Pi Day for Ron

Pi Day (or March 14th for the 3.14 in Pi) never meant much to me. In school, I had a number of math teachers who tried to make it fun, but math was never my favorite class.

My brother Ron, however, loved it. At his last job, he had instituted Pi Day festivities, sending out invites months ahead and rallying everyone to join in on a silly mid-week celebration. In fact, he loved anything quirky or odd or just plain stupid like Pi Day. That's just the kind of guy he was.

Ron passed away suddenly last year, and pretty much nothing has been right since. He was one of my best friends, and I think he was finally starting to see me as an adult and not his stupid kid sister. He was the one who was constantly finding things to share with me - YouTube videos, new TV shows, weird catchphrases - and this past year has been awkward trying to find and enjoy these things on my own. I've been left with a lot of sad memories, which I know he would have hated.

Pi Day, though. That's a thing he loved for no real reason other than it was quirky. It's something I can be damned sure I'm going to celebrate for the rest of my life because it made him happy. And if pie can't fix things, even just for a little while, then I don't know what else can.

Because I'd much rather remember Ron on a day like today, for reasons like pie.

Bacon Chocolate Cream Pie
1 1/2 cups crushed Oreos (about 15 cookies broken in a food processor)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 pint heavy cream
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 package chocolate pudding, prepared as directed
5 pieces candied bacon, chopped

Mix together crushed oreos and butter until all the crumbs are moist. Gently pat into the bottom and sides of a pie dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a mixer, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Don't overwhip the cream. Gently fold half the whipped cream into the pudding and pour into the prepared pie dish. Top with the remaining whipped cream and decorate with the chopped bacon. Chill before serving.

Citrus-Braised Endive Pasta

I had so much fun creating a recipe for December's Kitchen Play event that I thought I should try my hand at a recipe from this month's gathering, sponsored by California Endive. Frankly, I don't know if I've ever had endive before, but this seemed like as good a reason as any, so I jumped right in.

Wicked Good Dinner's recipe for citrus-braised endive (the amuse bouche entry on Kitchen Play) immediately intrigued me, and I thought it was perfect for this time of year. As I read through the recipe, though, I thought that the flavors would make a great pasta sauce as well, so I changed the recipe around to become a whole meal.

I'm so happy with how this dish turned out. The flavor combination is unique and unexpected but so harmonious. The final dish is sweet and salty, bitter and unctuous, soft and crispy - there are just so many good things going on! This dish serves 2, but could easily be doubled.

Citrus-Braised Endive Pasta (adapted from Wicked Good Dinner)

2 Tbsp honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small grapefruit, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 white endives
1/2 cup (3-4 slices) minced bacon
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz of penne (or other pasta shapes) (about 1/3 of a box)
1 orange or grapefruit, supremed (I used a blood orange)
1 avocado, cubed

Whisk together the honey, garlic, grapefruit zest and juice, ginger, and vinegar and set aside.

In a medium pot, bring salted water to a boil and add endive. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove from pot and cool slightly; chop into 1/2-inch pieces (I discarded some of the tips of the outer leaves that had turned brown while boiling). Set aside. Discard water (it will be bitter) and refill pot. Bring water to a boil for pasta.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high until crispy. Remove bacon pieces and drain on a paper towel. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package. Add olive oil to the remaining bacon fat in the pan, then add endive and spread it across the bottom of the pan. Allow to cook 3 minutes or so until it begins to caramelize, then toss the whole mixture and allow to caramelize on the other side for another 3 minutes or so. Remove endive from pan. Add honey mixture to the pan and bring to a boil, whisking up all the little bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat and cook 3 minutes, until reduced. Add endive, bacon, orange wedges, avocado, and cooked pasta and toss to coat (you can add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to create a little more sauce). Salt and pepper to taste.

Boston Bacon and Beer Festival '10

Who doesn't love bacon and beer? Ok, to be honest, me. I only like half of the equation that made up @eatboston and SoWa Sunday's Boston Bacon and Beer Festival, but that didn't stop me from loving every minute of the event.

The event was held at the fantastic SoWa Power Station, a giant shell of a building with towering ceilings - I wouldn't want to be anywhere near this place when the zombie apocalypse happens, but it's definitely a great spot for an event. The line curved down the street, but it progressed fairly quickly - nothing could keep me away from the bacon.

Inside, there were dozens of restaurants and beer breweries set up on folding tables. It was odd to see which tables had huge lines and which had no wait at all. I ignored the beer tables all together - in fact, I think I lost my cup in my bag within only a few minutes - and focused on the food.

