Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Artichoke Jalapeño Dip

It's Memorial Day and that means it’s officially (unofficially?) grilling season! I’m extra stoked for summer this year, because our place has a tiny little yard, which we’ve spent the last month transforming into a patio oasis (with tons of help from Kyle, Benson, and Kel). 

Tiki Party: Rumaki

You can’t have a tiki party without some classic tiki snacks! Have you ever had rumaki? We had it all the time when I was growing up, which is why I knew my ma would love this Mother’s Day tiki party! 

Shrimp BLTs with Basil Mayo

BLTs are pretty much the best sandwiches ever. Raise your hand if you agree. 

Obviously bacon is amazing, but when you combine it with crispy fresh lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and creamy cool mayonnaise… I seriously think it's bacon's best use. Well, aside from just chowing down slice after slice. When in doubt, I order BLTs. Unlike other sandwiches, they're just kind hard to screw up. I mean, there's for sure the perfect BLT, and you can probably make a sub-par BLT, but really...if you give me bread or toast, bacon, toms, and lettuce, I'm sure I'll manage.

This here BLT, loaded with grilled shrimp and garlicky basil mayo (SBLTBM?), is SO GOOD. I'm not going to say it's better than the original, because how can you improve upon something so classic and perfect? But, I will say that it's delicious and awesome in it's own right. It's perfect for dinner, since it's a little heartier than the classic, but really, I could eat it for every meal. Breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, mid-day snack, dinner…dessert? 

I also love the simplicity of a BLT, even this fancy one. Fry up the bacon, slicey slice the toms, give the shrimp a quick toss in some EVOO, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, then throw those suckers on the grill, and blend together your mayo, basil, and garlic. 

Sidenote: avocado would not be a terrible idea here. SBLTBMA? 

Shrimp BLTs with Basil Mayo

Makes 2 large sandwiches

8 thick slices bacon

1/2 cup mayonaise

8 large basil leaves

1 small clove garlic

12 large shrimp/prawns, peeled and deveined 

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper

1 tomato, sliced

Lettuce (I like a crunchy but leafy lettuce like Romaine for BLTs)

4 thick slices bread (I used a sour white from a local bakery)-toast if desired

Cook the bacon: Per your usual method, draining on paper towels when done. 

Make the mayo: In a blender or food processor, add mayo, basil leaves, and garlic. Blend until smooth, stopping and scraping down sides as necessary. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.

Grill the shrimp: Toss shrimp with olive oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper. To grill outside, I like to put them on a double skewer so they don't fall through (for wooden skewers, be sure to soak in water prior to grilling so they don't burn). For indoor grilling on a grill pan, you can leave them loose. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes per side, or until opaque.

Assemble the sandwiches: Slather 1 piece of bread with the mayo, top with tomato, bacon, shrimp, and lettuce, and top with bread slice. Repeat for second sandwich. 

Easy Peasy Split Pea Soup

I have a few things to discuss with you today: jury duty, TV shows, and the easiest soup ever. We’ll start with jury duty.


I had my first jury duty summons this week, and you guys… I loved it! Obviously it can be an inconvenience and burden to take the time off work, and blah blah blah… but man was it fun. I was on a panel, and got to spend a few hours in a court room for jury selection, with the judge, attorneys, and defendant. In the end I didn’t make it in the jury box, but it was so cool to see the process. I was a little bummed I wasn’t selected. Everyone else cheered when they were released. I was sad. I’m gonna go watch Runaway Jury now.


Ok, so… TV shows. Are you watching True Detective yet!? Holy moly. I seriously can’t handle Monday through Saturday, because I’m just dying for the next episode. I love everything about it. The acting is phenomenal (Matt McConahey and Woody Harrelson are amazing), the story line has me hooked, and the I love the look and feel of it. Also, House of Cards, Walking Dead, GIRLS: loving the latest of all three. Although, I must say, and I hate to admit this, but in the latest GIRLS, the beach house episode… Gah. I think I’m sort of a Marne when it comes to party planning and expectations and getting mad when extra people crash the party and I only have enough duck for four people. I get it. But it was pretty gross watching it… I’ll try to change, I will!


