Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Bradley Gillette

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Bradley Gillette

In keeping with my local Cleveland Bloggers trend as of late, todays guest for Fridays, Feasting with Friends is Bradley Gillette of the ever popular blogs Cleveland Food and Brews and Cleveland Food and Brews- Craft Beers.  Brad's blogs are so much fun!  Not only does he review and talk about all the wonderful food and restaurants in the Cleveland area, but the beers as well!  I always see sites about wine, but not so often about craftbeers.  Brad has made this a wonderful way to learn more about the drink, but also discover events and news surrounding the beer culture.  These events are always a blast, so I highly recommend paging through Brad's site and finding an Up-and-Coming one to attend.  It will definitely be a night to remember!

What is your favorite thing to cook?
I really enjoy cooking steaks on my outdoor grill. If I had my way I would always use charcoal because I think it gives it a better taste than a gas grill.

How about your least favorite thing to cook?
I guess I don’t like cooking things I don’t like to eat. I’m not a fan of rice, so I really don’t like cooking it.

What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
Since starting my blog in September 2010 I have had the pleasure to eat at some of Cleveland’s finest restaurants. It would be very hard to narrow it down to just one so I’ll name a few. The Greenhouse Tavern, Lola, Lolita, AMP150 and Washington Place Bistro and Inn are just a few of the restaurants my fiancée and I have really enjoyed. There are many more reviews listed on my site of amazing Cleveland Restaurants. Two that I’m dying to try are Chinato and Flour.

Brad and Chef Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern

Music and food go together so beautifully. You are hosting a dinner party, what would be on your playlist?
I’m Italian so Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are two of my favorites for a dinner party.

What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
My Mother’s homemade cavatelli and my Grandmothers homemade ravioli and macaroni! It doesn’t get any better than that!

What are you currently reading?
Between reading educational materials for work, my real job is a school teacher, and reading other fabulous Cleveland blogs I have plenty reading to keep me busy!

What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?
I love my little magic bullet blender. It really makes doing small tasks quick and easy.

Do you have a signature go-to dish?
If I had to make a go to dish that is sure to please I would make my spicy mac and cheese!

What is your favorite thing about the Cleveland area?
I love that there are so many great things to do. Sporting events, Metroparks, and of course an amazing culinary scene!

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
I’ve try to recreate my grandmothers sauce but I have not quiet perfected it to taste like she does it! I’ll keep trying though.

Top 3 Movies of all time?
Wow this is a tough question. Field of Dreams, Rocky 1-4, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

What was your happiest moment in life?
Wow…Seeing my niece be born and meeting my fiancée!

Brad and his beautiful fiancée Michaelene

Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Depends…Giant Eagle, Heinen’s, Whole Foods

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
I love Doritos!

Can you tell me about what you are most proud of?
I’m most proud of the fact that I make a difference in the world every day by teaching the youth of America!

Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
I plan on taking some cooking classes with my fiancée. I’d like to learn different techniques and how to combine flavors I might not have thought of using together.

One word that best describes you is: Honest

And now please share a favorite recipe:

I love the spicy mac and cheese recipe I use. I originally got it from Food Network’s Sunny Anderson. I did change it up a bit by altering some portions and adding some things like bacon, chorizo, or prosciutto. I recommend you make it her way at first and then experience with it to tweak it how you like it. Here is how I have it as of now. (This won 2nd place in our work Mac and Cheese Throwdown!)

Spicy Mac and Cheese
2 cups elbow pasta
16 ounces Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
16 ounces pepper jack cheese, cubed
¼- ½ lb Bacon, prosciutto, chorizo (really whatever pork or sausage you like and you can add more or less to taste.)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper depending on how much heat you like.
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
2-quart baking dish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook Pasta to ALMOST al dente and crisp pork or sausage until cooked, be sure not to overcook!
In a large bowl, toss together cooked pasta with the cheese cubes and pan crisped pork/sausage, and pour into the baking dish. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg and sour cream, egg, heavy cream and half-and-half. Pour over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is just golden brown, about 35-45 minutes.

Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Mary Johnson

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Mary Johnson

Today's featured guest on Friday's Feasting with Friends is a fellow Cleveland Area Blogger and new friend, Mary Johnson.  Mary writes the wonderfully fun Mommy blog iNeed a Playdate: After Enlightenment, the Laundry.  Amongst musings about her family, she does products reviews, awesome giveaways, and hosts a few Blog Hops for all of you other bloggers out there.  iNeed a Playdate holds something for just about anyone, so please be sure to give her a visit and then add her to your Reader!   Mary also presented me with that pretty great blogging award over there on the right hand side, The Who to Hang With Award. I am showing it off proudly.  Thanks iNeed a Playdate!!  (Oh, and Mary.... I need that lobster recipe!)

So without further ado, I bring you Mary Johnson!

What is your favorite thing to cook?
It is a toss up between Lobster Tails Thermidor (because it sounds hard but it is not) and quesadillias

How about your least favorite thing to cook?
Fried chicken - I can never tell when it is fully cooked and I am afraid to over cook it so I end up baking it to be sure... so, now, I am an expert at baked fried chicken lol

What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
Melt (of course, I live in Lakewood) and Two Dads Dinner and Wine Bar and... oh wait do you really only want one?!?

The place I would really love to try and haven't gotten a chance to is the Clifton Martini & Wine Bar

Music and food go together so beautifully. You are hosting a dinner party, what would be on your playlist?
I would go with David Gray, Jack Johnson, The Script, Sara Bareilles, Van Morrison, Sheryl Crow and maybe some Train

What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
STEAK! STEAK! and STEAK!

What are you currently reading?
The Songs of the Seraphim by Anne Rice and Good Omens (for the umpteenth time)

What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?
Tongs. Absolutely tongs. So handy for everything including reaching the top shelf where the Husband likes to put my coffee cup lol

Do you have a signature go-to dish?
Lobster Tails Thermidor (I can make it in 30 minuets!)

What is your favorite thing about the Cleveland area?
The skyline, the lake, all the great places to take the kids from museums to parks. The people. The restaurants. All the different cultures. I love Cleveland!

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
Yes, yes I do... canned Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches! Yummy. I sometimes class it up a bit by adding sprouts and/or tomatoes to the sandwich.

Top 3 Movies of all time?
Sliding Doors
Shakespeare in Love
Across the Universe

What was your happiest moment in life?
Every time I see one of the kids or the Husband smile an honest smile. The smile that you catch from the corner of your eye and were not expecting it. Just a pure, honest, "I am glad to be with you" smile.

Where do you do your grocery shopping?
West Side Market for as much as I can especially... Bacha's Produce (veggies), Calabrese Produce (fruit), Pinzone Meats and Meister Foods (cheese). What I can't get there I go to the big box place a block from my house.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
Tiramisu. Nothing tastes better the a good tiramisu. Unless it is a good key lime pie ;)

Can you tell me about what you are most proud of?
Right now... my little hobby aka iNeed a Playdate. It use to be some of the showings I had in my early twenties when I aspired to be a photographer but now... I am content with my day job and writing is creative.

Besides... These crazy mommy bloggers want to feature me and stuff and do interviews so I must be doing something right.

Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
I am trying to be healthy again and in doing so I am trying to get the Husband to be healthy, too. He is a great cook and he has been helping out with the cooking and grocery shopping since our youngest was born. He has also helped me kept the scales from going down lol. So my resolution is to make us all healthy cooks.

One word that best describes you is: Goddess

And a favorite recipe:
Roasted Veggie Soup... a colleague and friend told me how to do make this but I added my own take to it.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Take a variety of veggies that are in season, for me, that means: sweet potatoes, leeks, an apple and acorn squash puree them with your favorite stock and add bacon to it for an extra dimension of yumminess.

1. Cut the acorn squash in half, core and cube the apple and cut the ends off the leeks (after cleaning).
2. Toss the cut veggies and the whole sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet or if you were me, I would use my pampered chef stone brownie pan but... you use what you like ;)
3. Drizzle EVOO all over everything and salt and pepper it all to taste.
4. Roast the veggies at 350 for as long as it takes - usually till the skin pulls away from the potatoes.
5. While they are roasting, fry up some bacon - say a half pound of apple smoked bacon and let cool on a paper towel. I use the pot that the pureed veggies will eventually go into since the flavor and, well, grease from the bacon tastes so good.
6. Once the veggies have roasted and cooled a little (enough that you can handle them) peel off the skins of the squash and potatoes and cut them up.
7. Slowly add veggies and stock to the blender and blend in small batches till smooth.
8. Once all blended, crumble the bacon and add it to the soup.