• The Symphony branch of Whole Foods Market was serving up a crispy piece of thick-cut bacon topped with homemade pimento cheese. The bacon was perfectly cooked, and the cheese - oh the cheese. I'd make it at home to go on my homemade pretzels.
  
  
• The Gallows, a restaurant that is soon to open in the former Sage space on Washington Street, had my favorite item of the day - bacon chex mix (above and here). Popcorn popped in bacon fat, chex cereal, pretzels, peanuts, and bacon pieces tossed in a sweet and salty glaze. I could (and probably would) eat a whole bowl of this stuff. Pure heaven. I can't wait to see what their kitchen can turn out once they open.
  
  
• I can't remember where I grabbed this little BLT from, but it was decent if not terribly special.
  
  
• Chocolate-covered bacon from Trina's Starlite Lounge left me wanting. The chocolate to bacon ratio was way off. It left me wanting some candied bacon.
  
  
• Turner Fisheries had a beautiful display of fresh scallops with bacon, parsley, and tomatoes. I loved seeing all the open scallop shells as the chef took the lid off the pot. I thought the bacon flavor got a little lost, though - not my favorite.
  
  
• The South End Buttery's display was filled with pictures of dogs (the theme of their restaurant), so it took me a minute to figure out what they were serving. I was handed a beautiful bacon stout mini cupcake, though, and was thoroughly impressed. Like I said, I don't like beer, but I found that the stout was in perfect balance with the chocolate and bacon, and it was actually moist(!) and had the right amount of salty and sweet.
  
  
• Happy Pig Salumi, a local artisanal sausage maker, served up pieces of gin-infused bacon, one of their many speciality flavors. There's no liquor in the bacon, but it is infused with the same botanicals as gin, like juniper and anise. So tasty.
  
  
• Myers + Chang had a bacon version of a dish that is often found on their menu - the banh mi. The soy-glazed bacon was thick cut and both crunchy and chewy. As with typical banh mi, there were pickled carrots (daikon too?), cilantro, a light mayo spread, and a whole ton of spicy peppers. It's hard to order a banh mi when it costs more than $3 (like the ones at Pho Viet), but I'd be willing to try one on my next visit to M+C.
  
  
• The milkshake cart from b.good was in attendance, whipping up bacon chocolate milkshakes. Read that again - bacon chocolate milkshakes. These things were magical. Clearly, bacon plus chocolate equals LOVE.
  
  
• Atwood's Tavern had a bit of a line, and it was clear why. Their maple-glazed breakfast buns were fantastic and would probably be the best cure ever for a hangover. The light and fluffy bun itself tasted a lot like pancakes with their maple glaze, and they were stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese. Definitely not your typical egg and bacon sandwich.
  
  
• Bacon-stuffed pretzel bites from a place that I can't remember now were good but not amazing. Maybe the next time I make pretzels, I should stuff them with bacon? And serve them with the homemade pimento cheese from Whole Foods?
  
  
• Gaslight, which shares a parking lot with the event's location, served up beignets in a mustard dipping sauce. I wasn't entirely sure where the bacon was - I'm assuming it was in the fried dough, but I wasn't really reading it. It was a good beignet nonetheless.
  
  
• I found the bacon and bourbon brownie sundae from Union to be almost inedible. The brownie was dry and tasted only of nuts - I'm assuming there was bacon in there somewhere...
  
  
• Rocca, with new chef Tiffani Faison of Top Chef fame, served up bacon chips with hot sauce. This bacon was fried within an inch of its life, but it was even better for it. "Chip" is definitely the right word for these things - if they sold them in bags at the supermarket, we'd all be 20 pounds heavier.
  
  
• This bacon and cheddar scone from I-can't-remember-where was alright, but it was ruined by a liberal dousing in warm apple sauce. Why?!
  

There were a few more places that I didn't try because the lines were too long or they just didn't sound good to me, but I was still full when I left. I even went back for seconds from the Gallows and b.good (the second mini shake might have put me over the edge). I thankfully left before it became too rowdy, as the food was running out but there seemed to be plenty of beer.

Overall, the event was a great success. I'm already looking forward to next year...

The Only Cure for Swine Flu... is Bacon

Aaaand I'm back! I've spent the past week or so holed up in my room, going through about 12 trees-worth of Puffs tissues (with lotion, of course, which is why I still have a nose), a million gallons of tea (I think I've reduced our tea supply by half, which is saying something), 6 two-liters of diet 7-UP and about 3 liters of Trader Joe's knockoff Smart Water, four and a half seasons of Supernatural, and a complete project for my mother's birthday. The swine flu was not pleasant, and I'll probably have this cough until April, when the weather finally clears up, but I made it through alive! And what better way to celebrate than with some bacon?

