4 Words: Bacon. Bourbon. Caramel. Corn.

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I'll let you in on a little secret: I couldn't care less about football.  In fact, I didn't even know which teams were playing until today.  I know, I know - how very un-American of me.  But even though I admittedly only watch the game for the commercials and the half time show, I still use the day as an excuse to eat unhealthy snacks and drink beer all afternoon.

When I was looking for a delicious and decadent snack to enjoy for the game this year, I kept coming across ads for Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn.  It sounded great, but it came with a $14 price tag for an 8 oz. bag.  I figured that I could make it for a whole lot cheaper than that and still have some money left over for frothy beverages.  (Because those commercials aren't anywhere near as funny when you can't afford any beer to go along with them.)

Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn

1/2 pound bacon
2 3.3 oz. bags of microwave popcorn
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup bourbon (I used Jim Beam, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract  
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
sea salt (as a garnish)

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Cook bacon in a frying pan over medium-low heat until crispy. Set on a paper towel covered plate to drain.

Pop popcorn in microwave.  Be sure to use a non-buttered/non-flavored microwave popcorn (I used Orville Redenbacher's Tender White, pictured below):

Pour each bag of popcorn into a large bowl:

Crumble bacon onto popcorn and toss to distribute:

Add butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the ingredients are well blended.  Allow mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat and stir in bourbon, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda.  Pour the bourbon caramel mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat:

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray foil with non-stick spray and pour caramel coated popcorn onto foil lined cookie sheet to form a single layer:

Bake for 30 minutes, turning popcorn once.  Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

As you may know from some of my previous posts, I am an absolute fiend for pumpkin and am always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my recipes.  So you can imagine my excitement when I came across the 3 Chefs, 1 Ingredient feature in the November issue of Bon Appetit where they asked three different chefs to describe new ways to use pumpkin and proclaimed that "pumpkin is for more than just pie".  (I couldn't agree more!)  I promised you back in my Thanksgiving post that I would share my take on their suggestion for a Pumpkin Shrimp Curry and here I am finally getting around to it.  The next pumpkin recipe I plan to tackle is a pumpkin pasta, so all my fellow pumpkin fanatics out there should be sure to stay tuned!

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 Tbsp ginger
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 can coconut milk
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and ginger.  Stir to coat onions with ginger and saute until onions are soft and translucent (about 8 to 10 minutes).

Add garlic and saute for another minute.  Add tomatoes (including any liquid from the can) and pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes.

Add broth, coconut milk, and both spices.  Stir to incorporate and simmer for 20 minutes.

I used light coconut milk.  All the flavor, creaminess, and richness of the regular version with only a third of the calories and fat - how can you go wrong?

Add the shrimp and simmer until they are cooked through.

Serve over steamed rice.  I garnished mine with cilantro and grated lime zest.

Cookies! Om Nom Nom Nom

Instead of making the standard New Year's resolutions this year, Paul and I have decided to give up a different vice each month.  January's choice felt obvious to both of us after all of the overindulgence of the holiday season: no alcohol.  I have toyed with this idea every January for the past few years and I usually make it for about two weeks before having a drink.  I am happy to report that we have stuck with it this year (at least for the 22 days that have passed thus far).  I thought it was going to be really difficult, but I have to say that it has been fairly easy.

But there has been one unanticipated side effect of not drinking.  Against all odds, I am finding myself absolutely ravenous for sweets.  For years I have been the type of person who orders a cheese plate for dessert and skips the french toast at breakfast for the savory options.  But day after day I have found myself craving chocolaty treats.  And when I think of chocolaty comfort foods, the first thing that comes to mind is chocolate chip cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies were the first recipe I learned how to make on my own as a child, so they hold a special place in my heart.  These days, I make them taste a little more "grown up" by adding dark chocolate, sea salt, and walnuts to the batter instead of the ingredients I used a child, but the nostalgia remains just the same.  They sure do satisfy the cookie monster that I have become lately and I am sure that the cookie monsters in your neck of the woods will enjoy these too.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/8 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Mix dry ingredients (flour, sea salt, and baking soda) in a small mixing bowl:

In a large mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave for about 1 minute on high:

Add granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract and stir to mix the ingredients together:

Add the egg and stir to incorporate:

Add the dry ingredients in two separate additions and mix well to incorporate after each addition:

Once you have added all of the flour, the batter should look something like this:

Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix to incorporate:

Take two spoons and drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (if you don't have a silicone mat, you can line the cookie sheet with parchment paper):

Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.  Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for about a minute before transferring them to a wire baking rack to cool completely:

I Took the BA Ribbon Cake Challenge

Happy New Year everyone!  I know that today is the day that people normally come up with their lists of resolutions for the year to come, but in this post I'd like to focus on a resolution that I made two years ago.  At the beginning of 2010 I vowed to make at least one recipe from Bon Appetit each month.  January flew by, then February, and I am sad to say that like so many New Year's resolutions that I have made over the years, I failed miserably at sticking to my plan.  Before I knew it, March had rolled around, and I still hadn't attempted to make a single recipe from the magazine (for a refresher about my progress, or perhaps more accurately lack thereof, see here). 

By the time the December issue found it's way into my mailbox, I had only successfully made two recipes from 2010 issues of the magazine (a far cry from the twelve I had aimed for, but better than nothing!).  But the moment that I laid eyes on that cover, I promised myself that I would make the amazing cake that graced it no matter how many months (or years) it took me to get around to it. 

Now I want you to understand, this cake is no ordinary cake.  This cake recipe is the one recipe that has been requested more often than any other recipe in the entire history of Bon Appetit magazine.  (The magazine calls it "The Ribbon Cake Challenge".)  It's a three layer chocolate cake, topped with a rum and chocolate buttercream frosting, topped with an espresso chocolate glaze, topped with chocolate ribbons.  All told, 7.5 sticks of butter and 3.5 pounds of chocolate go into this cake.  It is the ultimate cake.  (You can find the recipe here.) 

Once I had my heart set on making the cake, it was just a matter of when I would partake in an event that warranted such an extravagant and decadent cake.  Luckily, December 2011 presented me with the perfect reason - my mother-in-law's 70th birthday party.  What better time to indulge than when celebrating such an amazing milestone?

I am here to tell you that making this cake was not easy.  It took 2 days for me to complete this cake, thanks in no small part to help from my sous chef Paul.  Hands down, it was the most ambitious and difficult baking project that I have ever tackled.  But the result was well worth the effort.  Just maybe don't ask me to make it again until my 70th birthday. 

Here are some of the highlights from the process:

The cake with the buttercream frosting.

The ingredients for the glaze . . .

And the glaze itself.

Waiting for the glaze to set.

The cake once the glaze has set.

After adding the first set of white chocolate ribbons . . .

And topping the white chocolate ribbons with dark chocolate ones.

Bending the chocolate pieces that are to be used to form the bow . . .

And after adding the dark chocolate ribbons on top.

The finished product.

Chilly Weather = Chili Time

I don't know about anyone else, but I am completely addicted to the cooking competition show Top Chef.  This season takes place in Texas and a few episodes back they all had to compete in a chili cook off.  One of the groups made a mole inspired chili with cinnamon and chocolate, which inspired me to create the recipe below.  The best part about chili is that the longer it cooks, the better it tastes.  It's perfect for this time of year because you can spend 20 minutes getting this recipe going in the morning, then let it simmer away in a crock pot while you head out to do your holiday shopping.  Hours later, you can come in from the cold to a rich home cooked meal.  It will taste so hearty and flavorful that everyone will think you spent hours slaving away in the kitchen.  (Don't worry - your secret is safe with me.)

Vegetarian Chili

3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
2 large jalapenos, cored and seeded, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
4 15 oz cans of beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (including added puree)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 Tbsp bittersweet chocolate chips

 Heat oil in slow cooker (or large stock pot) over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add jalapenos and garlic and saute for 2 minutes:

Add spices and salt.  Stir to coat onion and pepper mixture evenly.  Cook for one minute:

Stir in beans (I used 2 cans of black beans, 1 can of white beans, and one can of kidney beans because that's what I happened to have on hand, but you can use whatever beans you like best), tomatoes, and veggie broth and cook for 5 minutes (or until mixture begins to thicken slightly):

Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover slow cooker (or stock pot) and turn heat to the lowest setting.  Let the chili simmer away for at least 4 hours (up to overnight).

I topped my chili with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and chives and served it with cream biscuits (I found the recipe in the November issue of Bon Appetit).  Enjoy!