Ok, so now, on to this soup. All you have to do is add everything to a pot, boil it, simmer it, eat it. Seriously the easiest ever. Easy peasy… peas. Now, I enjoy the process of browning and caramelizing my base ingredients as much as the next gal, and if you have time and are so inclined, you can do that here. But, if you’re my fiancé (hehe, fiancé…gets me every time) and your night for cooking usually consists of the taco truck or a frozen pizza, this soup is a really good start. Evan is a mighty fine onion chopper, and that’s basically all the skill needed for this recipe.

Oh yeah, and it tastes really good, too.

Easy Peasy Split Pea Soup

Slightly adapted from my sister, who slightly adapted from my mom, who slightly adapted from the recipe on the bag of split peas

1 bag (about 2 cups) dried split peas, rinsed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 carrots, diced
6 pieces of thick cut bacon, diced
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs thyme
8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper

Add all ingredients to a large pot, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for an hour, or until peas are tender and mushy. Add more water if needed. Serve with parmesan cheese and bread or crackers.

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Green Chiles

I know it's September, and football is happening (go UW!), and there are pumpkin recipes everywhere, and storefronts are filled with boots and scarves. I get it. But can't we still enjoy summer…just for a few more weeks!? Days??

I had all these summer recipes I wanted to make before the season swapped over to fall, and I took a pulse check on Facebook to figure out which of those summer bucket-list recipes I should make first. The big winner? Corn chowder! Unfortunately, I might only get to one or two more summer recipes before chicken wings and chili just get too tempting. But lucky for you, corn chowder is one of 'em! 

This has totally been the summer of corn for me. You could even say I'm a child of the corn. Or maybe not… that's creepy. Let's just say I love corn.

Most of the corn chowder recipes I've seen out there are filled with heavy milk, cream, and potatoes. That just sounds wintery to me. And guys… I just wanted something summery here. And obviously green chiles=summer. And obviously bacon=awesome. 

Speaking of summer and awesome, this soup is awesome. And summery-like. It's a little tangy from the lime and chiles, salty and smoky from the bacon, and nice and sweet from the fresh corn. Rather than adding milk or cream, I just blended half the soup, that way it's thick, but not heavy. Top it off with a swirl of sour cream, some cheese, and cilantro? You'll be thinking it's early August. 

Also, if your produce section is running low on last of the season corn, or you decide to whip this up in December, no worries! You can totally use frozen corn. Then you can have summer anytime. Yep, you're welcome. 

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Green Chiles 

Serves 4-6

8 ears of corn, raw (or 8 cups of frozen corn, thawed)

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or a pinch dried)

2 sprigs of fresh oregano (or a pinch dried)

4 cups chicken broth 

1 four oz can roasted green chiles (mild or hot, depending on your taste)

Juice from half a lime

Salt & pepper

sour cream

lime wedges

cilantro

cheese (crumbled cotija or shredded cheddar or jack)

Cut kernels off corn cobs, and then run the back off the knife or a scrape a spoon along cobs to get the last of the liquidy goodness out of the cobs. Set aside.

Heat a stockpot or dutch oven over medium, and add bacon and onions. Cook until onions are translucent and starting to brown, and bacon is cooked through (it won't necessarily be crispy). Add the garlic, thyme, oregano (and olive oil, if necessary), and cook a few more minutes. Add corn and green chilies, and stir to combine. Add broth, and turn heat to medium-high, bring to a boil. 

Add lime juice, and reduce heat to low. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. 

Remove from heat, and (carefully) run emersion blender through soup one or two times. You don't want to fully blend, but want about 1/2 blended, half still chunky. You could also scoop 2-3 cups of the soup into a blender, blend until smooth, and stir back in. Be careful blending hot soups, it could splatter. 

Server with sour cream, lime wedges, cilantro, and cheese. 

Grilled Salmon Sandwiches {with Bacon!}

Lots of exciting things are happening. In the last 2 weeks, I indulged in a beast of a feast at Burning Beast, ran my 4th Ragnar Relay, threw a bridal shower, went to a bridal shower, shook it all night at a joint bachelorette party, hung out with a BFF who's visiting from the UK, celebrated Amanda's 29th birthday (ps. when Mel was 29, Amanda was 8, and I was 6…whoa! Mel also had a wicked perm in those days), and won a softball championship. No big deal. 

