YET MOAR BAYKUN!

Hey, I'm back already!

In case you haven't already guessed, I get a pretty puffed chest when I make my own bacon from scratch, as described in this post.

Now, as time goes on and I keep having fun with this specific form of curing/smoking, I find a need to stretch my creative wings and experiment a little with ingredients and flavours. My first attempt was already going beyond the 'normal' salt and sugar cure by using a smattering of Sriracha salt. Later attempts threw in maple syrup, Steak Spice and Thai Spice Rub.

But last week, I think I may have truly broken through the creative barrier of bacon making. I'm not sure where the idea came from, maybe from the need to look for other sources of sweetness than sugar and maple syrup, maybe because it's one of my favourite new experimental flavours. But it hit me like a bolt: VANILLA BACON!!!!!!!

I had the pork belly sitting in the fridge, ready for some salty-sugary love. So, all I had to do was come up with how to get the cure together. Well, it wasn't really complicated:

Spicy Vanilla Bacon Cure (for about 1 lb of pork belly)
- 1/3 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- (at least!) 1 tsp berbere spice (or some other source of spiciness)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp high quality vanilla extract

- Stir all ingredients together with a fork and coat meat well with cure.



Getting the cure going

 
I left it in the fridge for about a week, tossing in a bit more salt and sugar on the last day.

When ready for smoking, I washed off the remaining cure, dried the bacon with paper towel, and smoked it for 3 hours with mesquite charcoal and pecan wood chips for smoke.



Freshly smoked! Mmmm, vanilla...

Now, like any good cook, I had to sample the wares, so I sliced off four small pieces (nice and thick!) and fried them up, put 'em on toast, spread some mayo, took a picture, added some tomato, and lunch was served!


Tasty lunch!



The verdict? The boozy, fragrant quality of the vanilla was definitely apparent and totally delicious, if a little understated. I'd have liked it to be more pronounced. Maybe I'll try a combo of curing with salt and sugar, and injecting vanilla right into the meat (still need to get into that whole 'injecting' style of prepping meat for smoking). The spicy element of the berbere really didn't come through very well, I'll use more next time. But, it's still tasty, tasty, TASTY bacon!

How much more fun will I engage in as part of my explorations into unique forms of bacon? I will definitely keep you posted!

Cheers!

Burger Time! - Part 1 - The Basics

Hi there!

So, I was thinking about burgers, as one is wont to do when they're not a weirdo,  and I thought I'd write a little post about them. And then the ideas started coming about all the different facets about this ubiquitous food item and I realized there was way more than just one post worth of writing on the subject. So, I'll write three! This first post will deal with the basics of making burgers, the second will deal with where one can find a good burger in Ottawa (and elsewhere), and the third will deal with how the hamburger can become the canvas upon which one creates the ridiculous and the insane.

So let's get to it!

Ah, the noble hamburger... Next to booze, it's the second most important cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. Scourge of vegetarians, foundation of the modern food economy and inspiration for an 80s video game (hence the title), hamburgers are pretty much the most common prepared food item in North America. And this has had some serious consequences on how we see food.

The rise of fast food has changed farming, butchery and even the global environment, and all to ensure we have a hamburger joint on every street corner. It's disconcerting to say the least that swathes of the Amazon rain forest are being razed daily just to provide pastures for cows that'll become the centrepiece of a few hundred "Happy Meals". And let's not even get started on the whole feedlot system...

But that doesn't mean I don't love me a good burger!

Seriously, there's nothing that conjures up the "sensual profile" of Summer more than a burger hot off the grill at a family BBQ, dripping juice and condiments down your arm. The main difference between this kind of burger and the McHockeyPuck burger is, of course, love. Well, that and making the burger as it should be: thick and with very little filler.

Now, making a burger that thrills and isn't just a vehicle for bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce and mayo is not an easy feat. First of all, ground beef can be a little bland and can get really dry if overcooked or too lean. I try to stick with using either medium or lean ground beef when making burgers, extra-lean just makes for a dry crumbly patty. So keep the right kind of ground beef in mind, low-fat diet be damned!

You also need to season your burger. I know purists out there will say that all you need to make a good burger patty is some salt and pepper. I respectfully disagree. A burger worth remembering for itself will have something unique about it. I usually throw in salt and pepper, a little minced fresh garlic (about a teaspoon per pound of meat) and some Montreal Steak Spice. Some people add eggs, some people swear by dry onion soup mix. It's really a matter of taste.

