Brussels Sprout and Pear Salad with Bacon and Candied Pistachios

 Perfect Pairing:  Sheller

 

I just got back from an absolutely amazing vacation in Cabo with my family and fiance.  It was pretty much perfection.  Here is the obligatory photo dump to prove it!

So now it is back to reality, which means guacamole is not served at every meal and mojitos (no sugar) are not offered at 4 PM for BOGO Happy Hour.  Sigh.

The best part about a spinach salad is obviously the bacon dressing.  I really love the Pioneer Woman’s spinach salad recipe.  She cooks the red onions and mushrooms in a little bacon grease instead of adding them raw.  That is a game changer.

This Brussels Sprout Salad takes its cue from the Spinach Salad since it is tossed with a warm bacon dressing. 

 

Then the whole thing is topped with crumbled bacon, pears, and candied pistachios.  How about a close-up?

 

This salad is all about contrast…. Crunchy bacon with soft pears, salty bacon with sweet candied nuts, warm bacon dressing with cold shredded Brussels sprouts.  Hmmm, sounds like this salad is all about the bacon. 

 

Waaay back at the start of the blog I posted an Asian Inspired Brussels Sprout Salad that was a copycat recipe.  I was trying to recreate a salad I had at a fabulous restaurant in Chicago called Sunda.  That recipe called for quickly stir frying half of the veggies.  If you are not into raw Brussels you could also try that method using some of the leftover bacon grease.  I am sure it wouldn’t suck.

You will need about a half cup of shelled pistachios for this recipe.  I recommend getting a sheller.  No, this is not something you buy at Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table.  Mine was my grandma.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lemon Cream Pasta

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Lemon and Garlic Chicken

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Ham, Cheese, and Asparagus Croissants  & Cherry Cheesecake (Perfect for Valentine's Day!)

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Slow Cooker Calico Bean Bake

Perfect Pairing:  Thorough rinsing

So it turns out Slow Cooker Calico Bean Bake is not an easy thing to photograph.  It must have something to do with it being all one color, not holding any shape, and let’s face it, it is just not very beautiful.  My cousin took these pictures for me because she is awesome at photography, and I was baffled on how to take a good picture of it.  Fortunately, it tastes about 100x better than it photographs! 

Part of my job requires me to spend long days in production studios.  I assure you, I am not doing anything too exciting in said studios.  My absolute favorite studio is here in Chicago.  They have an amazing facility with multiple stages and sets.  One of those sets is a gorgeous, fully functional, kitchen. 

Next to the gourmet kitchen is a prop room.  An entire room dedicated to kitchen props!  I pretty much lose my mind over that room.  Each time I am at that studio I daydream about how awesome it would be to photograph my recipes there.  The backdrops!  The lighting!  The utensils!  The plates!  The trays!  Nerd alert.

Perhaps I could even make Slow Cooker Calico Bean Bake looks gorg in that environment.  This is definitely a family favorite.  It is so good!  Even my little cousin Callie loved it!  I mean…. She REALLY loved it.  We lost track of how many bowls she polished off. 

Now this dish will forever be known as Callie Bean Bake instead of Calico Bean Bake!  This recipe is so flipping easy.  After browning the meat and cooking the bacon you just throw everything in the slow cooker and let the flavors develop.  It is fantastic served alongside anything you take off of the grill.  I recommend thoroughly draining and rinsing the beans.  This removes a good amount of sodium and can make it easier to digest. 

 

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Kale, Butternut Squash, and Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Spicy Chipotle Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover adobo sauce recipes

These were so good.  It was the kind of breakfast that you wanted to eat again for lunch.  The combination of sweet butternut squash, crispy bacon, earthy kale, and spicy sauce was crazy delish. 

These are super filling, and a definite change from your standard breakfast burrito.  It would be easy to double the recipe and serve to a large group for breakfast or brunch.  I would let everyone build their own…. but I would have to put in my two cents in on exactly how I thought they should be made.

Start with your warm tortilla, a good amount of the chipotle sauce, and a scoop of squash roasted with cumin, coriander, and a dash of cayenne.

Top that with some kale that was sautéed in the bacon pan and simple scrambled eggs. Then finish it off with crumbled crispy bacon and fresh green onions.

I’m telling you, these are darn good breakfast food.

The chipotle sauce is made with adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo.  That stuff is spicy so you don’t need much.  You will have a lot leftover.  Good news is that it freezes well, and it is a great ingredient to have on hand.  Here are some ideas on how to use the leftover sauce.

Spicy Mexican Chicken Lime Soup

Chicken Chilaquiles

Fajita Stuffed Potatoes

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Prosciutto and Pineapple Grilled Pizza

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Tomato Bisque

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Grilled Bacon Wrapped Beer Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

Perfect Pairing:  Freezer meals

I really wish I had a better picture of these suckers.  Let’s just review… they are meatloaves stuffed with a homemade beer cheese, topped with bacon and an awesome glaze and then grilled.  What could possibly be bad?  Except my picture of them, of course.  You see, I had people waiting to eat and well photography was just low on my priority list at that moment.