Thank you again for featuring me on your blog and I loovvvee to read it!

MJ

Bacon and Herb Quinoa

Quinoa, pronounced "keen-wah", is commonly considered a grain, but is actually the seed of the plant and is closely related to spinach and swiss chard- wild huh?!  It is thought to be one of the most "ancient" of all foods, "the gold of the Incas" which provided stamina to the warriors.  This "grain" is incredibly high in protein and is actually considered a "perfect protein" because it includes all 9 of the amino acids.  Making it great for people who suffer from migraines and diabetes.  Since the birth of my oldest son I am a Chronic-Daily-Headache (CDH) sufferer.  Meaning I have gotten a headache every single day for the past 4 years.  I also get a whopping migraine every now and then.  Not fun.  I take beta-blockers which help considerably, but do not rid me of them completely.   I am always looking for other ways to help ease the pain and make them more manageable.  So when I read about eating quinoa to help I thought well why on earth not!  Plus, who isn't looking for something other then rice or potatoes to have with your dinner....  I have only started adding it to my diet so I don't yet know how it will effect my headaches- I will report back in the future with my findings.  Hopefully this little guy will do some magic!

Quinoa has a wonderful nutty flavor, and can be eaten either cold or warm.  I tasted it for the first time over the summer at a wedding shower and really enjoyed it.  This was my first time making it at home.  I found it super simple and was a big hit all around.  Jackson, my four year old even loved it!  Score!


Print this Recipe

Bacon and Herb Quinoa
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (don't skip this step unless your Quinoa states that it has been pre-rinsed)
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock (water my be used instead, but the stock gives a much richer flavor)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
4 scallions, chopped into 1/4-inch lengths
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 strips of bacon, chopped
a few dashes of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and stock; bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until all liquid is absorbed and the grains are translucent, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, pick parsley, oregano and thyme leaves from stems, chop leaves coarsely, and set aside.

Chop bacon into bite sided pieces and saute over medium heat until browned. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. In the same saute pan that you cooked the bacon, remove all but 1 tablespoon of grease and add your onions. Saute until translucent and just beginning to caramelize.

Toss the quinoa with the olive oil, chopped green onions, butter, and chopped herbs and mix until combined. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, top with cooked bacon. Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley and serve.

Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Paul Rados

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Paul Rados

For today's Friday's, Feasting with Friends I want to introduce you to a fellow foodie and blogger Paul Rados.  I first met Paul online through his blog.  I am friends with his girlfriend Lindsay and she suggested I check it out, being a food blogger myself.  I was instantly hooked. He has a fun style to his writing that makes him so great to read.  Not only does Paul blog at Paul Rados: Chef, Writer, Student..., but he is also a contributing writer for yahoo and other online media.  If you pop on over to his blog you can see all of the articles he has contributed (there are links to each one) some great recipes, and just musings about food and life in general.  Its a great addition to your Reader!  When you add in a job as a full time chef here in Cleveland, and also working toward his Dietary Manager Certification- he is one busy boy!  Thanks a lot Paul for taking the time to write for me today, and I am crazy excited about trying out your recipe- wow does it sound amazing!

What is your favorite thing to cook?
Ever since I cooked at the now defunct Bar Symon and learned how simple his famous goat cheese mac & cheese is to prepare I now enjoy various adaptations on this classic American dish. I sometimes do bacon and rosemary, sometimes chorizo with a mixture of cheeses. There is just so much you can do.

How about your least favorite thing to cook?
While I can do it, I absolutely hate cooking fish. I do enjoy eating it, especially deep-fried, on a bun, with tartar sauce!

What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
Hands down my favorite restaurant in Cleveland is Greenhouse Tavern on E. 4th. Chef Sawyer and crew do an outstanding job. As for one I am dying to try… One Red Door in Hudson, although I am not sure when I am going to make it out that way.

Music and food go together so beautifully. You are hosting a dinner party, what would be on your playlist?
I suppose the music would really depend on the menu. That’s a tough call.

What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
I know it sounds odd but I would choose a bologna sandwich. It was one of the only things I ate when I was a kid. I would like to reflect on memories of my childhood if I knew my time was coming to an end.

What are you currently reading?
I am just finishing up Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower.