So, what's the basic process for making a burger patty? Throw your meat in a large bowl, add your seasoning, mix everything well with your hands (wear gloves if you're squeamish about touching raw meat, because there's really no way to make a patty without using your hands), roll into a ball, and flatten into the desired shape and thickness. Now, it should be noted that the burger recipe book I'll be discussing shortly recommends pressing your thumb lightly (1 centimetre deep) into the middle of the patty to ensure even cooking. Depending on how ready you are to cook the burgers, put the patties in the fridge until ready to cook or throw them on the fire right away!

Now, I'm not sure if there's anyone out there who believes that a fried burger is better than a grilled one, but if there is... SMACK! What the hell, dude???? 'fried is better than grilled'... Jeeeeeeeeez... But, in situations where grilling isn't possible (which should be rare; if you don't have access to an outside grill, you can always use one of those electric "George Foreman"-style grills), I recommend frying the burger in a cast iron pan.

So, what's the best way to cook a burger? Well first, you want high heat on your grill, somewhere around 400 degrees. Essentially, you want to grill the burger for about 7-8 minutes per side, making sure it's not pink in the middle (unless you like medium rare burgers, which need about 5 minutes, but to me that's asking for a tummy ache). Try to flip or otherwise manipulate the burger as little as possible. The more you play with your meat, the more juice you'll lose... aaaaand now I have the sense of humour of a 12-year old... Usually once the burgers are cooked, I set them aside on a cooler part of the grill to keep warm, then heat and slightly toast the buns over the grill. That's about it. What comes next is whatever you feel like topping them with. I'm usually happy with BBQ sauce and mayo, maybe a pickle and some tomato, but there's no end to the toppings you can choose.

When you're getting a bit bored of the "tried and true" burger seasoning you've always used, it helps to look elsewhere for inspiration when your culinary muscles aren't flexing as well as they should. With this in mind, we turn to a little gem of a cookbook I was able to procure last year for 5 dollars. Sally Sampson's Recipe of the Week: Burgers is pretty much what the title says: 52 different burger recipes. I've made a few of them and they all turned out pretty well, mostly because I stuck with the simpler ones, I'll wager.





Damn useful resource for 5 bucks!



Here are a couple of the recipes from the book, simplified for the sake of bloggish simplicity.

First there's a basic burger with just a few alterations, namely the inclusion of chipotle peppers. I pretty much followed this recipe to the letter.

Chipotle and Scallion Burgers    

Makes 4 burgers, about 1/3 pound each. For smaller burgers (1/4 pound), use less meat!


Ingredients

- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (medium or lean)

- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp scallions (green onion), both white and green parts, minced
- 1 tbsp canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 lime wedges

Directions

- Place beef, garlic, scallions and chipotle in a large bowl and mix well with hands, and form into 3/4 inch thick patties, making an indentation as described earlier.

- Season patties with salt and pepper and grill or fry as indicate earlier.
- Serve on warmed buns with lime wedges.



One of the first recipes we tried and it worked great!



Next, there's the recipe pictured above, which omits the use of buns altogether, instead using lettuce as the delivery mechanism for meaty goodness. I'm presenting the version I actually made, but the basic inspiration is still from Ms. Sampson's book.

Asian Beef Burgers with Ginger and Cilantro

Makes 4 burgers, about 1/3 pound each. For smaller burgers (1/4 pound), use less meat!

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (medium or lean)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 tbsp chopped ginger (fresh)

- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 chili oil or Sriracha sauce (the original recipe calls for 1 tbsp of hot sesame oil, which I've never encountered, so I used a mix of "regular" sesame oil and Sriracha)
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 large leaves of butter (Boston) lettuce

Directions

- Mix all ingredients except salt in a large bowl with hands and form into 3/4 inch thick patties, making an indentation as described earlier.
- Season patties with salt and grill or fry as indicated earlier.
- Serve each patty on a leaf of lettuce.


Alright, so that's part one of our exploration of the noble hamburger. Next, we take to the streets in search of the best burgers made by other people, from the lowly "value menu" to some more high-end fare.

'Til then, NOM THAT BURG!

Cheers!

Authenticity and Approximation

Howdy!

People all have their personal favourites when it comes to flavour profiles. For some, it's the sour tang of a dill pickle, or the salty richness of cheese curds, or the clean sweetness of a really good vanilla ice cream.

