I want candy (bacon)

Candied bacon by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Breakfast during the week is usually a filling bowl of oatmeal, or maybe vanilla yogurt with my homemade granola, some mornings a whole wheat bagel with a shmear. On the weekends, though, I'll put together a bigger breakfast, and have it ready for my sleepyheads when they wander downstairs. Crispy, yeast-raised waffles, or buttermilk pancakes, sometimes with ham, sometimes with this decadent bacon, baked in the oven with brown sugar. This is the sinful salt, sugar and bacon fat matrix - you can't stop at just one piece, so save it for a sometimes treat for your family.

I gave up frying bacon on the stovetop a long time ago. I bake it in the oven now and I have a system that guarantees easy clean-up and crispy bacon.

Candied Bacon
1 pound thick-cut bacon (I use Oscar Mayer hearty thick cut, but other brands will work)

2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark will work, I favor dark)

Cayenne pepper, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Take a half-sheet pan or rimmed baking sheet and cover it with foil, making sure to push the edges of the foil against the sides of the pan. Place a nonstick baking grid on top of the foil (if you don't have one, it's ok, but the baking grid will keep the bacon out of the grease).

2. Place the strips of bacon on the baking grid. Sprinkle the strips with brown sugar and a bit of cayenne, if using. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until desired level of crispiness is reached. Remove from oven and drain on paper towels.

Text and images copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer.

Cold Hands, Warm Hearth

We've been cooped up in the house too long, due to what passes for a snowstorm in Georgia. A couple inches of white stuff on the ground, some ice on the roads and school officials decree a long homebound weekend with the kids. I keep a fire roaring in the fireplace and plan a filling meal to warm us up from the inside. Beef stew fills the bill.

Beef stew is a case study in how my cooking has changed over time. As a newlywed, I used the recipe in the Pillsbury cookbook that was given to me as a shower gift. One hundred or more cookbooks later, I learn about the kind of meat I should be using (chuck blade steak) and then to layering flavors by adding bacon and red wine. And I started to realize that beef stew’s appeal, aside from the bowl-of-comfort-and-warmth factor, is enhanced by these umami elements - bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, red wine. It’s an umami tsunami, if you will, that will make your hypothalamus and your belly happy.

Despite my love for the structure of recipes, I’ve endeavored to let go in the kitchen and make my own path. My recipes used to be very specific, now they tend to sound like Dizzy Gillespie in the kitchen, so my apologies in advance.

So, here’s how I make beef stew, most nights. Feel free to improvise. After all, did Dizz play it the same every time?

Beef Stew, a Primer

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ cup flour

1 (1 lb. or so) beef chuck blade steak, trimmed of excess fat and sliced into 1½ inch pieces

2 medium onions, peeled and cut into wedges

4 carrots, peeled, trimmed, split lengthwise and then into 2-inch sections

2 stalks celery, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces

4 medium red potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2-inch chunks

1, possibly 2, small containers of mushrooms, rinsed, dried, trimmed and sliced (for shiitakes) or halved (for buttons)

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine or water, to deglaze the pan

1 can low-sodium beef broth

1 (28 oz.) can whole organic tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1. First of all, I use two Dutch ovens. One for browning the meat and creating the sauce, the second to hold the meat, vegetables and sauce that will go in the oven. I know that’s weird and you may not want to do it this way, but this is my method, so there.

2. Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When bacon is crispy, remove and place on paper towels to drain. Pour off all but two tablespoons of grease in the pan.

3. In a paper bag, if you have it, or Ziploc bag , place a ¼ cup of flour and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place beef pieces in bag, seal and shake, shake, shake. (This is an ideal job for any children lurking, waiting for their sister to finish her turn on the Wii.)

4. Place seasoned, floured beef pieces in pot with sizzling bacon grease and brown, turning to make sure the pieces are evenly cooked. This requires about three batches, maybe four. As the meat releases from the second side, place it in the Dutch oven that will go in the oven and cover with lid. Place drained bacon pieces with meat.

5. After you remove the meat, place a tablespoonful of tomato paste in the pan and stir for a couple of minutes, until it’s good and brown. Add the onions and continue to cook until softened. Pour a ½ cup of red wine into the pan and deglaze. This means to scrape all the brown stuff off the bottom of the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the beef broth or water, canned tomatoes, one or two bay leaves, and the potatoes.

6. Now that you have a pot full of stew, get a sheet of parchment paper, crumple it in your hand and place it on the surface of the stew. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and slide the entire pot into a preheated oven. I use convection and cook the stew for a minimum of three hours at 300, checking on the liquid level every 45 minutes or so. If the liquid is too low, just add water to barely cover the meat and vegetables.

