Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

In my opinion, macaroni and cheese is the perfect barbecue side dish. Only bacon could make it even better.

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow macaroni 

1 quart whole milk

12 oz. applewood smoked bacon, chopped into 1 in. pieces

8 oz. gruyere, grated

12 oz. sharp cheddar, grated 

4 + 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for coating the pan

5 tbsp. all purpose flour 

1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

Kosher salt

Black pepper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Butter 3 quart baking dish. 

In large pan, cook bacon over medium low heat until slightly crispy, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to plate with paper towels to drain, reserving bacon fat. Set aside bacon. 

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling add macaroni. Cook for 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Drain pasta and toss with 1 tbsp. butter. Set aside. 

In small bowl mix bread crumbs, parmesan, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper for topping. Set aside. 

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, heat milk over medium high heat and scald. Do not let milk come to a boil. 

While milk is heating, in a large sauce pot, melt 4 tbsp. butter with 1 tbsp. bacon over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. The sauce should be smooth and thick. Take off heat and stir in cheddar, gruyere, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When cheeses are melted stir in bacon to combine. Stir in macaroni and toss to combine. Pour mixture into bacon dish and sprinkle topping over the macaroni mixture. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until light brown and bubbly. 

Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

These ribs are perfect for watching football on Sunday funday. They have a deep smokiness and will just about fall off the bone.

Baby Back Ribs:

Ingredients:

2 racks baby back ribs
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. hot paprika
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (other than the ribs) together in a small bowl. Rub mixture into both sides of ribs. Stack ribs and wrap with plastic wrap and then wrap with aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat smoker to 225 - 250°. (I used hickory chips for smoking.) When smoker comes to temperature, place both racks of ribs in smoker. Smoke ribs, meatier side up, for 3 hours, making sure temperature stays between 225 and 250°. Remove ribs from smoker and wrap each rack of ribs tightly in aluminum foil. Return ribs to smoker. Cook, meatier side up, for another hour and a half. Remove from aluminum foil and return to smoker, meatier side up. Smoke for about 30 minutes to an hour, basting meatier side periodically with bourbon barbecue sauce and allowing to caramelize. When ribs feel tender but before they start falling apart, remove from smoker. Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving. 

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 cups ketchup

1/2 cup bourbon

1 heaping tbsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. worchestershire 

2 tbsp. molasses

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 gloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. light brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

Coat bottom of medium saucepan with olive oil and heat over medium. When hot, add onion and sprinkle with salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer, and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into food processor and pulse until smooth. 

JCB by Jean-Charles Boisset No. 21, Crémant de Bourgogne, Brut, NV

This sparkling wine from Burgundy is a good value for a French wine made using the traditional method, but you can find a better value if you look to other countries. It has a slight yeastiness, a full mouth feel and is acidic. The wine has a strong aroma of crisp apple, and flavors of fall fruits. A great wine to drink on a crisp fall evening.

Price: $20.00

Ratings:
Taste: 3
Value: 3
Drinkability: 3
Effervescence: 4
Complexity: 2
Overall: 15

Updates to Rating Systems

I recently read two books about wine that have inspired me to rethink and slightly change my rating system for sparkling wines. I highly recommend both of them if you are looking to further your knowledge and interest in champagne or wine in general. The books are: How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto by Eric Asimov and Champagne: A Global History by Becky Sue Epstein.

My new ratings system is as follows:

I will still be looking at taste, value, drinkability, and effervescence, but I will now additionally rate the wine based on complexity. I think complexity is another way to differentiate between higher and lower quality wines.

I have also defined my rating scale and decided that it is from 0 - 5 instead of 1 - 5. The breakdown of each point value is:

0: Poor (you do not want to drink this)
1: Satisfactory (probably not worth drinking, but might be serviceable)
2: Fair
3: Good
4: Very Good
5: Extraordinary

The total points possible will now be 25.

Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Squash

Yesterday felt like fall, and I wanted to make something warm and comforting. I had heard spaghetti squash could be a decent substitute for regular pasta, so I picked one up at the farmer's market. Turns out, it can be used as a tasty and healthy alternative to spaghetti. At least every now and then.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds with a spoon
2 chicken cutlets (or 1 breast butterflied and cut in half)
2 - 4 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
28 oz. can san marzano tomatoes, crushed
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh oregano
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil (plus some for tomato sauce and squash)
1/2 cup parmesan
1 tbsp. basil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Coat medium sauce pot with olive oil and heat over medium. Add onion and sprinkle with salt. (This helps to sweat the onion.) Cook until translucent and soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add san marzano tomatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Depending on your tomatoes, the sauce might be bitter; if it's bitter, you can add a little sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°. Sprinkle spaghetti squash with salt, pepper, and cup olive oil. Cook facing down on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Let cool slightly and use fork to pull spaghetti squash away from skin.

While the squash is cooking, marinate chicken in 1/4 cup olive oil, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Heat oven safe pan over medium high heat. Sear chicken for 2 minutes, flip and coat top of chicken with generous serving of sauce sauce, then top with
mozzarella, and parmesan. Bake at 450° for 3-5 minutes, until cheese begins to bubble and brown. Broil if necessary. Remove from pan, sprinkle with basil and extra parmesan and serve over spaghetti squash.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Sauce and Watermelon Radish Slaw

This was my first attempt at using the Big Green Egg. I decided to go with a southern favorite, pulled pork. I am not a fan of mayonnaise based coleslaw but wanted something to compliment the sweet and juicy pulled pork. I made a vinegar based slaw with watermelon radish, which added a great crunch to the sandwich and the bitterness of the radish balanced out the sweetness of the pork.

Pulled Pork:

Ingredients:

Bone in pork shoulder, about 7 lbs, fat cap trimmed (I think it is juicy enough without the extra fat)
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp mild paprika
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Hamburger buns

Directions:

In small bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. Rub on pork. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.

Remove pork shoulder from refrigerator at least an hour before cooking. Heat smoker to 250°. Cook for about 10 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 190°. Wrap pork shoulder tightly in aluminum foil and let rest for 30 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 195°. Remove bone and using two forks shred pork, removing excess cartilage and fat. Serve on hamburger bun with slaw and barbecue sauce.

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
Dash hot sauce (I used Texas Pete to keep it a true NC sauce) 
1 tbsp crushed red pepper 
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper 
1 tbsp honey 

Directions: 

In small saucepan, combine vinegar, garlic, hot sauce, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil for 15-20 minutes. Take off heat and whisk in honey. Let cool before serving.

Watermelon Radish Slaw:

Ingredients:

1 watermelon radish, julienned 
3/4 head green cabbage, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned 
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

In large bowl, mix the radish, cabbage, and carrot. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Pour sauce over cabbage mixture and stir to combine. Put in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Big Green Egg

I just won a big green egg!



To be continued...