For Kari, one of them is the always popular Thai-style Satay chicken with peanut sauce. Satay basically means meat on a skewer, rather than the peanut sauce itself (which is something wikipedia JUST taught me). But due to the popularity of the sauce that goes with the meat-on-a-stick, it's generally just called Satay.

Anyhoo, it was my night to cook and Kari wanted the Satay Chicken w. Peanut Sauce goodness. Easy enough, right? Well, as it turns out, there is almost never an exact universal version of some recipes or standards in the food biz. Maybe basic poutine (fries, curds, gravy), but not much else. And God help you if you try to find THE authentic recipe for something, because every household, from Vietnam to Vermont, has "THEIR" version of the local standard and while they all have similarities, none are usually the same. So, finding the "authentic" version of anything can be a snipe hunt.

And this is why I personally scoff at the notion of "authentic" cuisine. Frak authentic, give me TASTY!!! Perfect example: I was talking to a buddy about BBQ in Ottawa and how it compares to his buddy's in Georgia. And, as it turns out, the "authentic" Georgian way is little seasoning on the meat, all flavour comes from an array of BBQ sauces (which is completely different from the other BBQ styles that I tend to emulate, but you get my point). If I personally think I can make something better than the "authentic" version, I'm gonna give tradition the two-fingered salute and forge ahead. In the case of BBQ, make both rub and sauce as flavourful and complimentary as possible and you can't go wrong.

Another example: a colleague of Mexican descent once lamented to me about the use of tomatoes in guacamole being "blasphemous", which I think is ridiculous. Tomatoes are delicious and compliment avocado perfectly!

So, all this to say, when I started looking at different recipes for the "traditional" peanut sauce, I figured the only way to go was make it my own and *approximate* the flavour profile as best I could. This, to me, is pretty much the essence of good cooking and the greatest challenge. It isn't a recipe that's going to make something taste the way it "should", it's your palette as a cook. If it's supposed to taste bland or safe or who-knows-what, then change it!

So, that's what I did. Most recipes I saw called for the use of peanut butter, chillies and a variety of spices. I had a vision of coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste, Sriracha and lime juice. Luckily, someone else in Internet land was able to confirm that I was able to confirm that I was on the right track:  http://shesimmers.com/2009/03/how-to-make-thai-peanut-sauce-my-moms.html

Now, since it's me, I did not adhere to the above recipe exactly. I never do, it's just not my style (with some exceptions, like Doomsday Bars). Also, instead of making it a dipping sauce, I thought it might be fun to make it a marinade for the chicken. So I did! Here's how:

"Satay" Chicken

Serves 2-4, depending on appetite

- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) skinless, boneless chicken. I go with chicken thighs usually, mainly because they have more flavour and are much cheaper than breast.

Marinade

- 1 400 ml (14 oz.) can coconut milk (just under 2 cups)
- 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
- 1 tbsp red curry paste (I used store-bought stuff, but it's always better to make your own if you can)
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger or galangal




Piecing together the marinade

- Whisk all ingredients together. Place chicken in a zipper bag with marinade and toss to ensure marinade covers all the chicken. Let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Marinate, my pretties, marinate!

- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Grill chicken for about 6-8 minutes per side, turning once, until cooked through. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the meat. If you're cooking a large breast, it'll take longer.

Now, all good protein needs a side. In this case I whipped up an Asian-style slaw using cabbage and mango:

Asian Mango Slaw

Serves 4, at least

Dressing

- 4 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- juice of 1/2 lime (and some zest if you like)
- 3-4 drops of fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
- pinch smoked paprika

- Whisk ingredients together in non-reactive bowl and let sit in fridge while you make the Slaw.

Slaw

- 1/2 white or Napa cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 red cabbage, shredded
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 mango, diced
- 2 green onions, trimmed and finely sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

- Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in Dressing and serve.

Tasty vegetative goodness!

And there's one man's approximation of a Thai feast!

Tadaaaaaaaa!

And you'll notice nowhere is there a dipping sauce! Crazy!

Enjoy!

A Toast to my Hometown's Better (and Newer) Eateries - Union: Local 613



I sometimes think that I was born under the astrological sign of "Lucky-ass Foodie" (with it's cusp in Venus of somesuch silliness). It was just a random Tuesday (that I happened to have off work) when I got an email from Kari showing that there's a new restaurant in town with some pretty intriguing menu choices direction. At least their Web site made it seem that way.

