Sunday Dinner

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Brown Sugar Candied Bacon

Crab Cakes  with Sweet Red Pepper Curry Sauce

Green Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

If you have never had candied bacon, you are in for a real treat! It is amazing how a few ingredients can change your life. Okay, it may not be life-changing, but it will give you a whole new perspective on cured pork belly.  Candied bacon is smoke-cured pork that is enveloped in a "crust" of brown sugar, dry mustard, black pepper, and cayenne pepper for a nice kick.  It is savory, sweet, salty, spicy, and totally addictive! It reminds me of the crust on an Easter ham, but it is much easier to prepare. 

The most important thing to note is to use thick-cut bacon. Regular or thin-cut slices will burn to a crisp. Extra thick-cut bacon will turn out like beef jerky and will not crisp.  I like to use a full-size sheet pan lined with foil. A full-size pan will be large enough to cook all of the bacon, and the foil will make for super-easy cleanup.  When baked on the rack, the bacon does not need to be turned because the heat is hitting both sides of the bacon. I use a low temperature of 325° F so the bacon does not curl when baking and the fat renders evenly. The baking time will vary slightly because not all thick-cut bacon is exactly the same thickness. Once the bacon is richly caramelized, transfer it to a sheet of parchment paper, and it will crisp as it cools.

We are enjoying candied bacon tonight as a simple pre-dinner snack, but there are so many other ways to enjoy it. It is a no-brainer for breakfast or brunch, but think outside the box and sprinkle it on salads, pile it on sandwiches, garnish deviled eggs, add it to a cheese ball, or jazz up some guacamole!  I have even been known to put candied bacon on cupcakes (that's another story). The possibilities of bacon enhancement to a recipe or dish are endless.  Ask yourself- what would bacon do? Happy Sunday!

Equipment needed:

Full-size sheet pan with rack

Orecchiette with Shrimp, Pepperoncini and Basil

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Ready for a quick weeknight dinner that is so incredibly delicious you'll want to serve it to company?  This is it!  Think shrimp piccata with a power punch of flavor from pepperoncini peppers and fresh basil.  You could use any pasta , but the orecchiette (which means "little ears") is perfect because it cradles all those wonderful ingredients and flavors.  

Speaking of ingredients and flavors, there is a food pairing in this recipe that, for some people, is either up for debate or strictly forbidden.  Cheese and seafood.  I could write a whole separate post about this topic. This pairing is definitely a no-no in most Italian households.  Why?  Maybe because the major cheese region in Italy is landlocked and no where near fresh seafood.  Maybe because, for some people, one flavor overpowers the other.  But let's think about it... Anyone ever heard of a tuna melt? What about baked clams with cheese or smoked salmon and cream cheese.  How about that classic holiday appetizer made with a brick of cream cheese, crab and cocktail sauce?? And let's not forget about anchovies on pizza.  

So, sometimes I think that rules are meant to be broken.  If it works for your palate, go for it.  If it is against your culinary religion, just omit it.  Once again, make it for you, make it your own.  Happy cooking!

Oh, wait... You might also be wondering about the baking soda.  I find that a quick brine of salt and baking soda help tenderize the shrimp.