I made these during our family vacation this summer.  It was actually kind of a staycation since we were all at my parents’ place.  We had an absolute blast playing in and around the water, boating, relaxing, laughing, eating, swimming, floating, playing bags, tea parties, kiddo dance parties, etc.   We also had the third annual Lake House Chef Challenge, but that is another post another time.  I have to share some of my favorite photos from the week.

My mom and I figured that we served about 400 meals that week.  If you know us you know that it was not frozen pizza and premade stuff.   We like to make things difficult apparently.  Below is the menu for the week.  You will notice that a lot of the items are featured on this site.  We had a big folder with all of the recipes so we were ready to go each day.

In case you were wondering, this is what one of the refrigerators looked like.  I am sure my mom will be thrilled I am sharing this.

We pretty much stuck to the menu! The lake is about 15 miles from a decent grocery store so we had to be REALLY prepared.  We also wanted to make as many things ahead of time as possible.  One of the things we made in advance was this dish.  I made the beer cheese and meatloaf mixture earlier in the month, assembled them, wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and stuck them in the freezer.  I let them defrost in the fridge and then topped them with the bacon and made the glaze the day we grilled them up.  It worked out really well. 

FYI…. The beer cheese is pretty awesome as a dip with pretzels.

 

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Sweet Potato with Kale, Mushrooms, and Pancetta

Perfect Pairing – Deli Counter

Well I have stuffed potatoes with arugula and parmesan….

Fajita inspired ingredients…

And all of this stuff…

 

BUT I have yet to do anything with sweet potatoes.  Until now!

This was one of those random dinners you throw together to try to use what you have on hand.  In this case I had kale, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.  I was thrilled with the result.  It was super hearty and healthy (ignore the small amount of pancetta).  Kale and sweet potatoes are powerhouse ingredients, full of nutrients.  It may not be beautiful, but it was darn tasty.

Freshly grated nutmeg is a great complement to dark greens, so I used that in my version but it is optional if you don’t feel like investing in nutmeg.  Personally, I love having a few whole nutmegs on hand and I grate them on my microplane.   

I topped the potato off with a dollop of ricotta mixed with parmesan and salt and pepper.  It kind of acts like sour cream here.  If you are following the paleo diet, which is incredibly popular right now, you could leave the ricotta off. 

One of my biggest annoyances is waiting at the deli counter at my grocery store. There is always a line and I swear they could move much faster.  I hate pulling my number out of that little machine and realizing I am 12 people from the front of the line.  Ugh.  I decided to stick it out when I was making this, because I knew I could save a fair amount of money.  I bought the pancetta and ricotta from the deli.  I was able to get the exact amount I needed and I think I saved about $7.  Totally worth the wait.  You could also use bacon if you are not feeling the pancetta.

If you have leftovers they are great repurposed for breakfast.  I chopped up the leftovers (potato, kale, mushrooms, and pancetta) and sauteed them in a skillet until lightly browned and topped it off with some ricotta and a fried egg.  Whoa.  It didn't suck.

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Un-Recipe Files - Baked Potato Bar

Can you have too many versions of a stuffed baked potato?  I don’t think so, as referenced here and here.  I clearly have a thing for them right now.

I set out a baked potato bar over the Christmas holiday for my family.  Nothing was specifically purchased for this meal, we had everything on hand, and it was probably one of my favorite meals of the holiday.  The potatoes were baked using my favorite method, found here.

The cheese drawer was overflowing, so why not have a trio of cheese?  We had a couple packages of Green Giant broccoli and cheese sauce in the freezer.  I knew that would be a perfect pairing.  The stars of the bar were the random leftovers from the fridge.  You have to get creative!  The previous day we had made stuffed mushrooms and ran out of mushrooms so we were left with a mixture of sausage, cream cheese, parmesan, parsley, bread crumbs, and garlic.  I had no idea what was going to happen to that stuffing when I put it in the fridge, but I just couldn’t throw it away.  It was crazy good on potatoes.  Also leftover was some Asian Balsamic Beef Roast (that recipe will be on here soon, a winner) from the slow cooker.   Of course you have to include the basics like sour cream, bacon, and green onions.

Taking pictures was a challenge, lots of hands reaching into the shot.  DAD!  Out.

He was a bad example.

Ok, that is just too cute.  She can have whatever she wants.

Same with this little one, whatever she wants.  The curls… they slay me.

I loved seeing everyone’s creations! 

Meat and potatoes kind of guy.

Blueberries go with bacon and cheese, right?  Again, the curls.

Two very distinct versions on one plate.  I don’t agree with this potato-cutting style, but no one asked me.

Now that is a good looking potato. 

Keeping it simple and vegetarian.  I like the melted cheese.

What can be wrong with this?  Cheese… good, bacon… good

This is mine.  I can’t make up my mind on things, I want to try everything, but not all together. 

I get it from my mom.

Oh dad, that is just a mess.  Is that…. butter?  Let’s go with cheese, that’s better, right?

Baked potato bars are delicious, a great way to get rid of leftovers, and everyone gets to express themselves.  You really can’t ask for more than that from a meal.

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