That restaurant is Union 613 and we just happened to show up on opening night, July 17. Their "vision" is "an Ottawa take on Southern hospitality" with a lot of interesting-looking takes on some of my favourite food. If you can get Southern food right, you'll make me a happy man!




The paint's barely dry!

 

Now, there was talk of the place being mainly "communal seating", but Kari and I were given a booth to ourselves. Admittedly it was pretty late on a school night, so the place had died down somewhat. But there was still a good crowd and you could see the owners were still feeling some opening night pressure.

Luckily, our server didn't seem too affected. He was a really friendly guy who took very good care of us. I'll be damned if a month later I can remember his name.



The decor was pretty cool with a lot of old pipes and an oddly industrial-yet-homey aesthetic. The drink-in-mason-jars was a nice touch too... But what mattered most, as with all restaurants I eat in, was the food.



 Mason jar of beer = claaaaaaassy!



Well, as a kind of complimentary starter, they provide you with a small dish of Boiled Peanuts. Basically, imagine your standard peanut in the shell, boiled. They're tasty, but a little weird in texture.

As we snacked on the nuts, we perused the menu. It's one of those ever-changing menus, so don't let the Web site fool you. There's a good chance what they have listed on there might be different from one night to the next. That being said, I'm sure there'll be some items that stay on all the time, like their "Yard Bird" (more on that later). The menu's divided into Snacks, Appetizers, Mains and Sides, but how they served it was the Snacks and/or Appetizers first, then everything else at once on a giant platter (actually, a baking sheet lined with butcher paper, which was kind of awesome).

So, first off was our Snack, and I couldn't freaking believe one of the items that was on the menu. If you've ever owned a dog, you know that Pig Ears are a treat for your pooch. So why they're on the menu of a hip new resto? Beats me, but you can bet your arse I was trying them! They came with a homemade Thousand Island Dressing that was super-tasty (lots of relish or pickles in it) and were AMAZING! Basically they had the flavour profile of bacon, but with a bit more crackle and firmness in the bite, almost like a potato chip. They were devoured in less than 5 minutes...



Pig Ears! Not just for dogs any more!



Next was time to order our Mains and Sides. Since we were sharing, Kari and I had to figure it all out together. There were a couple of sides we each insisted on getting (her the Cheddar and Roasted Garlic Grits, me the Lobster Macaroni Salad). We also figured we should get the Cornbread, because, well, Cornbread is kind of super-awesome goodness! And it came with Bourbon Brown Butter!As for the Mains, we decided we needed to try the "Yard Bird" (which is a Southern/Soul Food term for chicken, in this case, Fried Chicken) which comes with their in-house Pepper Vinegar. We weren't sure what else to try but they had a nightly pork special (Tenderloin cut in medallions with Tomato Gravy, I believe, but don't quote me on that) so we gave that a shot.

So how was it all? Well, there were some highlights and some disappointments. The Macaroni Salad was oddly disappointing in that it tasted EXACTLY like the Macaroni Salad we'd get with a bucket of KFC back in 1983, but with chunks of lobster in it (which itself was succulent). If that's what the chef was aiming for, he got it spot on. I personally was hoping for something more unique. The "Pork du jour" was slightly disappointing in that it had a bit of an overcharred quality on the outside (the inside, however, was moist and perfect) and it was WAY overpriced (20$ for three small-sized pieces). The Tomato Gravy that topped it was really good though. The Grits were good, but not my favourite. I found them a bit heavy. Kari, on the other hand, was in love, so it was a good choice. The Yard Bird was EXCELLENT! Moist and flavourful on the inside, crunchy and sizzling on the outside and not drowning in its own seasoning. Basically the way Fried Chicken should be. It came with the Pepper Vinegar, which was basically a better tasting ode to traditional Tabasco Sauce. The combination was pure Soul Food heaven. But what I enjoyed the most by far (well, after the Pig Ears) was the Corn Bread. The Bourbon Brown Butter on top helped it achieve a kind of decadent pudding-like quality. It was rich and delicious and buttery and just pure tastebuds-a-dancin' perfection!

