Vidalia Onion & Bacon Pie

One of my favorite features of the Sunday New York Daily News is Relish Magazine. The cooking sections in the New York area papers have become seriously lacking, so when Relish came along a number of years ago, it was a welcome addition.

I don’t remember if I saw this recipe on their website or in the magazine, but I knew instantly that this was something that needed to be made.

It’s a little preparation bogged down, but the end result is certainly worth the time. A friend of mine made this as well, but the bacon on only half as there is a vegetarian in the house. Though my non-red meat eating sister will tell you bacon doesn’t count. It is its own food group.

I have already been thinking of different twists on this and know I will come back to it again and again.

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 1/2  C cornmeal
• 1/2  C all-purpose flour
• 1  t baking powder
• 1/2  t salt
• 1 egg
• 2  T butter
• 2 to 4  T ice water

NOTE: The crust needed something more. Maybe a little more salt. Maybe a little sugar. Oh, maybe a kick of cayenne. But the cornmeal crust was wonderful. Perfect for filling with tomatoes and mozzarella and basil.

Filling:

• 1  T butter
• 3  medium Vidalia or sweet onions, slivered
• 2  eggs
• 1/2  C half-and-half
• 1/2  t salt
• 1/4  t freshly ground black pepper, plus more for top
• 1  C (4-ounces) shredded white Cheddar cheese
• 1/2  C corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 4  slices thick, smoky-style bacon, cooked and chopped

NOTE: FOUR? Only FOUR? Now, you know that would never do! I cheated, I used a a couple more.  I silvered the onions by cutting each in half and the thinly slicing them. Cutting through the pie, the slivers are too long and difficult to cut while slicing and eating. Next time maybe the slivers need to be cut a bit – most likely AFTER caramelizing them.

To prepare crust, coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray

Place cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a pastry cutter blade; pulse to combine. Add egg and butter; pulse until mixed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms. This will form a sticky mass of dough. Press into pan. If the dough is too sticky, add a little cornmeal.

NOTE:  I used nearly 2 tablespoons of water to form a ball. But when I took it out of the food processor it was really sticky. Instead of putting the blade back in and getting the sticky mess back into the bowl, I sprinkled cornmeal over the top and that kept the dough from sticking to my hands.

Preheat oven to 350F.

To prepare filling, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain if necessary.

NOTE: And – purely with an eye toward waste not want not  – I cooked the onions in the bacon fat.  I did still add the butter in – can you have enough butter or bacon? I don’t think so either!

Combine eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk well. On bottom of pie, sprinkle half the shredded cheese. Top with corn kernels,  onions and bacon.

Pour egg mixture over top. Top with remaining cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake 40 minutes, until top is set and browned.

NOTES: Before baking, I sprinkled the top with chopped scallions. Be careful not to over bake. The cheese gets a little too dense if it gets too brown. I think this would be nice with leeks as well.

This is great as a side dish for grilled chicken, alone with a big salad … or just by itself because you cannot stop eating it and are VERY impressed with your own creation!

Bacony Mac and Cheese

I love Mac and Cheese.

It doesn’t necessarily like me back – lactose intolerance is a terrible thing.

Every once in a while I just can’t help myself – I just gotta have it.

If I am going to suffer after eating Mac and Cheese, this is the mac and cheese it has to be!

My sister gave me this recipe many moons ago. I change it to suit my mood and what I have on hand. I’ll give you the original recipe and then the way I made it this time.

Really, as long as you keep the bacon in, it’s all good, right?

• 3/4 C bread crumbs
• 1 lb pasta
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 3 T flour
• 1/8 t nutmeg
• 1 qt milk
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 lb shredded gruyere
• 1/2 lb Velveeta
• 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 3 T olive oil

Now that’s the original recipe. This make A LOT of mac and cheese. I halved the recipe and made some minor adjustments to the ingredients.