I originally made this candied bacon back in August, when my brother brought me a pound of bacon after watching Paula Deen make candied bacon with maple syrup. I nixed the syrup in favor of brown sugar and ended up with an easy and delicious treat. The bacon by itself is pretty hardcore - sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy, and pretty much just amazing. But you really can't eat much of it, and I found myself left with a ton of the stuff. I ended up chopping it up and adding it to my chocolate chip cookie recipe (just replace the cherries with the chopped candied bacon) for just a hint of salt and smoke.

You could, of course, also serve it as a garnish to your bacon vodka.

Note: When baking my bacon, I lined my rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and then topped with parchment paper. This may seem excessive, but it helped contain the mess and was worth it when it came to clean up.

Candied Bacon, inspired by David Lebovitz
1 package thick-cut bacon
brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil, then with parchment paper. Arrange bacon slices on parchment so that they are not touching. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top of each slice. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then flip the bacon over and sprinkle on a little more brown sugar. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and has a deep brown, lacquered look. Cool bacon on a parchment-lined cooling rack and try to keep your hands off it while it cools.

Bar Snacks at the Regal Beagle

On Monday night, I met up with my friend Melody and the wonderful Erin of Erin Cooks for a screening of Babette's Feast at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. I felt like a bad food writer for never having seen it before. Of course, we couldn't go into a movie about food without eating something first, so we decided to meet up at the newly opened Regal Beagle just down the street.

The Regal Beagle is a warm and homey spot - the lush red wallpaper makes it very cozy. The layout is a little counter-intuitive, with the bar and lounge area in the back, but it also makes for more secluded drinking.

I tried a couple of the cocktails, which were strong and tasty, but the food was the real winner. We stuck to the bar bites menu and loved every bit.

The crab rangoon empanadas were a delightful twist on the typical crab rangoon - the dough was light and crispy, and although the filling was a little thin (it could have used some chunks of crab or even celery), it was quite flavorful. They were also the most expensive thing we tried, at $8 for 3. The other dishes were a much better value.

I loved the tempura sweet potato fries, which weren't like sweet potato fries anywhere else. The potatoes were cut into thick chunks and were soft and sweet inside the light tempura batter. Five dollars for a heaping plate was fantastic. The dates, stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped in bacon, were very rich and perfect for sharing (and were only a dollar each!). The pumpkin hummus was also a treat, a little sweeter than your typical hummus and topped with finely chopped cucumber, red onion, and feta and served with crispy pita chips.

I'm glad to see an interesting place like the Regal Beagle in Coolidge Corner, and I think it's a great option for a bite before a movie. I'd love to see even more variety on the bar bites menu, as the entrees are a little higher priced than I thought they would be (they hover around $20).

Bacon Vodka, the Oddest Drink I've Had in a Long Time

It's been, oh geez, a month since I went to my first tasting at Downtown Wine & Spirits in Davis Square. I used to shop there frequently during college, but it was rather inconvenient when I lived in Brookline. It took a mysterious tweet from Citysearch Boston regarding a bacon liquor tasting to get me back in there.

The tasting was a great time - a bunch of people crowded around the small bar, shuffling around patiently to try tastes (big tastes) of three different beers, three different wines, and a homemade bacon vodka. The beers and wines were only bacon-y in spirit - smoky aroma and flavor can go a long way, especially when you already have bacon on the brain. I thought the vodka, though, was pretty awesome. Well, maybe not that vodka, but the concept of bacon vodka? Yep, pretty cool.

So when my older brother's birthday rolled around only a few weeks later and I had no idea what to get for him, I thought I'd try my hand at bacon vodka and give him something to talk about with his poker-playing buddies. Making bacon vodka is SIMPLE - there's probably only about 30 minutes of work involved.

When it came time to actually drink the vodka, though, I wasn't sure what to do. It was too salty to drink on its own (and god knows I love me some salt!). I stumbled across some recipes from Bakon Vodka (as far as I know, the only bacon-flavored vodka available in stores) and decided to give the prosciutto-wrapped bacon cocktail a try. I've tweaked it a bit below to better suit my tastes. Their drink list is intriguing, though, and I really want to give the Irish Boar a try too.

The thought of salty vodka may turn some people off, but it's worth giving a try. If nothing else, it's certainly a conversation piece. And if you're interested in other tastings (strange and straight forward alike) from Downtown Wine & Spirits, keep an eye on their website and Twitter.