What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?
I have an unhealthy love affair with my Kitchen Aid mixer. I tend to give Lindsay dirty looks when she asks if she can use it. 9.5 times out of 10 I relent, but am watching her closely.

Do you have a signature go-to dish?
I can whip up a mean puttanesca in a pinch.

What is your favorite thing about the Cleveland area?
I love the fact Cleveland really is a foodie town without all the hype NYC, CHI, and SF get.

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
My mother makes the best meatloaf. It is usually best the next day as a meatloaf sandwich.

Top 3 Movies of all time?
Elizabethtown, Just Like Heaven, Inception

What was your happiest moment in life?
It’s in the works!

Paul and his lovely girlfriend Lindsay

Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Mostly Giant Eagle in Rocky River with some Heinen’s and West Side Market thrown in.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
Cheese, hands down. Bacon is a close second.

Can you tell me about what you are most proud of?
I have been publishing a lot of online articles on various websites in the last few months.

Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
I would love to get my recipes organized instead of the chaotic state they are in now.

One word that best describes you is: Focused

Bacon and Granny Smith Apple Bread Pudding
1 qt milk
1 qt cream
1 pound brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 qt chopped bread

diced maple bacon (about half to 3/4 cup)
pealed granny smith apples, diced small (about 2 cups)

-mix wet, add bread, soak overnight
-add apple (about 1/4 c) and bacon (about 1 tbs) to bottom of restaurant sized soup CUP or other similar sized container
-cover with soaked bread pudding mixture and bake at 325 for around 35 min.
-finish with drizzle of heavy cream at service

Loaded Potato Soup

For Christmas this year, my sister got me something that I have wanted for a very, very long time- a Dutch Oven.  This is a type of cookware, either cast iron or aluminum, that produces a wonderful slow cooked, one pot meal.  These are very widely used while camping, but have also become quite popular in indoor cooking as well.  The great thing about them is that they can go from the stove top to directly into your oven to complete cooking.  They are also very commonly used over an open fire, which make them ideal for camping or other outdoor cooking.  You can saute, roast, grill and even bake a cake in a dutch oven!  They are such a versatile cookware, I have been dying to have one to play around with.  So first of all, thank you so much Bonnie!  This thing is going to get a lot of use!

This evening I decided to give this a whirl with a nice homey classic- Potato Soup.  You of course don't need a dutch oven to make this soup.  A stock pot works just fine.  Having a three and a half year old, you have to make food fun.  So I like to serve this with all the toppings on the side so Jackson can add in as much bacon and cheese as he likes.  It gets him involved and will then be more likely to enjoy eating!  I like to serve this along with nice bread for sopping up all the yummy goodness.  It would also be wonderful served right inside a bread bowl.  Yum!  

Loaded Potato Soup
4 strips of bacon
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
4 cups chopped and peeled potatoes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cups milk (I used almond milk to make it a bit healthier, but any milk you have will work)
cheddar cheese, shredded for garnish
4 scallions, sliced

In a dutch oven or a 5 to 6 quart stock pot, fry bacon over medium heat until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Once cool, crumble and set aside for garnish.  Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the dutch oven.  Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan drippings and saute until soft but not brown. Add the potatoes and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Cool slightly. I like a chunky soup so I reserved 2 cups of the potato mixture and set aside. We will add these back in later on. Blend remaining potato mixture until smooth. If you don't care for chunks in your soup, puree the entire mixture. This will make more of a cream of potato soup this way.

Stir together the flour and butter to make a roux. Add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Carefully add back both of the potato mixture's to the milk. Season with salt, pepper and paprika and simmer until heated through.

Top with the shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and sliced scallions. Serve with nice crusty bread to wipe your bowl clean. Enjoy!

*pardon my icky pictures.  My camera's LCD screen broke over Christmas, so I can't see what it is I am photographing or play around with any of my settings.  I just have to guess at what I am taking a picture of and hope for the best!  Thankfully I have a fun new DSLR camera on the way- I can not wait! 

Bacon and Cheese Quiche

As promised, here is another recipe from our last Girls Dinner night.  I already posted my Oven-Baked French Toast and now here is Bonnie's wonderful Bacon and Cheese Quiche.  I love, love egg bakes.  They are pretty simple, always look beautiful served for a brunch, and just by switching around some ingredients you have a very different tasting one each time.  Bonnie's recipe is classic, creamy, and the absolute perfect meal to make the next time you are entertaining friends.  