I also made grilled salmon sandwiches with bacon and sun dried tomato mayonnaise (I wanted to name them slammin' salmon sammies… but then I'd sound like Rachel Ray). I like my salmon pretty simple, not covered in a lot of heavy sauces or tucked between other attention-stealing ingredients. Which is why it may be surprising that I couldn't get enough of these sandwiches, with sweet and tangy mustard-honey-thyme glazed salmon surrounded by attention hogs like bacon and sun dried tomatoes. It worked. Somehow, people, this combo just worked for me. And I think it will work for you too. You can cook the salmon on a grill or under the broiler. I actually sort of did both… our gas grill's propane tank ran outta gas about half way through, so these tasty-fresh filets were finished under the broiler, which was actually kind of awesome. The salmon got a nice smoky flavor from the grill, and then a perfectly caramelized glazed top from the broiler. I totally planned that. 

Grilled Salmon Sandwiches 

Adapted from Food & Wine 

2.5 tablespoons grainy mustard

2.5 tablespoons honey

1.5 tablespoon mayonnaise

1.5 teaspoon fresh thyme

4 six ounce salmon fillets, skinned

Vegetable oil

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup pureed sun dried tomatoes

splash cider vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

8 slices cooked bacon

Lettuce

4 hamburger buns, toasted 

For Salmon: Light grill, and brush with oil. Mix the mustard, honey, mayo, and thyme. Rub the salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the salmon over moderate heat, skinned side down, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip and grill for 3 minutes longer, until the salmon is almost cooked through. Flip again and spread each fillet with a hearty layer of glaze. Turn and grill until glaze is gooey and cooked into salmon, about 30 seconds. For a cleaner, less fishy flavor, scrape the grey flesh off the bottom of the salmon after cooking. Broiler method: Preheat  broiler. Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with foil, and spray with nonstick spray. Arrange the oiled, S&P'd salmon fillets on the baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes. Spread sauce over the salmon and continue broiling until the cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.

For Mayo: Whisk together mayonnaise, sun dried tomatoes, vinegar, and s&p. Taste and adjust as necessary. 

For Sandwiches: Spread bun with mayo, top with lettuce, salmon, and bacon. 

A Lil' Cabbage Bacon Love

Maybe it's because of my eastern-European roots that I love cabbage, and because of my Oklahoma blood (on my moms side) that I love bacon (my grandma Carol cooks everything in bacon grease…we even have a family recipe for salad smothered in warm bacon grease dressing, but that's for another day). 

Or, maybe it's just that these two things effing rock. Which they do. Especially together. And even more especially when you add little gems of mini cabbage heaven—Brussels sprouts—to the mix. And triple, no, quadruple that especially by throwing in some sour cream and lemon. You heard me. Cabbage, bacon, Brussels, sour cream, lemon. And the bacon is actually pancetta, fancy-town. Oh, and I'm talkin' about soup. I know! Life=complete. 

Cabbage and Potato Soup with Crispy Topping & Lemony Cream

Adapted from Bon Appétit 

1/2 cup sour cream

juice and zest from half a lemon

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped

1 large onion, diced

3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes 

1 bay leaf

6 cups (or more) chicken broth

1 sprig fresh thyme 

salt and pepper

1 cup thinly sliced brussels sprouts

2 1/4th inch thick slices of pancetta, diced small*

olive oil

salt and pepper

Whisk sour cream, lemon juice, and zest l in small bowl. Cover and chill. 

Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and onion, and sauté until just tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in potatoes, add bay leaf and thyme. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400. Spread brussels and pancetta on a sheet pan, and light drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until pancetta is crispy and brussels are slightly charred but not burnt. Keep an eye on it, it could take anywhere from 5-10 minutes (and you may want to give it a stir after a few minutes). Remove from one and set aside. 

Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig from soup. Using immersion blender (or regular blender, working in batches), puree until smooth. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth if soup is too thick. 

Top each serving with some of the crispy brussels and pancetta, and a hearty dollop of the lemony sour cream. 

*I get the 2 pieces of pancetta from the deli/meat counter. You can get exactly as much or little as you need, just thick enough, without paying a million dollars. 

Everything Good

That's a pumpkin. It's stuffed with everything good. But before we get into that, are you ready for some heartbreaking news? Are you sitting down? Here it is...I bailed on Halloween.

