Petty Vices

Really good turkey bacon (honest)

My long-running favorite turkey bacon has been from Applegate Farms, and while I still love it, there's a new kid in town (to me, anyway) that I equally adore. Garret Country Farms produces a delectable, extremely low-fat, nitrate-free turkey bacon that also tastes like , well, bacon!

Truly, both of these products rock, and can make real bacon lovers (my hand is raised) happy. None of that nasty faux-bacon that no human or animal should ever consume...<shudders>

I'm cooking some Garret Country bacon up now for brunch. I'm going to serve it with Salish Falls Lodge buttermilk pancakes, which I doctored up by adding a really ripe banana and a handful of chopped pecans. With an organic egg on the side and some real maple syrup, we're in business.

Ciao.

Google books

I've discovered a new tool available for the GoogleBooks Search that enables one to embed a book reader into a blog entry -- much like one can do with YouTube videos. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Google Books, its an initiative Google has been working on for several years now, with the goal of digitizing all the books of the world (more or less). They've been partnering with libraries to scan their book collections, and then they make them available online. Truly grand.

Even better: When the book or magazine is out of copyright one can download the entire text, thus, I've been developing my own library of old books.

I've found some super interesting and often amusing stuff; I'm particularly fond of old craft and homemaking publications.

Here's one for you:

The Home Cook Book: Tried and True Recipes

By Christ Church,  East Orange,  N.J. Women's Working Guild. St. Thecla Chapter

Published by T.J. Brown, Eager & Co., 1876

Original from Harvard University

Digitized Dec 28, 2007

304 pages

You can search and read the whole thing right here, below. You can use the Search bar or browse, and navigate by holding on to your mouse button and just moving up or down.

Also, if you click on the "More About" link on the bottom right of the embedded graphic below, you'll be taken to the GoogleBooks search result for this book, and be able to download the whole thing as a PDF.

Fancy Schmancy Cakes & Chocolates

You know all those trendy chocolates with the designs on them that look so cool? I've wondered how they managed to make them look like that, nevermind bakery cakes with chocolate "icing" wraps...well, I was looking for red & white pastry twine, like the kind that Mike's Pastry in Boston's North End (the best Little Italy in the U.S., IMHO) uses...<random, I know -- do yourself a favor and order a dozen cannoli's...they're the BEST>...and in the process came across a site with chocolate transfer paper. Not knowing what that might be, I curiously did some surfing looking for information, when I came across another site selling all kinds of it and providing instructions. Here's a pic of a cake using the sheets:

Who knew? Pretty slick, though.  Check out all the  transfer sheets they have -- its amazing.

Cupcake Cake Stand

I want this cupcake stand -- can't you just imagine how fantastic you could get with this thing? I see myself baking up some great little cupcakes, decorating them with yummy and psychedelic colors and then topping them with some little treasures from the one-and-only amazing Archie McPhees. Oh yeah baby...and all this for the bargain price of $13 from the very cool Kitchen Krafts (discovered via a post from the Admire blog). Maybe I should buy a bunch as gifts? Hmmm...

Milo O'Sullivan's Irish Soda Bread

As I lay cozily in bed last Saturday morning, I gleefully imagined the smell of my favorite “mix” muffins cooking (Sun-Maid Honey Raisin bran, if you’re curious). When I’m feeling lazy these are great — especially with flaxseeds and some chopped walnuts or pecans added. Yum!

Unfortunately, when I checked my pantry I didn’t have any mix. Such a disappointment. Bound and determined to bake something-or-other, though, I browsed through a little cookbook I picked up at a thrift store recently. Luckily, I had all the ingredients for some soda bread (in general I think soda bread tastes a lot like scones).