Bacon Vodka
3 slices of bacon, cooked and grease blotted off
about 2 cups vodka (something you would drink on its own)

Place the cooked bacon into a pint jar or a similar non-reactive container that can be sealed. Fill with vodka. Place the jar in a dark cabinet for one week, then place the jar in the freezer overnight to help the fat solidify. Pour the vodka through a paper coffee filter (once or twice) - the resulting vodka should be clear with no little fat globs floating around. Clean out the pint jar, then pour vodka back in and store in the freezer.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Bacon Cocktail
3 parts bacon vodka
3 parts melon liqueur (like Midori)
splash of lime seltzer

Combine bacon vodka and melon liqueur with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into a martini glass and top with a splash of chilled seltzer.

Bacon Cheddar Scallion Scones

I've been playing with a cream scone recipe for a while, but I've gotten tired of sweet scones. So after a little research online, I've put together a few recipes to form one damn good savory scone. Using the near-perfect triumvirate of bacon-cheddar-scallions, these are a nice alternative to biscuits. I'm planning on making mini versions of these to take with me to Thanksgiving next week.


Bacon Cheddar Scallion Scones

3 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
about 5 ounces of cheddar, grated
4 green onions
10 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine dry ingredients (flour through cayenne). Add in butter and work with your hands to combine - press butter between your fingers to form thin sheets. Add cheese, green onions, and buttermilk, and mix together. Add bacon and egg and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Turn dough out onto a flat surface and knead a few times to smooth out the dough. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a 1/2-inch thick disk. Cut the disk into wedges. Spread wedges across a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a little room around them. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the bottom of the scones start to brown and the cheese in the scone begins to turn golden. Best served warm.

*And don't forget to vote for me (Pam Aghababian) for the Blogging Scholarship! I'm the only food blogger on the list. Voting ends Thursday (11/20) at 11:59pm!

Corn and Scallion Chowder

I love corn soups, but I don't have the best track record in making them. So it was with some hesitance that I decided to try a corn chowder from Fine Cooking magazine with what will probably be my last farmers market corn of the year.

I am very glad that I made this soup, though. It was just what I was looking for - creamy, sweet, salty, warm, and comforting - and will undoubtedly secure a place in my repertoire now. The scallions were a surprising ingredient for a soup, but I was really happy with the mild onion flavor, as well as the texture, that they added. I'm sure this chowder would be good without the bacon (I promised my roommate I'd make some bacon-free for him sometime) if that's your style.

Corn and Scallion Chowder (adapted from Fine Cooking)

6 ears of corn
1 bunch of scallions (5-6 ounces)
4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 jalapeno, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/4 heavy cream

Clean the corn and cut the kernels from the cobs. Reserve two cobs and discard the rest. Finely slice the scallions, keeping the dark green slices separate from the white and light green slices.

In a deep pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy and brown. Remove the bacon pieces from the pot and cool on a paper towel. Drain off the bacon fat, discarding all but 1 Tbsp. Return the pan to medium heat and add the butter to the 1 Tbsp bacon fat. When the butter has melted, add the jalapeno, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the white and light green scallion slices. Stir until the scallions are soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the broth, corn, corn cobs, and potato, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the corn cobs.

With an immersion blender, blend the soup for about 30 seconds, just until it begins to look creamy - you want plenty of chunks left. Alternatively, transfer about 1 cup to a blender and puree before adding back to the rest of the soup. Add the cream and 2/3 of the dark green scallions, and stir until the scallions are wilted. Serve topped with the remaining dark green scallions and the crumbled bacon.

Coolidge Corner Clubhouse, Brookline

Recently, every time I've been in Coolidge Corner with friends, it's been hard to make a decision on where to eat. This place has a long line, that place isn't what we're in the mood for. Somehow, the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse gets suggested and we'll go in because nothing else sounds right. And then I order my favorite chicken sandwich and start berating myself for not thinking of the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse sooner.

The menu at CCC is huge, broken up into salads, grilled chicken, burgers, mixed grill, fajitas... and it keeps going. But the thing I've been ordering lately is the Tom Brady (yes, many of the sandwiches have Boston-based sports names... what do you expect from a "sports pub"?). Grilled chicken with boursin and bacon... sounds like heaven, right? It really is. The chicken is well-cooked and moist, and the boursin is all kinds of garlicky and delicious. The curly fries on the side, which come in a vast heap, are crunchy and fried to perfection. They're also great for cleaning up any boursin that may have escaped the sides of the sandwich.

The chicken sandwiches at CCC are huge and will keep you filled all day. There are many other great sandwiches (and meals, for that matter) on the menu, but I've had a hard time not ordering the Tom Brady.

