Pie Crust with Rendered Bacon Fat (aka Bacon Grease Pie Crust) (aka the BEST pie crust ever)

1 c. rendered bacon fat
2 1/2 c. AP flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
4-6 T. very cold water

Measure bacon fat and then freeze either in plastic wrap or a platic cup/bowl for approximately 1 hour.  Remove cold fat from freezer, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Sift flour, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl, then cut bacon fat into flour mixture until it resembles coarse pea-sized pebbles.  Gradually mix in 4T of water, mixing with a fork until dough just comes together.  The dough is ready if you pinch a fingerfull together and it does not crumble.  If necessary, Add more water, 1T at a time until dough reaches desired consistancy.

Place dough onto a clean cutting board, press together, then split into two balls.  Wrap each ball in plastic wrap, flatten, and refrigerate about 1 hour (or longer).

Remove dough from refrigerator, place on a lightly floured cutting board, then roll out into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8 in thick) (Hint: often I will place the plastic wrap or a piece of wax paper over the dough while rolling it out so it won’t stick to the rolling pin).  Transfer to 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges if desired.

Repeat with second dough ball, and either use immediately, refrigerate for up to 2 days, or place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll up, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for future use.

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Oh.  My.  God.  This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted!  So flaky.  So moist.  And oh the hint of bacon…

In preparing for our move to Germany, I have been going through the cupboards, the refrigerator, and the freezer trying to use up all those things that I bought ‘for future use’ that I have never gotten around to using (ummm, 6 types of dried seaweed for example!) or have been saving because it’s too good to throw away (namely, rendered bacon fat from all that lovely farmer’s market bacon I’ve been buying most weeks — no matter how much bacon I buy, Steven and I seem to go through it with gusto!)

Looking through my refrigerator, I realized I had not one, but TWO pint jars filled with rendered bacon fat.  I think it’s great to cook with, but really, am I going to use 4 cups of bacon grease between now and when we’re leaving at the end of december?  probably not.  So, I decided that rather than throwing away all that good, organic fat, I would perform a culinary experiment I’ve always wondered about (and that there is frightfully little information on the internet about) — a homemade pie crust made with rendered bacon fat!

So, I went to my typical go-to pie crust and adapted it to use rendered bacon fat.  And oh, it was delicious!  Besides the hint of bacon, the most remarkable thing about the crust is how incredibly flaky it is.  This is due (I believe) to freezing the fat beforehand and not overmixing.

Note though — this is not a neutral pie crust!  I wouldn’t recommend using this crust for sweet pies (though it *might* be good if you wanted to make something like this).  No, this is meant to be used as a base for savory pies, quiches, and tarts (imagine spinach pie, onion tart, tomato quiche).  I think it lends itself particularly well to vegetable pies;  it has a hint of smoky meatiness that pairs well with a zingy, fresh vegetable filling.

I used this crust to make a fold-over spinach and tomato tart.  Instead of placing pie crust in a pie pan, I transferred it to a baking sheet, sprinkled on some grated swiss cheese, then layered sauteed spinach with garlic, oven roasted tomatoes (homegrown, thank you very much!), some leftover cooked squash, some fresh oregano, and more swiss cheese, leaving about a two inch border of crust.  Then, I folded the crust over, brushed it with an egg wash, then baked it at 375 for about 30 minutes until it was golden brown and the cheese was bubbly.  Delicious!!!

And one final note, I looked up the nutritional information about rendered bacon fat versus butter, and calorie and fat content-wise, they’re not that different.  So, even though this feels totally decadent, it’s really no worse than a regular butter or lard crust.  And it is oh so tasty…

Buttermilk Biscuits with Chives
adapted from Pinch My Salt

1 1/4 c. cake flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. well-chilled butter, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
2 T. chopped chives
3/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.  Add butter cubes and cut into mixture using a pastry blender until it looks like coarse meal (alternatively you can use two knifes, or simply your fingertips).  Note: Do not over mix — the little chunks of butter help the biscuits stay flaky.  Mix in chives and stir to coat.

Add buttermilk and stir lightly with a wooden spoon until dough comes together in a ball.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a 3/4 – 1 inch thick slab.  Using a biscuit cutter, cut biscuits without twisting the cutter.  Flip cut biscuits upside down onto an un-greased baking sheet (flipping the biscuits makes sure that any crimped edges don’t impede your biscuits from rising) .  Form dough scraps into a mound and cut with biscuit cutter.  Repeat until dough is gone.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

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I can’t quite remember when buttermilk became a regular fixture in my refrigerator.  But somehow it did, and now I use it all the time — salad dressings, as a marinade for chicken, in biscuits, in cornbread, in pancakes — I even drink it straight!

