addition of a little molasses was because my original recipe called for dark brown sugar. I only had light brown sugar. I liked the flavor that extra molasses added to the finished sauce. Feel free to omit the extra molasses, or add a pinch more, depending on how dark you want your finished sauce.

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Pink Velvet Cupcakes

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Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Thought I would share this fun recipe for cupcakes, using beets.  I already make a chocolate beet cake- which has red tones from the beets. I wanted a lighter texture for cupcakes, with more chocolate flavor,  so I made some changes to the beet cake recipe and ended up with these cupcakes.

Rich, but light, with a very subtle blush of red. I decided to call them Pink Velvet. I topped them with cream cheese frosting, but a dusting of powdered sugar would work well, too, or a favorite buttercream.

Here is the recipe. I hope you will give them a try.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes (Chocolate Beet)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
¾ c. cocoa powder
1 c. butter, softened
1½ c. sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups grated, cooked beets
Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24-28 muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well mixed; stir in beets. Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly or when toothpick, inserted into cupcakes , comes out clean. Cool before frosting. You can dust with powdered sugar in place of frosting, if you prefer. Makes 24-28.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick, (½ cup butter) softened
2-3 c. confectioners’ sugar
1T. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. Store in the fridge.

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Soft Butter Cookies

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Soft Butter Cookies

If you are looking for a truly tender cookie, this may be it. These cookies are so delicate, they just melt in your mouth!!

The secret ingredient might surprise you. It is oil. Yes, I know I said butter cookies – they also contain butter. But the combination of oil and butter makes them soft and delicate, even days after baking.

They also contain both granulated and powdered sugar. Not your typical cookie recipe, for sure.   This just may be my “go to” butter cookie recipe from now on.

You don’t have to chill the dough and they roll very easily, without sticking to your fingers. You could chill the dough, but let it warm up a little before rolling. The dough can also be made ahead and frozen- I tested it.

In camp the kidspressed the tops in colored sugars, nonpareils or sprinkles before baking. You can also bake them plain, then dip in melted chocolate and sprinkles or nuts after baking,

Soft Butter Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. oil, I used avocado oil

1 c. sugar

1 c. powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

½ t. salt

4 ½ c. flour id f dough is too soft, you might need to add a little more flour.

In mixing bowl, beat together butter, oil, sugars and vanilla. Once well blended, beat in eggs. Stir in the baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, then add the flour, mixing until well combined. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into one inch balls and press tops of cookies in sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden on bottom. Leave cookies on baking sheets 3 minutes before placing on cooling rack. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

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Sweet Cherry Vanilla Jam

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Sweet Cherry Vanilla Jam

I look forward to cherry season every year. I love eating fresh cherries, but I also like to preserve them, to enjoy year round. One of my favorite things to make is cherry jam.

This must be a great year for cherries. They seem bigger than usual, and very sweet.

While I normally make jam from sour cherries, I knew the sweet ones would work. Besides the cherries, sugar and pectin, this jam also contains lemon juice and vanilla. Those extra ingredients give the jam a more complex flavor and a little bit of a tang.

This may be one of my favorite jams ever!!! I was worried it would be too sweet, but it isn’t. The flavor of the cherries comes through as well at the flavor of the vanilla and cinnamon. Thinking I made need to buy more cherries and make another batch….

Here is the recipe. Enjoy.

Sweet Cherry Vanilla Jam

4 c. chopped pitted sweet cherries, about 2 lbs.

6 T. powdered pectin

6 T. lemon juice

2 T. pure vanilla extract

4½  c. sugar

Wash jelly jars and lids and keep warm until ready to use. Place a large pot of water, with a rack, on to boil for the water bath. In large saucepan combine cherries with pectin, lemon juice and vanilla. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Add the sugar and bring mixture back to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once the mixture gets to a full, rolling boil, cook for one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove jam from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, filling to about 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe off rim and screw on the lids. Repeat with remaining jam. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let jar sit in canner 5 minutes before removing. Remove from water bath and allow jars to cool.  Yield: about 6 half pint jars of jam.

Adapted from The Ball Blue Book

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