 

 


Where to begin!?!? Clockwise from top left: Lobster Macaroni Salad, Cheddar and Roasted Garlic Grits, Cornbread with Bourbon Brown Butter, Pepper Vinegar, Yard Bird, Pork du jour with Tomato Gravy




Union's Pepper Vinegar, a homemade version of Tabasco Sauce


And that was that! The bill was fairly reasonable (just a little bit over 100 dollars for two people, including the food, two drinks each and tip), the food really good and the atmosphere a perfect combination of trendy and welcoming, with a very cool decor. I foresaw good things after this first visit and the subsequent reviews I've read seem to agree. All things considered, the quality of our meal and lack of major boo-boos for opening night demonstrated to me that they have a good thing going at Union 613.

Now I just need to try their lunch!


UPDATE: We went back last night (August 24) and indulged in some Bourbon Lemonade (probably the reason my head hurts today), Devilled Eggs (WITH BACON! GENIUS!) and Chicken Liver Mousse (totally like Grandmaman used to make, but with grilled peaches on the side!). Kari had Beef Brisket for her main and I had their Crawfish Boil (!!!!!). I got about halfway through before tossing in the towel and getting the rest to go... I foresee making a crawfish stock in the future. We also indulged in their Corn Bread (missing the Bourbon Brown Butter, major bummer) and Coleslaw, which was excellent (dill in slaw? Who knew?). The plating was more traditional, with everything coming on its own plate. Whether the "baking sheet" presentation is still around on request, I don't know. I hope so!
 Cheers!

MOAR BACON!

Hi there!

Alright, alright, I'll admit it, bacon is pretty much the most popular food in the world, at least it is definitely so online - it's all-frakking-pervasive. It's been written about ad nauseum and used in crazy, over the top food creations featured on Web sites like Epic Meal Time and the former This Is Why You're Fat, it's been the bane of vegetarians everywhere (seriously, it's the only meat product I know that hardcore vegetarians and vegans ever express missing), and it's probably making an entire generation of girlfriends a little crazy hearing odes to cured pork from their significant others...

Now, that being said, it's one thing to spout on and on about the stuff you buy at the store, it's quite another to talk about bacon made in your smoker and all its neat applications! As I've demonstrated before, I can make my own bacon from scratch *puffs out chest* and I like to do it once or twice a month. What can I say? Almost everything you make yourself tastes better!

An intrinsic quality of bacon (and really, any similarly cured/smoked/dried pork product like pancetta, prosciutto, speck and many others) is its versatility. Bacon is used in any the day's meals, at any time of the day and can be included in all courses, even dessert. Ever have Candied Bacon on a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream? Neither have I, but I betcha THAT is a dessert worthy of remembrance. (Note to self, make Candied Bacon. SOON!)

So, in order to celebrate the versatile goodness of our favourite pork product, I present to you three different applications that I put together using a slab of home-smoked bacon.


Application 1 - Spinach Salad w. Bacon, Strawberries and Maitake Mushrooms

One way to eat bacon that's a little more healthy than a plate full of strips is to add it to a salad. And a "traditional" application is in a Spinach Salad. Now, back in my salad days (i.e. when I was a salad cook), Spinach Salad was a mix of spinach, walnuts, sliced white mushrooms, strawberries, bacon bits and a raspberry vinaigrette. My version is similar, using Maitake mushrooms, pecans instead of walnuts and adding Parmesan cheese over top.

My dressing was a combination of blueberries (1/2 cup), balsamic vinegar (3 tbsp), olive oil (3 tbsp), salt and pepper (to taste), smoked paprika (pinch), lime juice (2 tsp) and lime zest (1 tsp). I just tossed it all in a food processor and that was that!

Spinach Salad

Application 2 - Bacon-Poblano Butter

Compound butters are a really neat way to express your culinary creativity and they're quite easy to make. Normally, a compound butter is a mix of butter and other ingredients, such as herbs and wine, that is then refrigerated, cut into rounds and goes on top of a steak. In this case, I broke from tradition and kept the butter soft so we could spread on some delicious Bread and Sons Sourdough Baguette. So here's how it was made:

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp cooked bacon, minced
- 2 tbsp smoked or roasted poblano pepper, minced (to smoke poblano, coat in oil and smoke at 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-3 hours, until flesh has softened and skin can be peeled with ease. You can roast the poblano in the oven at the same heat for the same time or increase to shorten cooking time, but you'll have to watch to ensure there are no flare-ups from the oil)
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- salt and pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt, enough comes from the bacon)
- 2 tsp cilantro, minced (optional)

- Mix all ingredients together with a fork or in a food processor until well-blended.
- Spread on warmed bread

Bread and Bacon-Poblano Butter

Application 3 - Bacon Nachos

Now, one final awesome aspect of bacon is its ability to, if you're brave enough, be used substitute for ground meat. At least one restaurant chain has used ground bacon to make a hamburger. Ow, my arteries. But I do think a smattering of uncooked bacon mixed into the ground beef used in a burger would be an excellent touch. I'll have to put that on the to-do list...