               

Milo O’Sullivan’s Currant Nutmeg Soda Bread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 T unsalted butter, cut up
• 1 1/2 c buttermilk or 1 c plain yogurt *I used yogurt
• 1/2 c Zante currants or raisins, or 1/4 c of each *I used all raisins and added extras
• 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon mixed together

*Note: Adding a tsp of orange zest and 1 tsp of cinnamon makes this bread even tastier and more pastry-like in nature.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Mix dry ingredients and cut in the butter with a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers until it forms course crumbs. Stir in the currants or raisins (or both), then mix in the buttermilk or yogurt — adding more until all flour is moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch round. Sprinkle the top with the sugar/cinnamon mixture, and then cut a deep cross in the dough (cutting a little more than halfway through). Bake 35-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Tea Breads and Coffeecakes by Elizabeth Alston

Roasted Asparagus

I adore my asparagus roasted -- it imparts a nutty flavor to the stalks that just can't be beat. I NEVER steam my asparagus anymore. 

Instructions for Roasting:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash & snap the bottoms off of each stalk; lay them out on a cookie sheet
3. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and minced garlic (or garlic infused olive oil) and roast them for 10-15 minutes, until they sizzle and are turning dark brown in places.

Terrific Appetizer Recipe:

1. Roast the asparagus as directed above, complete with garlic and olive oil
2. Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes
3. Wrap centers of each aparagus stalk with a piece of prosciutto, so that the meat acts as a "handle" (*Note: Salumi has the best prosciutto money can buy, and it comes at a better price than most groceries and specialty markets. Place order via email -- instructions on their site)
4. Plate the prosciutto wrapped stalks and drizzle them with about a tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar

This starter is incredibly simple, yet elegant, and I've found its always a hit.

Black Olive and Herb Turkey Balls

I made a new recipe for a recent Academy Awards party that went over really well (the food, that is), thank goodness.

The nicest part about this particular recipe is that it's relatively healthy. With a food processor they're a snap to put together, which is how I'm going to write up the directions.

I served these niblets in addition to other finger food and had toothpicks and cocktail forks at the ready. This recipe makes 20 (I doubled it for about 40). Tip: shop for the ingredients at your local Trader Joe's store and you'll spend less money putting it together.

Black Olive and Herb Turkey Balls

• 1 lb ground turkey breast meat (Grocery marketing geniuses have determined that since all recipes ask for one or more even "pounds," they will therefore never sell it in said increment. Rather, they will force you to buy just a little more than you need in prepackaged bundles so that they can make more money. If you're like me and this sort of thing pisses you off, you can get around this money laundering ploy by having the butcher gather you an even pound...if, however, you do shop at Trader Joe's for the rest of the ingredients, this diligence will mean an extra stop at a Safeway or something where there is a butcher, but IMHO it's worth it)
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used a mix of mushroom types -- shiitake, crimini, portobello & white button)
• 1/2 cup drained and chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons pittted and chopped oil-cured black olives (I used a mix of regular black, kalamata and herbed green olives; the herbed green olives come in small light green paper bags at TJs for under a dollar each)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil (mix extra-virgin olive oil with the oil from the tomato jar to equal 1/4 cup)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the turkey, breadcrumbs and oil in a large bowl, and put the garlic in the food processor (If you don't have a food processor than you need to mince and chop the remaining ingredients by hand at this point, adding them to the large bowl as you finish).
• Get the garlic nice and small -- not quite minced but on its way -- and then add all the remaining ingredients to the processor bowl. Zap it all a few times until items look appropriately sized, then scrape the result into the turkey, breadcrumb, and oil mixture.
• The most efficient way to mix this is to dig in with your hands and squeeze it together, until you envision that each meatball will have a bit of the best ingredients included inside (I like to wear surgical gloves for the hand mixing procedure, as when I'm finished I can simply peel them off and into the garbage can).
• Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for thirty minutes or until dark golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

They look chic served on a rectangular white sushi style platter, garnished with some fresh rosemary sprigs. My boyfriend M came up with the presentation -- he's particularly good at that sort of thing. =^)

This recipe was derived from the book Pad Parties -- a very fun read that would make a great gift for anyone that likes to entertain.