Amanda and I are kinda legends in these parts when it comes to Halloween, and we both skipped it this year… much to the shock and dismay of everyone in Seattle. Ok, so maybe we're not that big of a deal, but for reals… we're really, really good at Halloween. We put together amazing costumes (not to brag or anything, but I mean, prizes have been won). We don't mess around with the store bought costumes or the slutty pandas.

No, we spend hours making our costumes...and the gnarlier, the better. Read: zombie 1950s housewife, roadkill, Bonnie & Clyde after getting shot up (with a cameo appearance by Evan), and the gal from The Birds after the bird attack. We also aim for total realism, because we're real serious about Halloween like that. Last year I was Mrs. Lovett (with meat pies), and I guess everyone hadn't seen Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, but everyone did say "let me guess… you're Helena Bonham Carter?" And Amanda was Edward Scissorhands. I don't mean she dressed like him… I mean, I think she really was him. She may have actually been JD's stunt double (and trust me, I know Johnny Depp, I was writing the man love letters in crayon on Lisa Frank stationary back in the Cry Baby days). She looked so much like him, that I almost had a crush on her that night. Is that weird to say? 

This year, however, we chose to skip it. This is my first weekend home since… August? And Amanda has grad school midterms coming up. We're exhausted. In our 20s, and no energy for the best holiday of the year. I'm tellin' ya, it's a fat shame. Instead of lazily pulling together half-assed costumes, we stayed in. When it comes to Halloween, we go big or we don't go at all. So this year, as swarms of inquiries about our costumes came in, we had to tell the disappointed masses "sorry, we're not doing Halloween this year." Rob Zombie himself may have shed a tear over the news. 

We ended up having our own Halloween party, and dressed up like couch potatoes (read: stayed in, cooked, watched a movie… and wore sweat pants). Costumery aside, we had a great night…with lots of pumpkin. We cooked a very unbalanced meal of really heavy pumpkin dishes, for just the two of us. Including something geniously named "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good."

I like pumpkins, and I like "everything good" so it was a given that I would jump all over a recipe for Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good. How could you not fall head over heels for a dish with a name like that!? Oh man. Dorie Greenspan isn't lying… her pumpkin really is stuffed with everything good: bacon, cheese, bread, and cream. The filling bakes up like a gooey stuffing, and the pumpkin gets all soft and delicious, and practically melts into the filling. And it looks pretty impressive.

It's also fun, because you can adapt it any way you like. Want sausage instead of bacon? Do it. Have a hankering for sautéed mushrooms? Stuff 'em in there. Want to go sweet instead of savory? Get it, girl! Amanda and I even talked about goin' all southwest on our pumpkin, and using rice, ground beef, tomatoes, and peppers. Go wild, people! Stuff that pumpkin! 

Dorie's recipe can be found at Epicurious. But you should also buy her book… it's full of everything good—page after page of everything good.

Greens, Eggs, and Ham

I'm certainly no Sam-I-Am when it comes to green lentils, fried eggs, and thick cut, smoky bacon.

This has been the winter of the lentil. I've been making lentil soups, salads, and sides like a mad-woman. I made this curried lentil soup 3 times... In two weeks. I just can’t get enough. I’ve also been making different variations of warm lentils topped with fried or poached eggs. This happens to be the best I’ve made thus far—green lentils with bacon, roasted tomatoes, and olive oil fried eggs. It’s savory, smoky, and salty, and feels like a hearty stew on a cold winter night…but I bet over a bed of arugula, it could just as easily pass for a light lunch on a spring day.

Lentils with Bacon and Roasted Tomatoes, Topped with Olive Oil Fried Eggs
Serves 2 as an entree, 4 as a side/salad

2 tomatoes-roughly chopped

Olive oil, cider vinegar, salt, and pepper
3/4 cup green lentils
6 oz thick-cut bacon, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cloves garlic-minced
1 shallot- finely diced
2 tablespoon olive oil
2-4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Roast in oven for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes burst and brown in a few spots. Take out of oven and set aside.
After putting tomatoes in oven, cover lentils with cold water by 2 inches in a saucepan, then simmer uncovered about 20 minutes—drain (reserving 1/2 cup liquid).