I’ve been craving homemade buttermilk biscuits since I took a 24 hour train ride from Tacoma, WA to San Jose, CA two days ago.  For the most part, I brought my own food to eat on the train, but when I woke up at 6 AM after almost 20 hours on the train, the cold spareribs and cheese bread I brought with me just didn’t sound so appetizing.  So, I headed to the dining car and ordered myself a good ol’ american breakfast — coffee, scrambled eggs, grits, and a biscuit.  I knew when ordering this was not going to be gourmet by any standards, but I at least hoped it would be decent.  No such luck — I was greeted with a plateful of reconstituted powdered eggs, tasteless grits, and a styrofoam biscuit — yuck!  (Thank goodness the coffee was ok — I could go a couple days without food, but CERTAINLY not without coffee…)

So,  when I got home, I resolved to make some damn-good buttermilk biscuits to satiate the craving left by the Amtrak dining car.  I was too tired after I got home yesterday to cook anything, so today was my day.   I baked up a batch of biscuits, then made them into little sandwiches with shredded bbq’d spareribs and garlicky swiss chard — YUM!! and so much better than Amtrak…

About to board train from Tacoma to San Jose

The annual zucchini proliferation is upon us!  Last week alone I was given six large zucchini, which were in addition to the four I had bought at the farmer’s market the weekend before.  Whew!   Though we had zucchini and summer squash .. um .. the phrase ‘coming out our ears’ comes to mind, none went to waste.

After making stuffed zucchini, sauteed zucchini with tarragon, zucchini jalapeno pasta, zucchini puree, and savory zucchini and tomato bread, I decided a sweet preparation would be a good way to round out the endeavor.  Hence came Oatmeal Summer Squash Muffins — a wonderfully moist muffin, lightly sweetened with honey, and seasoned with cinnamon and mace.  Delicious!!

This muffin recipe is adapted from one of my favorite, most-used cookbooks, Simply in Season.  The book is arranged by — you guessed it — season, and further by seasonal ingredient.  I love this because it lends itself so well to shopping at the farmer’s market.  The recipes feature one or two fresh vegetables or fruits; the other ingredients are typically ‘whole’, widely available, and suitable even for a tight budget.  The preparations are simple, fairly quick, and many substitutions are offered to suit what is already in your kitchen.  To me, it feels like a frugal how-to guide on cooking all the things your mother or your grandmother or great-grandmother used to make…  it’s simply lovely!

Anyways, zucchini proliferation continues, and I continue to look for interesting ways to use zucchini — do you have any ideas?

Oatmeal Summer Squash Muffins
Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply in Season
makes 12 muffins

1 c. all-purpose flour*
1/2 c. whole wheat flour*
1 c. rolled oats
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
scant 1/2 t. mace

1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1 1/2 c. grated summer squash or zucchini

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and mace in a medium-large bowl.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, oil, and honey. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Gently fold in squash.

Fill lined or well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

*Note: feel free to use whatever flour combination you want — all whole wheat, all AP, whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat — just make sure it adds up to 1 1/2 cups in total!

I have tried to make bread from scratch many times, and I have failed miserably many times… It’s probably that I don’t knead enough, but whenever I try to make bread from scratch (quick breads excepted), they turn out as dense and heavy as a brick.  In the words of the lolcats, homemade bread – FAIL!

And then…. and then… and then I found this amazing NO-KNEAD bread recipe!  It’s been making it’s way around the blogosphere with very good results in the past couple of months, though it originally appeared in the NYTimes last fall…  It’s not often that innovation happens in the baking world, but this no-knead bread was most-certainly an innovative recipe.  Who’d have thought that by being lazy, you could get super delicious, airy, crusty, artisan-style bread?

And oh, this bread is good — it’s light and airy like the best bakery breads, the crust is crisp, and the interior has a beautiful crumb.  And best of all, it is SO EASY!  Though the recipe takes time (give yourself 24 hours), the active time is only about 20 minutes in total.  The patient cook knows, save your energy and let time do the work.

The original NYTimes recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but for the sake of experimentation (and healthiness, and cleaning out the cabinets), I decided to substitute 1 c. of the AP flour with a mixture of wheat and rye flours.  I imagine you could experiment here quite a bit with good results — whole wheat flour, potato flour, amaranth flour, rye flour, quinoa flour, rice flour, even mesquite flour (this has a very strong taste so just use a bit) would work well here — but note, the lower the gluten content of the flour you use, the longer you should let it ferment and proof.  And note, thought the NYTimes recipe calls for a 6-8 qt pan, I used my 5 qt. Le Creuset pan with great results.

Anyhow, whether you’re a seasoned bread maker or have never tried it before, I encourage you to give this a try — it’s simple, delicious, and versatile.  Oh yeah, and you’ll probably get a lot of compliments if you serve it to anyone!! :)

No-Knead Wheat-y Rye Bread
Adapted from NYTimes No-Knead Bread recipe

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rye flour
water
1/4 t. instant yeast
1 1/4 t. salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

I *love* homemade, fresh from the oven biscuits. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, with tea or an afternoon snack, freshly baked biscuits go with so many things.

A typical biscuit recipe makes between 16 and 24 biscuits, which, unless I want to eat biscuits for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next four days, is simply too many for me to consume. Invariably, half of the biscuits end up getting stale and going to waste, and at the same time I’ll have eaten so many that I get burnt out on biscuits! At first, I would make a half or even a quarter recipe, but found that this was a lot of work for just a few biscuits. What a quandary: making a full recipe produces way too many, but it’s not worth the effort to make just three or four biscuits from scratch.