In the meanwhile, I was somewhat obsessed with the next item in our bacon-o-rama: Bacon Nachos. It's no secret that I'm a HUGE pro wrestling fan and there's really no better way to enjoy freakishly large people pretending to beat each other up than with nachos and beer. So, it was Monday night, time for WWE Raw, and I wanted me some Bacon Nachos, goddammit!

Only problem was that there was no salsa in the house. Not to worry though! I made my own! Now, the following is a quick, in-a-pinch recipe for what I call "Pan Salsa" and it really only makes enough to one decent baking sheet full of nachos (a little over a cup). If you're looking for a more prolific salsa recipe, move along...

Pan Salsa

This is a fairly mild salsa suitable for just about all but the wimpiest of palettes for spice.

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 small onion, diced

- 2-3 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, diced (I prefer red)
- 1 tsp chili powder (I used a home made mix of powdered arbol and guajillo chilis, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika)
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tsp tomato paste (optional - if you like a thicker salsa)
- 2 tsp fresh cilantro (optional)

- Heat oil in a small saucepan on medium-high heat and sauté onions and garlic.
- Add tomatoes, pepper, seasoning and vinegar (and paste if using). Stir together and let come to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, if using.

OK, moving on, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for, BACON NACHOS!!!!!!

Ingredients

- 4-5 strips of cooked bacon, minced into "bits" size (add more if you like, be my guest!)
- 1 300g bag of tortilla chips (I like to use Neal Brothers Organic Blue Corn)
- 1 batch Pan Salsa (see above)
- 1 cup each grated Monterey Jack and Extra Old Cheddar cheeses
- 1 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
- hot sauce to taste

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Set out a layer of tortilla chips (don't feel compelled to use the whole bag, I never do).
- Spoon salsa over chips, then spread bacon out evenly across chips.
- Top with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes, until top of cheese starts to turn golden brown.
- Serve how you like (on plates, on the baking sheet, whatever) and top with as much hot sauce and cilantro as you like.

Bacon Nachos. 'nuff said

 So, there you go, just a few ideas on how to get your bacon fix outside the same ol' BLT or bacon n' eggs.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Not Your Average Sandwich - GRILLED CHEESE!!!!

Let's face it, it's hard not to like a sandwich. A good sandwich often incorporates your four basic food groups and even the simple Peanut Butter and Jam has three of them (OK, well, maybe jam isn't exactly fruit, but it's close!). They're quick, easy to make and easy to make tasty! Sure, they can get pretty complicated, but simplicity is usually the name of the sandwich game.

There is, however, one variation of the sandwich that's maybe a bit more complicated than slapping some meat and bread together but might be the pinnacle of comfort food and is probably one of the first things we ever cooked as children using heat. I'm talking, of course, about the Grilled Cheese sandwich (I'll ignore that any suspense about that fact was ruined by the post's title).

I find it funny how we've tried to 'pretty up' the grilled cheese by using fancy machines and calling it a "panini" (just teasing, I know paninis aren't quite the same thing, but there is some correlation). When I was a kid, we'd use the flat end of a waffle iron, slather white bread with butter (because, thankfully, margarine was something my mother would simply not accept in her kitchen) and throw on processed cheese slices (ok, so we avoided margarine yet used plastic cheese, I'm still confused about it).

Since then, I've seen numerous sandwich presses come and go, none of which I could figure out how to use properly, and had basically given up on the grilled cheese as more trouble to make than it's worth.

But somewhere along the line, I was shown the simplest and best way to make grilled cheese and the only implements you needed were a pan and a spatula (and a stovetop, obviously).

Here's the basic formula for Grilled Cheese:

For one sandwich:

Ingredients

- 1 tsp softened butter
- 2 slices of bread (I'm a fan of multi-grain or rye bread)
- 4-5 slices of Old Cheddar (or whatever cheese you like, but this is the most common cheese I use)

Directions

- Spread softened butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Heat pan on medium-high heat.
- Place one piece of bread butter-side down in the pan.
- Add cheese and top with other slice of bread, butter-side up.
- Brown bread until crispy and golden. Flip and do the same on the other side. During this process, your cheese should be melting nicely.
- Once both sides are golden brown, remove from heat, cut in half and serve.