While lentils are simmering and tomatoes are roatsting, cook bacon in large skillet until almost crisp. Add shallot and garlic Cook, stirring, until just tender (in this step, you could also add chopped asparagus, if it suits your fancy!). Add to pot with lentils, add tomatoes. Heat over low until liquid just begins to reduce. Salt and Pepper to taste (though it should be fairly salty, with the bacon and tomatoes).

Add olive oil to skillet and heat over moderate heat. Fry eggs to desired doneness, season with salt and pepper. (For excellent olive oil fried eggs, try this recipe).

Top lentils with eggs, devour. Repeat.



Birthdays are Better with Bacon

Evan turned 25 last week. And so did his identical twin, Mark.

For their big quarter century birthday, I wanted to put on a real classy event for them. You know, all glitz and glamour, something that would really impress. Or… completely the opposite. So I invited all of our friends to Wingmasters, a divey sports bar around the corner from our apartment, for buckets of messy, greasy buffalo wings, pitchers of PBR, and a few games of Big Buck Hunter. And, considering it was such a formal affair, I figured I should make a real black-tie dessert. One with bacon, of course.

I had been eyeing a recipe on Gourmet.com for Frozen Peanut Butter Pie with Candied Bacon for quite some time. Just waiting for the right occasion. A double birthday at a wing bar full of 20-something guys was just the opportunity I needed. But really, it’s peanut butter and bacon, together in a pie. Who needs an excuse?!

I could care less about PBJ sandwiches, but I’m a big fan of peanut butter desserts. Especially peanut butter chocolate desserts… sorry Amanda and Mel. I love cool, creamy, sweet peanut butter in the form of ice cream, cheesecake, and milkshakes, or warm, nutty peanut butter rolled into cookies, baked into bread, or mixed into pancakes. So, why not take creamy peanut butter to the next level by pairing it with salty, smoky bacon? If Elvis can do it, so can I!

I felt like Dr. Frankenstein, combining an innocent pie with a not-so-innocent breakfast meat, creating some kind of (delicious) monster. I whipped, I fried, I candied, I mixed, I froze. And at last, only a short time later, the creature came to life. A frozen peanut butter pie on a chocolaty crust, studded and sprinkled with meaty, crunchy, sweet, salty bits of oh-so-naughty candied bacon. (By the way, I left out the chopped nuts). Saying the pie was a big hit would be an understatement. The twins were blown away. Anthony drooled awaiting a slice. Dave licked the pie plate clean, literally. Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d over the combo.

In the end though, it wasn’t the candied bacon that won me over. It wasn’t the buttery chocolate wafer crust. It wasn’t even the crazy combination. It was the cool, creamy, rich but light, frozen peanut butter filling. O.M.G. If you want heaven in one peanut buttery frozen bite, this is it, folks. This. Is. It. Expect to see this mixture show up again in other iterations. I’m thinking ice cream cake. You just wait.

And, by the way… I did end up giving Evan a really classy, glitz and glamour type birthday present. We took a little staycation right here in our city. We stayed in the romantic and elegant Fairmont in downtown Seattle, drank champagne, lounged in the Jacuzzi, and had an amazing steak dinner, along with ahi tartare and martinis, at the Metropolitan Grill.

Just like bacon, we’re very versatile.

You Say Potato, I Say "Yes Please!"

I recently joined what I like to call an online ‘food networking’ site- Food 52. Food 52 is the brainchild of 2 food writers who decided to create an online network of talented home cooks- a place to share recipes, network, and learn from each other. Each week, there are 2 recipe contests (winners go into a cookbook!). I’ve decided to jump whole heartedly into these challenges… my own little Iron Chef going on the kitchen. Not only does creating recipes for the contests give me new exciting ideas to play around with in the kitchen, but it also forces me to actually WRITE IT DOWN! As you’ve seen so far, I’m way more of a ‘method’ than ‘recipe’ type a’gal (hence baking being second to cooking in my book). I’m just so spontaneous with cooking- a splash here, a dash there, some more of this, and a drop of that. I come up with some pretty effing good meals, but I’m rarely able to recreate them exactly how they were, or to tell you exactly how to recreate them yourselves. Sometimes even I’m stumped by the secret ingredient in my dishes. Well, thanks to Food 52’s recipe contest, hopefully that will be a thing of the past… at least once or twice a week.