So, my solution is to make a full batch, bake a few, and simply freeze the extra uncooked biscuits. To freeze biscuits:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Place uncooked biscuits on the baking sheet, taking care that none of the biscuits are touching. You only need to leave 1/4 inch or so between the biscuits since the uncooked dough will keep its exact shape when frozen (unlike baking where the biscuits expand — I know, this seems obvious, but you might notice when you’re placing the biscuits on the baking sheet that your instinct is to space them as for baking).

2. Freeze the sheet of biscuits until the biscuits are frozen solid* (see note below) — at least 5-6 hour, or overnight. Remove biscuits from the tray and place in a freezer safe plastic bag. Since the biscuits are frozen solid, you won’t have a problem of them all freezing into one big dough heap.

3. When you want to cook the biscuits, remove as many as desired from the bag and place them still frozen onto a baking sheet. Cook as you would normal (unfrozen) biscuits, but adding about 8-10 (or longer for large biscuits) since the dough with thaw in the oven.

Fifteen 1 1/2 inch biscuits about to go into the freezer

This way you can have fresh baked biscuits whenever you want, and you need only bake as many or as few as you’d like. Problem solved!

*Note: Freezing the biscuits until solid is very important! The first time I tried freezing biscuits, I simply put all the uncooked biscuits into a ziploc bag and threw it in the freezer. Big mistake. I ended up with a big frozen dough ball, and to get individual biscuits, I had to partially thaw the dough ball, which would then get thrown back into the freezer to re-freeze. The thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze cycle left me with dried out, only slightly better than mediocre biscuits.

Pomegranate Glazed Root Vegetables with Israeli Couscous

1 large beet, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
2 very small sweet potatoes or 1 large, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
3 carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
2 T. Pomegranate Syrup, divided
3.5 T. Olive Oil, divided
1 c. Israeli couscous
1.5 c. vegetable or chicken stock.
1.5 t honey
.5 T white vinegar
1-2 T chopped parsley, or to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat, or brush lightly with olive oil. Toss root vegetable chunks with 1 T. Pomegranate Syrup and 1T olive oil until evenly coated. Spread vegetables on prepared baking sheet.
Roast for about 40 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, or until vegetables can be easily pierced with a knife.

In the meantime, heat 1T. olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add couscous to heated oil and toast for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Mix remaining 1 T. Pomegranate syrup, 1.5 T olive oil, honey, vinegar, and parsley in a small bowl.

Combine couscous and roasted vegetables in a serving dish. Drizzle about half of the sauce onto the mixture and stir to coat. Add more sauce until the entire pasta salad is coated evenly, or to taste.

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On a recent trip to the Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco, I made up my mind that I was finally going to purchase a bottle of pomegranate syrup which I had been eyeing since I first read about it on one of my favorite blogs. I had hesitated buying it not because it was particularly expensive (I think the bottle cost $4.39) but rather because I must be very judicious with my extremely limited cabinet space– I think I have something like 5 cubic feet for all of my dry-good storage. I make a conscious effort not to buy things that I’ll only use once or twice that will then sit on my shelves unused, collecting dust until I move into my next apartment. This holds true for kitchen gadgets too– if you visit my house you’ll find I have very few ’specialized’ items, save for my pizza cutter (I love pizza), and my brand new shiny food mill (which proved its worth by churning out some of the lightest, fluffiest, lump-free mashed potatoes I’ve ever had while I was home for Christmas–expect a funnnn with foodmills post soon).

The pomegranate syrup completed its mandatory three week waiting period, and finally earned itself a place in my cabinet. Both sweet and sour, I can imagine many uses for this thick tasty ruby-colored reduction:

-Brush onto skin-on chicken breasts or thighs before roasting for a zingy glaze
-Mix with oil and a splash of white vinegar for a tasty salad dressing
-Pour a teaspoon into a glass of champagne for a twist on a Kir Royal
-Drizzle over vanilla ice cream with crumbled graham cracker
-Drizzle over oatmeal with toasted walnuts
-Use to season a rice pilaf along with toasted almonds and golden raisons
-Toss with root vegetables before roasting
-Mixed with mango or apricot preserves and some chipotle peppers in adobo for a delicious dipping sauce for shrimp

… just to name a few…

The recipe that originally caught my eye is for Muhammura, a spread made from roasted peppers, walnuts, pomegranate syrup, and other seasonings. Sounding a little too heavy after all the holiday eating I did in Seattle, a simple vegetable preparation would be the pomegranate syrup’s debut. Featuring beets, sweet potatoes, and carrots (some of my winter favorites, and also what I happened to have around–just about any root vegetable combination you like will work fine), this dish is filling but not heavy, and is good for a light dinner accompanied by a green salad and a glass of dry white wine.

Enjoy!

PS–I’ve decided to experiment a little with the format of my recipe posts. I’m trying recipe first, commentary second, as opposed to commentary followed by recipe. Let me know if you like one way better than the other, or if you have any other comments or suggestions. Thanks!