Creamy Polenta

I cleaned out my pantry this weekend and discovered all kinds of good stuff that I had forgotten about. Behind a giant canister of Quaker oats, I found an unopened bag of polenta. I must have bought it in the fall sometime. I've never cooked polenta before (well, besides the preformed slice-and-serve kind), so I was a little hesitant because I thought it would be hard. But having made it now (both creamy and the harder kind, thanks to a misprint in the recipe I was using), I can pleasantly say that this is easy enough for a weeknight meal when I barely feel like cooking. Plus, it's always good to find a new way to eat one of my favorite combos, arugula and pecorino.

Creamy polenta with arugula and bacon

- 5 cups water
- 1 cup polenta
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 4-6 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 large bunch of arugula (about 1/2 pound), well washed and dried
- shredded pecorino romano
- olive oil

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add polenta in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and add a hefty pinch of salt. Stir frequently to prohibit sticking. The polenta is done when big lava-like bubbles form and the grains are no longer hard. Stir in parmesan and set aside.

In a saute pan, fry bacon on medium heat until the meat is nicely browned. Pour off as much fat as possible, then add arugula and let it wilt. Add a little of the bacon fat back in if it seems too dry.

To serve, heap the polenta on a dish and top with the arugula and bacon mixture. Sprinkle with shredded or shaved pecorino romano and drizzle with olive oil.

Say It, Frenchy! Say "Chowdah!"

It wasn't until this past year, when I dragged my non-pork-eating roommate to Chowderfest, that I realized that most commercially-produced clam chowders contain bacon. Stupid of me? Probably. But I had my reasons.

Growing up, clams skeeved me out. Fried clams from any of the regional clam shacks were traditionally summer food, but the clam bellies were just gross to me - gritty and weirdly salty and not at all appealing. The only way I would eat them - the only way I would trust them - was in my mom's clam chowder. She only makes her chowder about once a year, usually when the whole family is down the Cape, ready to head off for a day at the beach. My mother, who is of the persuasion that soup is not a meal, thinks that something that contains butter, cream, and milk is a perfect food to consume before laying out in the hot sun.

Fortunately, I've gotten past my abhorance of clams - they're still not my favorite, but I'll eat them. I've come to see clam chowder as a showcase for the shellfish, but my mother's clam chowder is still what I consider Clam Chowder. The recipe quite clearly is lacking any bacon, which is why I'm always so confused by bacon-y chowders.

Anyway, although clam chowder is traditionally a summer food in my family, the cold and snowy weather have gotten me in a mood for warm and hearty meals. This was my first stab at the recipe, and I think it measured up to my childhood memories.

Mom's Clam Chowder

1 stick butter
2 white onions, chopped
2 large potatoes, small cubes
3 Tbsp. flour
3 cans minced clams
1 pint heavy cream
2-3 cups whole milk
salt and pepper

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and potatoes and saute until onions are translucent. Stir in flour until incorporated and cook to form a roux. Add clams (including the juice in the cans), cream, and 2 cups of milk and stir. Cover and simmer over low heat until potatoes are soft, about an hour. Add extra milk if you like a thinner broth. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with oyster crackers.

*The title of this post? A salute to Massachusetts' own Quimby family.

Three Magic Ingredients, One (Almost) Great Taste

Last May, Vosges, maker of uniquely flavored chocolates, came out with "Mo's Bacon Bar." The bar uses applewood smoked bacon and Alder wood smoked salt, wrapped in deep milk chocolate. Really, all it took to get me to want to try it was the words "bacon," "salt," and "chocolate" together. It's taken me this long to finally find a bar - Whole Foods finally came through - and I can't say that I'm disappointed... or outright pleased.

Overall, it's tasty and not too different than I imagined. The chocolate is a deep, rich, and very smooth - it would be enjoyable even on its own. The bacon, which texture-wise is like Bac-Os, isn't overpoweringly strong, nor is it a mild afterthought. The salt is quieter, enhancing the meatiness of the bacon and the sugar in the chocolate.

My one issue with the confection, though, is the use of smoked salt. Having two components that issue a rather strong, smoky flavor is a bit too much. Not all bites were very smoky, so perhaps I got one chunk of salt that was overly seasoned, but it still detracted from the chocolate bar. I expect that smokiness from the meat, but not from the other ingredients. A less flavorful salt would, I think, balance the entire thing out a little more.

Will I be buying this again? Probably not for the $8 it set me back. It's good, but the overly-smokiness of some bites turned me off. It would be a fun inclusion in a gift to a fellow foodie, or perhaps as an entry into a Yankee swap, but I can't see myself chowing down on one of these after a hard day at the office.