Fairly simple, right?

Now, while this might be sufficient a snack for any of us, who doesn't want to pimp their sandwich a little?

Case in point, I made a Grilled Cheese featuring Pulled Pork, Blue Cheese and Smoked Cabbage.
Let's see how it went!

First layer - cheese! Old Cheddar on one side, crumbled Blue Cheese on the other. The bread is a light rye.

Next, the Pulled Pork.

Layer 3 - the Smoked Cabbage.


Then I fried it up as normal and served it with a salad of mixed greens and pickled veggies.

The finished product!

Needless to say, it was decadently delicious, but I recommend only having one at any given time (unless you enjoy a protuberant belly).
And if you're thinking I'm being a Grilled Cheese show-off, I got nothing on this blogger: http://www.grilledcheesesocial.com/

Alright, that's it for today! Enjoy the cheesy snarfing!

A Toast to my Hometown's Better Eateries - Brothers Beer Bistro

It's a good time to be a beer lover in Ottawa!

It first started about 20 years back with local restos introducing micro-brewed beer here and there. Then the Clock Tower opened its doors in the 90s and there were a few little microbreweries that opened in the early 2000s. In the past 6 or so years, however, it's like a floodgate has opened. This region has seen several new breweries open their doors: Beau's Brewery opened in 2006 as a fairly small mom n' pop operation and is now renowned across the region, Brasserie du Temps opened their brewpub in 2009, Kitchissippi is a recently opened local brewery, but they too are growing. More and more "micros" are opening across Ontario and Quebec every year. By the end of 2012, three new brewpubs will have opened in Ottawa: Mill Street Brewpub, Big Rig in the West End and Montréal standard Les 3 brasseurs will open a brewpub right in the heart of the government district in November.

Stemming from this "Beer Renaissance" is a renewed respect for beer as a worthy contender in food pairing to wine. Beer is no longer just for frat boys and NASCAR fans, it's come into its own as a beverage of depth, variety, quality and flavour. So, surely there's a market need for be a restaurant that caters to the beer-drinking gourmet and offers more of a variety to sample than the in-house product provided by most brewpubs (not saying what the brewpubs provide is bad or inadequate, it's simply limited by their own unique approaches to making beer). Enter Brothers Beer Bistro.

This place is fairly unassuming with a very bare-bones decor that's nicely accentuated by art on the walls, but it's clear that they're looking to attract the more casual upscale diner. I was also impressed that our server was a tattoo-sporting charming young Acadian lady named Marie (if you've ever spent time with Acadians, you know they're pretty much the coolest people in the country, even if you can't quite understand their French). Clearly, even though the menu looked pretty high-end (conceptually at least), pretension was not on it.

So, we got a couple of drinks to start our meal (Kari is one of those occasional beer drinkers, so she decided on a vodka-soda for her first drink, what can you do?). A nice touch at Brothers is their wide selection of beers; they have both a bottled and draft beer menu but it doesn't go into the "100s of beers" selection that some places have, which I always thought was a bit tacky... That being said, it is a fairly fluid menu as there are items on the restaurant menu that aren't on the Web site. Oh well...

I was lucky to find Cameron's Rye Pale Ale on the menu. Cameron's is one of those breweries that makes super-tasty beers that I don't drink nearly often enough, probably due to an instance many years back of ingesting too many too fast and getting extra-messy as a result. So, I figured I was due.

Now this was the second time I'd ever had a "Rye Beer", the first being at Pain Béni in March. That beer tasted like gingerbread, this one tasted more like a very light rye bread that somehow was baked with a lot of hops. It was freakin' delicious either way, but VERY hoppy, which when pairing with food can be a bit heavy-duty on the palette.




Cameron's Rye Pale Ale



Now, moving onto the food. We ordered a bunch of small plates, mainly because they tend to be more interesting fare and it's more fun to share, right? We went with the Asparagus Salad, the Pierogies, the Tuna Crudo and their Cheese Plate.

Marie started us out with bread and two kinds of butter. One was made with hops and it was a little sour but not remarkable. The other one, though, was a Roasted Malt butter that tasted of chocolate and angel kisses. SO GOOD!

Roasted Malt butter... droooool...

We got everything all together and shared so I'll review it a plate at a time.