7. Serve the beef stew with buttered noodles or maybe a pan of baked polenta or, if you're in the mood (and in the South), creamy grits. And don't forget the pan of home baked fudgy brownies for dessert.


Sidebar:

Lindsey, who is four, hears activity in the kitchen. “Mommy, can I help?“

“I thought you wanted to play with the Wii.“

“No, I want to cook. Mommy, I want do it. Let me!”

“But it’s raw meat, sweetie, it’s messy.“

“I want to put the raw meat in!”

“Not in the pot, honey, you’re not allowed around the hot pans.”

“But I want to put the meat in the bag.”

“You’ll have to wash your hands again.”

“That’s ok, I want to do it. Mommy, does the raw meat feel cold?”

And as she helps dust the meat with flour and place it in the pan, “Mommy, look at the little nest of meat. Nest of meat. Nest of meat. But mommy, let’s take it out. Let’s take it out now. Can I take it out now?”

“No, darling.”

“Why? Why?”

I distract her with a new task. “Sweetie, find me an onion.”

“Where do you keep them? Oh, that’s right, I remember.” She digs in the onion drawer, with a giggle. “Found it.”

Just in case you ever need to occupy a four-year old for 15 minutes or more, pull out an onion and watch as she peels the outer layers bit by papery bit. However, onions are not always enough to occupy a four year old, so you look around for another project and see that the trash can needs emptying. While I tie up the bag and prepare to take it outside, I teach Lindsey how to open a new bag and place it in the can.

She’s so proud of herself, she commands, “Take my picture!”

So that’s why Lindsey’s giving me the sweet face beside the trash can and I hear, “But mommy, I thought you were going to give me a hug.”

“I can give you a hug. How about a hug right now? I’m going to squeeze tighter.”

“No I’m going to squeeze tighter.”

“And I’m going to squeeze even more tighter.” And just as I thought she was on to a new project, she says,

“Let’s cook some more!”

Dinner's in the Oven: Pork Chops

My, a house smells good when there's pork in the oven, like in my house and in my oven tonight. The pork chops were first browned in the skillet, then the potatoes and carrots and onions were sauteed and finished with white wine and chicken broth before all were mixed together and tucked in the oven for a late afternoon cocooning.

I have made this one-dish dinner for several years, sometimes with pork, sometimes with boneless chicken breasts, with pork being my family's favorite. The first incarnation of this recipe was on a grocery store recipe card - you know the racks of mealtime suggestions when you enter the store. The one-dish simplicity of skillet pork chops was its top selling point, but, sadly, the toughness of the chops in the original recipe meant some tweaking was in order.

The switch from stove-top to oven braising did the trick, and while this may take a bit longer, it also adds some flexibility to the recipe that was not present before. You can buy bone-in or boneless chops, either will melt to tenderness while in the oven. I prepare the meal earlier in the day and leave it in the oven at 250 or 300, occasionally checking the pan and adding water or stock if it looks a bit dry. Cooking earlier works for me because I'm at home, and chaos truly descends on my house at 5 p.m. when my children begin to feel a bit peckish (as Pooh says).

So, after lunch, I brown the pork, chop the vegetables and slip the covered pan into the oven. I pick up the kids in the afternoon, they play outside, and when Daddy comes home, we set the table and pull this very easy dinner out of the oven. To quote many a food writer, all you really need with this dish is a loaf of crusty bread and a nice green salad. I'm from the double-the-starch, double-the pleasure school, so I would probably add buttered, cooked rice to soak up the lovely gravy. A green vegetable would not be out of place, perhaps steamed broccoli or frozen green peas sauteed in butter with a teensy bit of onion.

Oven Braised Pork Chops with Potatoes and Carrots

1 tablespoon. vegetable oil
4 pork chops, with or without bones, no more than 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup of flour
salt and pepper
6 small red potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup or more low-salt chicken broth
Bay leaf, if desired
additional salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 350. In a pie plate, mix together flour and salt and pepper. Place a 10 inch skillet with lid on the heat and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to pan.

2. While oil is heating, dredge pork chops in seasoned flour. When oil starts to look swirly, place the chops in skillet. Brown chops on both sides, about three minutes each side, until golden brown. Set chops on plate and add vegetables to skillet.

3. Cook vegetables until caramelly brown, stirring occasionally. When vegetables are cooked, add white wine and reduce by half. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

4. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Add bay leaf, if desired. Return chops to pan, cover pan and place in oven. Reduce heat to 300 and cook for at least one hour, checking occasionally. Add water or broth as needed, if pan gets too dry. If using the bay leaf, be sure to retrieve it from the sauce before serving.

Text and images copyright Lucy Mercer, 2008.