Ash Wednesday

I have decided to give up meat for lent. That’s right, even bacon! If my posts suddenly spiral into sputtering nonsense I will blame withdrawal from that sweetest of meats.

In all seriousness this is a great opportunity for my arteries to unclog themselves, and to feature some great veggie recipes. I’m sure we will be doing plenty of fish sticks and tuna salad, but I’ve begun research on how to leave the meat at the grocery store without sacrificing on heartiness and flavor.

I do have a little experience as a veg head. My diet was virtually meatless until I was about five. I can still remember my great-grampa feeding me my first ham sandwich and falling in love. I also remember all the meatless burgers, hotdogs, and sausage that my family ate. They can’t hold a flame to the real stuff, but they aren’t so terrible if you don’t know anything different. I’ve heard those fakers have gotten better over the years but really they didn’t have anywhere to go but up.

I’d like to steer clear of all of those pre-packaged solutions, but Easter is a long way off and who knows how quickly desperation will set in. If I do go down that route you can expect reviews that will hold no punches. Now that I think of it, it may be interesting to take a walk down memory lane. We’ll just have to wait and see.

This is going to be an interesting experiment and I’m hoping that all of the Ate Up fans enjoy it.

Yours in food and fun,

A-Dub

The Peppers Were Stuffed and so was I

Last night I was looking for a way to get rid of the ground beef that had been in the fridge just shy of too long but I wanted a meal that wasn't an old standby i.e. meat sauce (a secret i may never share), meatloaf (good, but sparingly), or any number of tired recipes I've overused as of late. My dad happened to call while I was poking around my typical internet-recipe haunts and suggested stuffing bell peppers with beef and rice (something, he said, his mom used to do a lot). I took his advice and set off to hit up the local grocer for some peppers. I grabbed two green bells (they are typically the cheapest) and then - because it spoke to me - I picked up a pasilla pepper.

Once home, I was debating how to flavor the beef and rice when I remembered a magical box in the cupboard Hamburger Helper, Mexican Cheesy Enchilada !

Betty Crocker did all the thinking for me. I prepared the beef and rice as directed (I added bacon of course). Meanwhile, I cored the peppers and boiled them in salted water for about 2 minutes. I tucked little hunks of processed cheese food (rhymes with "tell Rita") at the bottom and stuffed the peppers full of the rice and beef mixture. I topped with shredded cheddar and put them under the broiler for 20 minutes.

I put the bell pepper in a bed of kidney beans re-fried with chili powder and honey. The pasilla pepper I split in half and topped it with the cheese sauce graciously provided by Mrs. Crocker.

The meal turned out great, and was just what I was looking for. Next time I may use red or orange bell peppers (the green ones were a bit bitter for my taste) but the pasilla was the ultimate stuffer. It was sweet and smokey and complimented the beans perfectly.

Bacon Scallop and Scallion Skewers

Having recently relocated to the Pac NW, and getting gourmet bacon mailed to me once a month, I figured this was a great opportunity to take a stab at bacon wrapped scallops. I used my Hobbs Applewood-Smoked Bacon, and I already had two packages of scallops in the freezer. The packs were a dollar each, so the scallops were on the small side which prompted me to try doing toothpick skewers with multiple scallops and ¼ strips of bacon (cut length, then width wise). I also decided to add slivers of scallion for extra flavor and texture.

I started by quartering the bacon and cooking it over low heat until it was halfway done (about 8-10 minutes). The cooking time will vary due to the thickness of the bacon. **Also take in account the size of your scallops** my bacon wound up undercooked because the scallops cooked so quickly due to their mini size. In retrospect I should have cooked the bacon a bit longer so that it was closer to being done, but still flexible enough to be manipulated around the skewers.

After cooking the bacon to what I thought was the halfway point, I pulled it out of the pan and let it cool on a paper towel while I cut slices of scallion and dressed the scallops with sea salt. I assembled the skewers by poking the toothpick through the tip of the bacon, a piece of scallion, two scallops, back through the bacon, two more scallops, and through the other end of the bacon. I wound up with about a dozen extra scallops and some scallion left over so I set them aside to be prepared after the skewers.

I drained most of the bacon grease from the pan, turned the heat up to medium-low and put the skewers in. The scallops were done in about five minutes, and I removed them and placed them on a plate in the oven.

Now I took the scallions and some garlic and put it in the pan with the bacon grease. I let these cook for a few minutes until the scallions were translucent and then added the scallops. Again, I let them cook for a few minutes until they were just about done and added to the pan a pat of butter, juice from half a lemon, and a splash of white wine. I tossed everything together and turned the heat off.

I served the skewers with a dipping sauce made from maple syrup and sriracha (my favorite chili sauce which I surprisingly spelled correctly without looking) and the extra scallops I served over Rice-a-Roni Spanish rice.

All in all it was a good meal. As I said before, the bacon on the skewers was a bit underdone, but the flavor was great and melded well with the sweetness of the scallops. The scallion added an extra crunch and it was definitely something I would prepare again. The dipping sauce was a spur of the moment addition and is definitely something I will be experimenting with in the future.

The extra scallops in baconlemonbutterwine sauce were fantastic. It was a great addition to the Spanish rice, and was a simple and delicious way to use the leftovers from the skewers.

The flavors in this meal made all the work worth while.

To Bacon Tinued

The Pig Next Door made my February and shipped my first installment of bacon! I could barely contain myself as I tore into the package and found Hobbs Applewood-Smoked Bacon. I haven’t been able to find much of a presence online, but I will give you the low-down from what I have garnered online, and from the info card that came with that sweet meat.

Hobbs cures all kinds of meat and does a large portion of their business with restaurants, which must speak for the quality of their product. They are based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, and they use Hybrid Berkshire-Duroc hogs that helps ensure unique flavor.

The slices are extra thick. The 16 ounce package is made up of eight slices (about 2 ounces each!) Take that wimpy grocery brands. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into them. I will give you a full flavor profile once I’ve mopped the drool off my keyboard.

The bacon also came with a recipe for pasta with bacon and eggs. It sounds interesting, but I don’t think it will be the recipe I am making. As I said earlier I have a whole book dedicated to bacon treats and I will more than likely be selecting a recipe from there or coming up with one of my own. Whatever it is, I want it to be something that is simple and doesn’t make the bacon take the back seat to other meats. I’m thinking bacon wrapped scallops.

Check back tomorrow for a bacon recipe and more stove top prose.

Tongue Teaser

In order to whet your appetites while “waitin’ for bacon,” I thought I would post a recipe I have been using for Pineapple Salsa. This is basically a rendition of my World Renowned Salsa (check back in the summer, and bring your favorite fire extinguisher) but here I substitute pineapple chunks in place of traditional tomatoes. Most recently I have been using this to add some pep to fish tacos, but it also works well on a chip or as a great garnish for a teriyaki chicken recipe which I will share later. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 can pineapple chunks (quartered)
1 clove garlic (minced)
2/3 cup red onion (chopped)
1 jalapeno (finely chopped) *remove seeds and veins if you’d like, I’ll pass no judgment
Cilantro: (small palm full if dried,1/4 cup chopped if fresh) *as with most herbs I lean toward fresh
Juice of 1/2 lime

Combine all ingredients. Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.