Pierogies w. Confit Pig Cheek, Sauvagine Cheese and Potato Broth

This was a fairly simple rendition of a staple of Slavic cookery. The pierogi dough itself was perfect, tender with just a little bit of elasticity and a slightly sweetish flavour reminiscent of pancakes. The cheese filling was tasty, if a bit understated and we both found the broth a little bland. All of this matters not a whit because of two words: Pig Cheek. Imagine the Food Gods decided to make bacon-flavoured perfection. Well, I think this was a pretty decent approximation of that divine concept. It was luxurious and buttery and utterly delicious. So, just for that element, the plate was a winner.

Worth it if only for the pig cheek!

Tuna Crudo (Radler Cured) w. Pig's Ear Crackling, Tarragon Remoulade and Dulse

OK, so you might be looking at the write-up on this one and wondering "what the eff does all this mean?", and I don't blame you, because I was wondering the same thing. So, I'll break it down for you. Tuna crudo, is essentially cured raw tuna. OK, that was simple enough. What do they mean by "Radler cured"? Well, Radler is (according to wikipedia) a German drink consisting of beer mixed with soda pop or lemonade, kind of like a Shandy. So, the tuna was cured in that, which nicely corresponds to the Bistro's vision of preparing a lot of their food with beer. The cure lent a nice brightness to the fish (making me think it was beer and lemonade they used in it). Next is the crackling, which is basically pig skin crisped up. This added a big dose of prosciutto-like saltiness to the dish. It was delicious, but kind of elbowed the delicate tuna in the face. The tarragon remoulade (the whitish little dots all over the plate) was a nice creamy touch and paired perfectly with the tuna. The dulse is a kind of algae (I KNOW, CRAZY!) that adds a nice salty, but complimentary, crunch to the plate. I found that the plate didn't actually need the crackling as an element (maybe on the side as a bonus?) simply because the dulse took care of the salty requirement. Oh, and the little pink dots were pickled radishes that added a fun little tang to the plate. In the end, I really enjoyed this one. Extra bonus points for the gorgeous presentation.

Tuna Crudo - So pretty!

Asparagus Salad w. Smoked Parmesan, Artisan Lettuce, Crispy Capers, Preserved Lemon and Anchovy Vinaigrette

As you read through the might be noticing a trend here: The Beer Bros. chef (Exec. Chef Darren Flowers) likes his saltiness! Well, it does make some sense considering that beer and salty food pair well together (more salt leads to more beer drinking!). But also, consider this: the salty elements of each dish are actually part of ingredients that make up the dish (capers, anchovies, cured pork) rather than the chefs just dumping a bunch of salt in the food.

OK, so as it relates to this salad, I found that it was a really fun play between the tangy citrus flavours in the vinaigrette and preserved lemons and the salty anchovies, capers and cheese. The mix of flavours was in danger of overpowering the flavour of the asparagus (which is supposed to be the star of the dish, after all), but it was just restrained enough not to. And then there were the Crispy Capers. Move over Doritos, potheads have just found a new best snack!

All kinds of fun going with this salad.

Next up was the Cheese Plate, featuring Tomme de Savoie (a semi-firm cow's milk, brie-like but creamier), Magie de Madawaska (sharp and creamy, very tasty), Valdéon (Spanish blue, smooth but potent), apple compote, and pickled ramps. It was all very good, as a proper cheese plate should be.



Not sure what the burn marks are for...



By this time, we needed a new round of drinks. I decided to give the Spearhead "Hawaiian-style" Indian Pale Ale (IPA). It was a very nice brew with a strong hoppiness, but countered with the sweetness of pineapple. A really good summer beer, I wager!

An added bonus on the wine menu was Kari's next drink: a glass of Velvet Devil Merlot out of Washington State. I've mentioned this wine before, but I feel the need to repeat: GODDAMN THAT'S GOOD WINE! Too bad you can only get it at certain restaurants. Methinks a bootlegging run to the Pacific Northwest is in order...

After we had our drinks and finished our food, we got the bill, which came out to around 100 bucks total. Not too steep at all considering the quality and variety of the food and drink. I won't say Brothers is my new favourite establishment, but it bridges the gap between 'pub fare' and gourmet very well without being "gastropub" expensive, and that's always a good thing! So, give it a shot, chances are you'll be well pleased, especially if Marie serves you! (What? Acadians are hot!)

Cheers!