3482. BACON-ROSEMARY-RED BLISS POTATO HASH

yields 4 to 6 servings


2 1/2 pounds red bliss potatoes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package bacon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Put potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by at least 3 inches. Add salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer potatoes until fork tender, about 25 minutes.

Drain potatoes and return to pot to cool slightly. Roughly smash potatoes in pot with a masher or a large fork.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the bacon and cook until bacon is crispy and has given up most of its fat. Lower the heat to medium-high, add the rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Make sure bacon and rosemary are evenly distributed in the pan then add the potatoes.

Pat down with a spatula so the potatoes are in an even layer. Season the top of the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Cook until a nice brown crust has formed on the bottom, about 5 to 7 minutes. Use the spatula to flip the potatoes, cook until brown on the other side, about 5 minutes.

bacon recipe source: Dave Lieberman, "Wake Up Call," Good Deal with Dave Lieberman, Food Network

3480. BLUE CORN FRIED CHICKEN with ANCHO HONEY and BUTTERMILK-BACON SMASHED POTATOES

yields four servings


Chicken

1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds) cut up
3 cups buttermilk
Peanut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cups all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper
4 large eggs, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups blue cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper

Ancho-honey sauce
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

Buttermilk-bacon potatoes 

2 pounds red bliss potatoes, skin on and boiled
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup buttermilk
4 cloves roasted garlic, smashed to a paste
1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the chicken: Place chicken in a large baking dish, add buttermilk, turn to coat. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Heat 1-inch of the peanut oil in a cast iron skillet to 350 degrees F. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour and pat off excess. Dip in the eggs then cornmeal. Slowly add the chicken pieces to the hot pan skin-side down in batches. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium high and cook for 7 minutes, remove the cover, turn the chicken over and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a platter. Drizzle with the Ancho Honey Sauce.

For the ancho-honey sauce: Mix all ingredients together until blended.

For the buttermilk-bacon potatoes: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and smash, don't puree.

bacon recipe source: Bobby Flay, "Chicken & Honey," Hot off the Grill with Bobby Flay, Food Network

3323. RED BLISS POTATO SALAD with BLUE CHEESE, BACON and CHIVES

serves 4-6


1 1/2 lb. Red Bliss potatoes
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 1/2 oz. Danish blue cheese, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
8 bacon strips, cooked until crisp and crumbled

Place potatoes and the salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water, and bring to a simmer. Cook until a knife pierces through potatoes with little resistance, about 12 minutes. Drain, and let cool slightly. Halve potatoes.

Meanwhile, mix blue cheese, buttermilk, vinegar, and mustard in a bowl until well combined.

Combine potatoes, dressing, chives, and almost all of the bacon in a large bowl. Garnish with blue cheese, chives, and remaining bacon.


bacon recipe source: Martha Stewart Living, "Salads with Substance," by Genevieve Ko, p. 74, June 2008

2818. POT ROAST studded with ALMONDS and BACON

serves six


3 pounds (1.35 kg) brisket in one piece, trimmed of some of the fat

1½ tablespoons slivered almonds

8 ounces (225 g) bacon or ham, cut into small pieces

3 large ancho chiles, seeds and veins removed

1½ tablespoons mild vinegar

¾ cup (185 ml) water

3 whole cloves, crushed

½-inch (1.5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick, crushed

4 peppercorns, crushed

6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1½ teaspoon dried

6 sprigs fresh marjoram or 1½ teaspoon dried

¼ teaspoon dried mexican oregano, or ½ teaspoon dried oaxacan oregano

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

Salt to taste

1½ pounds (675 g) red bliss or new potatoes

 

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

Pierce the meat all over with a knifepoint and insert the almonds and bacon. Set it aside while the sauce is prepared.

Toast the chiles lightly, turning them often so they won’t burn. Put the chiles into a bowl, cover with hot water, and leave them to soak for about 10 minutes.

Put the vinegar and water into the blender jar, add the spices, herbs, and garlic, and blend as smoothly as possible. Add the chiles and blend to a fairly smooth consistency.

Heat the lard in a Dutch oven and when it is very hot sear the meat well all over. Remove the meat and set it aside. Drain off the fat, leaving only 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the sauce to the pan and let it cook fast for about 5 minutes, stirring it all the time. Add salt to taste.

Return the meat to the pan and baste it with the sauce. Cover the casserole with a tightly fitting lid and cook the meat in the oven for about 2 hours.

Put the potatoes, unskinned, into a saucepan, cover them with boiling water, and let boil fast for 5 minutes. Drain them and set them aside to cool. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, skin.

Remove the casserole from the oven, turn the meat over, and baste it well with the sauce. Scrape the sauce from the sides and bottom of the pan and add a little water if it has thickened too much.

Put the potatoes into the sauce around the meat, replace the lid, and let the meat cook until it is very tender, but not falling apart-test after 1 hour and 10 minutes. Slice the meat fairly thick and place it on a serving dish with the potatoes around it. Pour the sauce over it. 


bacon recipe courtesy of: Diana Kennedy, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico; Men's Fitness

1449. CHOUCROUTE GARNIE with BACON and SALMON

makes 4 servings


1-1/2 pounds unsweetened sauerkraut
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 onions, minced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-1/2 cups dry white wine
2 teaspoons juniper berries
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
4 slices slab bacon, each 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick
8 small to medium red bliss potatoes
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
4 fresh salmon fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
coarse sea salt

Rinse the sauerkraut thoroughly in cold water and squeeze out all the water you can with your hands.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent but not colored, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, cover with the wine and 1 cup water and heat just to a boil.

Wrap the juniper berries, coriander seeds, and bay leaves in a cheesecloth, add this sack to the sauerkraut, lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Bury the slab bacon under the sauerkraut, cover, and simmer for an additional 45 minutes.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft, about 20 minutes, and then drain.

Fill the bottom of a steamer about halfway with water, add the vinegar, and heat to a boil. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, place in the steamer basket, top with the fresh thyme, cover, and steam until just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.

To serve, spoon a mound of sauerkraut in the center of four plates, top each with a salmon fillet and a slice of slab bacon, surround with potatoes, and serve with coarse sea salt alongside.


bacon recipe courtesy of: The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris by Daniel Young. William Morrow, 2006

145. GERMAN POTATO SALAD with BACON

a.k.a. "Nuremberg Potato Salad"

serves 6


2 lb. Red Bliss potatoes

Dressing:
3/4 cup diced bacon (1/4 lb.)
3/4 cup minced yellow onion
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 to 1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh curly parsley
1 teaspoon celery seed

In a heavy saucepan that accommodates the potatoes without crowding, place the potatoes , water to cover, and about 1 teaspoon salt per quart of water. Cover partially, bring to a boil, and cook until tender when pierced, 20 to 25 minutes after the water has returned to a boil. Drain the potatoes in a colander. When cool enought to handle, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place in a bowl.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: in a small skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until just crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the onion and saute until just tender but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup of the vinegar and the 1/2 cup water until smooth. Taste and add more vinegar if the mixture is not tart enough. Add the flour mixture to the bacon, then simmer over low heat, stirring, until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour the hot dressing over the potatoes and add the remaining 1/4 cup onion, the parsley, and the celery seed. Toss the salad by pouring it from one bowl to another until the potatoes are well coated.

Serve the salad immediately, or let cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight, then serve cold.


courtesy of: Mary Ellen Shields, The Manor on Golden Pond / from Potato Salad: Fifty Favorite Recipes, by Barbara Lauterbach. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002, p. 90.