• 1/3 C bread crumbs
•  1/2 lb pasta
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 T flour
• pinch of nutmeg
• 2 C milk
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/2 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 1/2 T olive oil

NOTE: I used medium shells. I switched to just cheddar because gruyere is SO expensive and my supermarket didn’t have it.

NOTE: The cooking instructions are the same regardless of which version you use.

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the pasta, drain, set aside.

NOTE: I cooked the pasta, drained it and then put it back in the pot I cooked it in. How many bowls and plates can one person mess up for a recipe!?

Generously butter a 1 quart baking dish. Add a third of the breadcrumbs and shake to coat the baking dish evenly.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add nutmeg. Whisk in milk all at once. Heat to a boil, lower to a simmer, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.

Add sauce to pasta and mix thoroughly.

Spoon half the pasta mixture into baking dish. Add bacon and tomatoes in an even layer and top with remaining pasta mixture.

Combine remaining breadcrumbs with oil and sprinkle over pasta.

Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 45 minutes.

NOTE: Every time I make this I say I don’t like the tomatoes in it. Everyone else does, but I am not a fan. I wonder if I used grape tomatoes and roasted them first if it would be better?

Liebster Award & Pasta with Cauliflower, Bacon and Sage

So here I am poking around my foodie friends’ blogs and what do I see? I was given a Liebster Blog Award by my fellow foodie friend Stella over at Lola & Finn’s Mum. Stella, I am truly touched and thank you from the bottom of my mixing bowl!

The rules are simple. Once you receive the award, you must follow five steps:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Link back to their blog.
3. Copy and paste the Liebster award to your profile
4. Pick 5 blogs that you feel deserve to be in the spotlight (they must have 200 followers or under)
5. Blog about it and leave a comment for your nominations to let them know that you have chosen their blog.

So for my nominations:

1.  Greg from Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide. Great photos and great recipes for food and drink.

2.  Nuts About Food. Lovely photos. Fabulous food. Wonderful stories about life and family and living in Italy.

3. JamieAnne over at A Dash of Domestic. Great cook-alongs and recipes. Love her family and all the tales about them woven into her postings.

4. Geni at Sweet and Crumby. Steal have made many of her recipes with great success. Love her photos and writing style.

5.  Mary at Barefeet in the Kitchen.  One of my family’s fav recipes is from here – untuffed peppers! Great photos and great food. WHat more does one need!

Ever flip through a cooking magazine and just fall in love with a recipe? This one made my heart flutter – pasta, bacon, cauliflower, BACON, quick, BACON, sage, bacon – oh, and I think there may have been bacon in there as well.

Everyday Food Magazine, you have done it again! This recipe is wonderful. May have even turned my cauliflower haters into cauliflower lovers. Well, truth be told, we live by a strict, I make it, you eat it or starve policy in my house. One CLAIMS to not like cauliflower, the other staunchly believes he doesn’t like cauliflower – they both INHALED this pasta!

• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 lb of a short pasta
• 5 slices of bacon cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, diced small
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 T fresh sage, chopped
• 2 t red wine vinegar

NOTE: I used mezzi rigatoni. The magazine suggested gemelli (my fav, but we were out!). And without having to say so, I used more than 5 slices of bacon. How many more is none of your beeswax! Also, as we all so often do, I went to the store without my list! No sage! I used dried and it was fine.

 

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Reserve 1/2 a cup of the pasta water and drain pasta and return to pot.

 

NOTE:I cooked the whole pound of pasta.

IN a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until the fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. ABout 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add the butter, onions and garlic to the skillet and cook until onions are softened. About 10 minutes.

NOTE: Yes, my onions are a LITTLE dark. But not quite cinders. Watch the onions!

Add cauliflower, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender. About 12 minutes.

NOTE: You can substitute frozen cauliflower florets here. Just reduce the cooking time.

Stir in bacon and sage and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Stir in vinegar and enough pasta water to create a thin sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Quick, easy, bacony, delicious. Even the ‘we don’t like cauliflower’ boys loved it! I might roast the cauliflower next time and then add it to the rest … hmmm, just a thought!