The first contest felt like a sign. Of course this site was meant for me… ‘Your Best Potato Gratin!’ Well, they apparently didn’t realize I had been devouring and making au gratin potatoes for years, and that Mel is a master potato chef. I came up with about 8 concepts, all sharing the basic method I learned for Mel’s Au Gratin Potatoes- layer potatoes, flour, salt, pepper, cheese, repeat. Cover with milk. Bake. Done. I considered a bacon and green chili with cheddar. A mushroom and potato with Swiss. An ultra creamy. A not so creamy. A blue cheese. A roasted garlic. I finally decided there was no way Evan and I would still love each other if I made 6 dishes of cheesy, ooey, gooey gratin in one night, so I combined a few ideas and settled on one dish- Bacon, Blue, and Roasted Garlic Gratin.

I gratined my little heart out. Carefully measuring, writing things down, taking pictures along the way. I was pretty damn proud of the results. A deep, rich gratin, with smoky caramelized roasted garlic and melty blue cheese, little bits of salty bacon nestled amongst the gooey potato layers and crispy, crunchy top… a sure winner.

I checked back daily for the result, sure that my recipe and mouth watering picture caught someone’s eye. I didn’t make it in the final 2. I didn’t even get an honorable mention! The competition out there apparently is a lot tougher than I thought, with a sweet potato/bacon tied up with a basic potato/leek. Well, I’m going to keep trying. With 2 contests weekly, I’m sure to at least get a nod in my direction, right? Even if I don’t, hopefully you’ll enjoy the recipes! As long as I get your mouths watering, I’ll consider myself a winner...and if I ever make it to the final two, send your votes my way!

Roasted Garlic, Blue Cheese, and Bacon Gratin


1 head garlic
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 slices bacon
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
3 russet potatoes
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper


For Garlic:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Peel off outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, while still leaving the head of garlic intact and whole. Cut off the top of cloves.
3. Place garlic head in a ramekin or small baking dish, allowing it to stand upright
4. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over garlic, Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake at 400°F for 35 minute
6. Cool to room temperature, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins, mash with a fork.


For the Potatoes:


1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Fry bacon, cool, and dice
3. Peel potatoes, and slice thinly
4. Butter gratin dish (8x8 glass baking dish will work)
5. In baking dish, place one layer of potato slices, sprinkle with 1/3rd blue cheese, 1/3rd bacon, 1/3rd mashed garlic, 1 tbsp flour, dot with 1/3rd butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper
6. Repeat with remaining potatoes, cheese, bacon, flour, butter, and garlic.
7. Pour 1 ½ cups half n half over top
8. Cover with foil
9. Bake at 400°F for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes.
10. Let gratin set for 10 minutes before eating.
11. Enjoy!

The Dish That Made Me Like Eggs

As long as I can remember, I've despised eggs. Not only would the thought of eating an egg (especially a runny egg) make me gag, but my dislike went even further. Just seeing (and smelling) people cook and eat eggs would make my stomach churn. Growing up with farm-fresh eggs straight from Mel & John's own clucking hens didn't make one bit of difference in turning me into an egg eater. Until now.

During a visit to Mel & John's about a year ago, I had the breakfast that made me like eggs. The breakfast that Mel built. Because of the deliciousness of this dish, I went from an egg-hater to an egg-lover, and now I can't get enough. The runnier the yoke the better. Now I poach, fry, scramble, boil, and bake with the best of them, and some of my favorite meals are centered around eggs. So what was this miracle dish that made me do a complete one-eighty!?

Mel calls them eggs nests. I call them absolutely amazing. During our recent weekend visit to the home of the 'rents, Amanda and I requested eggs nests for Sunday's brunch (please note, we provide Mel & John with a full menu of our meal requests during visits...because the food they cook SO damned good we dream about it). Mel first infuses olive oil with (home-grown) peppers and garlic, and brushes this peppery goodness all over hollowed out sourdough bread-bowls, then bakes them until golden and crispy. Into the bowl she piles fresh cooked crumbled bacon and spinach (we've had it with both fresh and steamed), and tops with two poached eggs, gathered that morning. The nest is then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of fresh grated Parmesan. The entire nest, from bacon to parm, is a bowl of wonderful goodness.

It could be because Mel finally forced me to try an egg after so many years of refusal, or it could be that this dish is really that good. Either way, I recommend trying this brunch for yourself... it could change your life.