Bacon and Cheese Quiche
1 9 in. Pillsbury pie crust
1 T. butter
12 bacon slices, crumbled
1 bag mixed cheese
4 eggs
2 C. heavy cream
3/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread crust into pie plate or quiche plate. Spread crust with butter. Sprinkle bacon and cheese on crust. Beat eggs w/ rest of ingredients. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes. Turn down to 325 degrees and bake 40 more min. Let stand 10 min.

BLT Dip

Last weekend Scott and I got to enjoy a grown up night out at our friends Bonnie and Jimmy's house for a BBQ.  It was great fun, filled with lots of laughs and wonderful friends.  Oh and LOTS of delicious food!  There were quite a few recipes that really stood out and I am going to share one of them today.  It is Dawn's BLT Dip.  Yes, it is really as awesome as it sounds.  Tomatoes, Bacon, a bit of mayo all mixed together to make the perfect bite in your mouth.  Yum!

I had a graduation party to attend yesterday so I thought this would be the perfect appetizer to bring along.   Scott and I both decided that this would also make a delicious spread on a Turkey Wrap with a bit of lettuce and cheese.  My mouth is watering as I type this.... so let's hurry onto the recipe!

BLT Dip
1 c real mayo (I used Light, couldn't tell one bit)
1 c sour cream (Light here again...)
3-4 tomatoes (I used one pint of cherry tomatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks.  I didn't bother deseeding these)
1 lb bacon
French bread, sliced into 1/2 inch slices and then quartered

Combine the mayo and sour cream until well blended.  Cook bacon until nice and crispy. De-seed tomatoes if not using cherry or grape. Chop the tomatoes and bacon, mix into the sour cream/mayo mixture. Slice french bread for dipping.  Serve chilled.

Angel Hair with Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon and Green Onions

One of my most favorite things about summer time is the wonderful bounty I get to reap the benefits of from my parents amazing vegetable garden.  There really isn't much better then vegetable's that come straight out of the dirt and go directly into your kitchen.  This evening at dinner I found myself the proud owner of big, beautiful green onions.

Oh how I love green onions!  I can eat them any way... raw dipped in salt, scrambled in eggs, sliced into large sections and sauteed with stir fries,  grilled, I could go on and on.  So, when I say proud owner- I mean it!

As much as I love onions, I HATE canned tomatoes- that is unless they are canned by my mom or they are high quality San Marzano's.  But my dad told me about this product he stumbled across at Marc's.  They are Italian cherry tomatoes canned in their own sauce by the company Rienzi.  Both him and my mom have raved about how good they were, so the last time I was at Marc's I snagged some up.  They are also available in Picante style, so be watchful- they will be much spicier!  Delicious, but a bit of a different taste.

So tonight I was thinking pasta.  A simple homemade sauce made from these beautiful green onions, I'd give the tomatoes a whirl, a little garlic, herbs from my garden and some bacon for good measure. The outcome was wonderful!  The tomatoes tasted very fresh and are very plump and juicy- not at all what you would expect from these canned little guys.  I will most certainly be buying them again.  A definite new pantry staple.  Yum! Thanks Mom and Dad for the recommendation!

Capellini with Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon and Green Onions

Half a box Capellini Pasta (Angel Hair), cooked al dente (7-8 minutes)
4 strips Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, cooked and set to drain on paper towels, chopped
2-4 green onions (depending on size), both green and white parts chopped
half yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets 
2 garlic cloves, minced
a nice bunch fresh herbs; Basil, Italian Parsley, and Oregano, Chiffonade (cut into long thin strips)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Saute the yellow onion in the olive oil until translucent.  Add the green onion and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, but still colorful.  Carefully pour in the tomatoes, with the sauce and add the broccoli.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the fresh herbs, reserving some basil for garnish.  Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.  Add bacon, toss with pasta and top each serving with the reserved basil and fresh  parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.  

Baked Eggs

Creamy, dippy, and oh so lovely to look at.  This is a charming way to change up breakfast in your home.  

4 eggs (two for each ramekin)
1 tablespoon cream or half and half
1/2 teaspoon butter
freshly grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
2 slices bacon, lightly cooked

Preheat oven to 375.  In a teakettle, boil water to fill your baking dish. You are going to cook these in a water bath so the eggs cook more evenly throughout.  So you want to line a baking dish with a folded paper towel (so the ramekins don't slide around and also so they don't sit directly on the hot dish).  Butter the ramekins and season with salt and paper, place inside baking dish.  Fill each ramekin with 1/2 tablespoon cream.  When water boils, carefully pour the water into the baking dish so it comes up half the sides of the ramekins.  Place baking dish in the oven and cook until the cream starts to bubble a bit.  Remove dish from oven and coil your bacon around the sides of the ramekins.  (This is how my recipe suggests, but after eating this I think I would crumble the bacon on the bottom of the dish instead.  Once they were cooked it was a little tricky cutting the bacon with your fork.  You almost needed a knife). Very carefully crack your eggs into the ramekins, season with a little more salt and pepper, top with remaining cream a small dollop of butter and grated parmesan cheese.  Place back in the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the egg is opaque bit still jiggles slightly in the ramekin.  The egg will continue to cook once they are removed from the oven, so be careful not to overcook.  Serve with toast so you can sop up the creamy-wonderfulness of the eggs.

Cooking Note:
Today when I made these, I didn't have any half and half on hand nor real butter. So I tried them out using 1% milk and margarine.  And guess what, they were wonderful!  Sure they weren't quite as rich then if I used the full fat options.  But they were still completely creamy and delicious- and now a wonderful low fat recipe!  Awesome discovery!


**pay no attention to the tiny red dot on my egg.  It wasn't a bad egg, but merely a dot of food coloring.  I somehow got a dot of it in my butter when I made the cornflake cookies.  I have issues with food coloring.  I can never seem to keep it where it supposed to go, but instead on my fingers, countertop and now my butter.  

My Love for Brussels Sprouts or How My Mom Was Right

"Try it, you'll like it!"  How often have you heard that phrase in your life?  Millions of times for me!  Not only did we have to give new things a taste- we couldn't get up from the table until we at least ate our mandatory spoonful.   I was a pretty stubborn kid, and there were many nights I would be sitting alone at the dinner table swearing I would never eat those positively horrible {fill in the blanks}.  This drove my sister Bonnie absolutely crazy.  For you see she could also not go talk on the phone with her girlfriends or watch TV until she had washed all the dishes (which she couldn't finish until I finished my spoonful)!  I was so stubborn that Bonnie would often end up eating my share just so she could get the dishes done faster! (Thank you Bonnie!)

But I wasn't like this forever.  I promise.  The older I got the wider my tastes got.  There weren't many things I truly disliked- except that is for Brussels Sprouts and Asparagus.  I honestly couldn't understand why people would actually choose to eat these gross things!  Especially Brussels Sprouts.  Yuck.  Well it turns out that Scott actually loves these weird little cabbages.  As a matter of fact he claims they are one of his favorite vegetables.  My initial thought was "Seriously?!"  But being the good wife that I am, I decided to go on a hunt to find a new recipe that I might be able to at least choke down my mandatory spoonful while leaving the rest for him to finish himself.

Rachael Ray to the rescue!  She has a recipe that sauteed the Brussels Sprouts in bacon with shallots- OK, doesn't everything taste better with bacon?  We gave it a try and OH. My. GOODNESS. These babies are heaven!  Not only did I eat my mandatory spoonful- but I think I was actually fighting with Scott to make sure he didn't get more on his plate then I did.  Who would have thunk it?!  These are a huge crowd pleaser, and are never a disappointment.  Mom I have to say, once in my life I think I actually have a recipe for something better then yours.  Don't worry though, I don't see myself saying this again!  Since my Brussels Sprouts Epiphany I have tried out a few other recipes, but these remain our absolute favorite!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Last night we served these as a side dish to a filet and shrimp.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 shallot, chopped
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved
Salt and pepper, to your taste
1 cup chicken broth

Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.  Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan, 1 turn. Add shallots to the pan and saute 1 to 2 minutes.  Add Brussels spouts and coat in oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook Brussels sprouts 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften, then add broth.  Bring broth to a bubble, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, until tender.*  Transfer sprouts to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and top with cooked bacon bits.

*A variation of this is too add dried cranberries to the pan to plump them up while the Brussels Sprouts are getting tender.  I have never tried it this way, only because I don't tend to have cranberries on hand.  But it sounds yummy.  If you happen to try this, please let me know how it tastes!

"Life expectancy would grow in leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." ~Doug Larson