560. LUTEFISK with BACON, CREAMED PEAS and BOILED POTATOES

makes 4 servings

6 lbs. lutefisk
2-3 tablespoons salt

To accompany:

1/4 lb. bacon

for Creamed Peas
300 ml dried peas
water
100 ml milk
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt

Set the oven for 200 C. Place the fish skin side down in a oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with lid or foil. Cook for approximately 40 minutes.

Dice bacon, fry so that fat melts and bacon becomes crispy.

Soak peas over night. Boil peas in fresh water til soft. With milk and flur. Stir the peas into the roux. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Salt to taste.

Serve lutefisk with creamed peas, boiled potatoes, bacon fat, and crispy bacon. Salt, pepper, mustard placed at the table.


courtesy of: NTNU: Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet

559. CHEESY BACON APRICOT SPREAD

2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup apricot preserves

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese (room temperature) until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined. Serve with crackers or cut up vegetables.


courtesy of: Smuckers, The J.M. Smucker Co., 1 Strawberry Lane, Orrville, Ohio 44667-0280, 1-888-550-9555

558. MINI MUFFULETTA BACON-OLIVE SANDWICHES

makes 12 appetizer servings


24 split cocktail buns or dinner roll halves
48 pepperoni slices

for Bacon-Olive Cream Cheese
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
8 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
24 pimiento-stuffed olives, chopped
4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients. To make ahead: Cover and chill for up to 3 days. For easier spreading, let stand 30 minutes or until softened.

Layer bottom of cocktail buns or dinner roll halves evenly with Bacon-Olive Cream Cheese and pepperoni slices; cover with bun halves. Prep: 15 min.


courtesy of: Southern Living, September 2004

557. CRISPY BACON MUSTARD CORNBREAD

makes 8 servings


8 slices bacon
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup prepared mustard or Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
2 cups self-rising corn meal mix

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. In 12-inch cast iron skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine milk, mustard and egg; mix well. Add corn meal mix; blend well. Remove bacon from skillet; drain on paper towels. Remove drippings from skillet; reserve. Crumble bacon; sprinkle evenly in skillet. Add 1 tablespoon reserved drippings to skillet. Stir 3 tablespoons reserved drippings into cornbread batter; blend well.* Pour batter over bacon in skillet. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from skillet; place on serving plate.


courtesy of: Martha White, 1-(800)-663-6317

556. CHAMORRO RED RICE with BACON and ONIONS

3 cups short grained rice
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
6-8 slices smoky streaky bacon, finely chopped
achote (see note)


For this recipe, prepare rice for cooking in a rice cooker. Set aside. Sautée onion (or half a large one), with bacon, chopped finely. Drain off any excess oil, and add this to the rice pot. For a vegetarian version, add a little more onion, and a little hickory or kiawe liquid smoke, if desired. Add one scant tablespoon of the powder for every cup of rice cooked, but adjust it according to your colour preference--I like mine to be more orange, while others prefer a deeper, almost paprika-hued red. Close the lid to your cooker, and cook as regular rice. Mix the rice through to distribute the onions and bacon and it's done!

NOTE: Achote comes in seed form, which must be soaked, but also comes in more convenient powder or liquid forms. I use powder, which can be found in many latino food shops as annatto or achiote. i


courtesy of: the scent of green bananas: food from the guambat

555. BACON-WRAPPED ZANDER

1 Zander scaled and gutted (2-3lbs)
150g smoked bacon sliced into strips
salt
flour
100g butter
1 small onion
200ml sour cream
100ml double cream
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 slice lemon

Score the fish vertically on each side. Salt it and then turn it in flour. Fry in half the butter at the highest temperature possible for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover with the strips of bacon and keep warm. Finely chop the onion and fry gently in a quarter of the butter. When transparent, add both creams and the paprika. Make a roux from the remaining butter and 1 tsp flour. Stir into the onion cream until thickened. Pour over the fish and bacon then garnish with a slice of lemon and serve with vegetables and new potatoes.


courtesy of: Camboaters Community Association, Cambridge UK / A Voice on the River newsletter

554. CHESTNUT SOUP with BACON and THYME CROUTONS

Serves 4


8 oz (225 g) peeled chestnuts – approximately 1 lb (450 g) unpeeled weight
1 stick celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
2 pints (1.2 litres) Ham Bone Stock (click here for recipe)
salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the croutons:
4 oz (110 g) stale white bread, cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 rasher bacon, very finely chopped
½ level teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

To make the soup, you simply place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, season discreetly with salt and pepper, bring up to simmering point, then put a lid on and simmer very gently for 45 minutes.

While that's happening you can prepare the croutons. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the bacon gently for 5 minutes, then turn the heat up to its highest setting, add the cubes of bread together with the thyme, and toss them around (keeping them constantly on the move) until they, and the bacon, have turned a deep golden brown colour and become very crisp and crunchy.

Turn them out on to some absorbent kitchen paper. Then, as soon as the soup is ready, transfer it to a blender and purée until smooth. Re-heat it in the rinsed-out pan and serve in warmed soup bowls, with the croutons, bacon and thyme sprinkled over.


courtesy of: Delia Smith, Delia Smith’s Christmas and The Delia Collection: Soup

553. BACON and POBLANO PEPPER QUESO FUNDIDO

makes 16 servings, 2 tablespoons each


4 slices bacon
1 poblano chile, halved lengthwise, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in skillet until crisp; remove from skillet. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from skillet. Add chiles and garlic to skillet; cook and stir until tender. Crumble bacon. Layer half each of the bacon and chiles in 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish; sprinkle with cheese. Top with remaining bacon and chiles. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, warmed flour tortillas or cut-up fresh vegetables.


courtesy of: Kraft Foods

552. SEA SCALLOPS with PEAS, BACON and CARROTS

serves 4


4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup packed shredded Boston lettuce (6 leaves)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
16 large sea scallops (about 1 1/2 pounds)

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat until browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and carrot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the carrot is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and cook just until heated through. Add the chicken stock, cover and simmer until the carrot is tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the shredded lettuce, lemon juice, parsley and bacon and cook just until the lettuce wilts. Season the vegetables generously with salt and pepper and keep warm. In another large skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the olive oil. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to warmed plates, top with the scallops and serve.


courtesy of: Daniel Boulud, "Four-Star Food," Food & Wine, July 2003

551. PECAN-BROWN SUGAR and BACON ICE CREAM

makes 1½ quarts


3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1¼ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup chopped pecans
1 lb. bacon, cooked until very crips, blotted on paper towels and finely chopped (about ½ cup)

Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until hot and the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the hot cream-milk mixture. Return the yolk mixture to the saucepan, beating constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6-8 minutes. Do not let boil.

Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and let it cool completely. Stir in pecans and bacon and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. To showcase the ice cream's flavor, before serving, remove from freezer and let it soften slightly.


courtesy of: Seduced by Bacon by Joanna Pruess with Bob Lape. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2006, p. 166

550. BEEF STEW with BACON

4 lbs. Beef tenderloin tips or rump roast, cut into cubes
4 strips bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ lb. button mushrooms
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 bottle Syrah

In a deep fry pan, cook bacon, onions, and garlic. Remove bacon and onions with a slotted spoon. Brown meat cubes on all sides. Sprinkle with flour and brown slightly. Add wine, stirring well. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for appx. 1 hour. Replace onions and bacon, add mushrooms, and simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes. Serve over noodles. Garnish with chopped parsley.


courtesy of: Tantalus Winery, 19320 Orange Avenue, Sonoma, California 95476

549. DISCADA

Equal quantities of pork and beef meat
Bacon
Onions
Green peppers (you can also mix green and red peppers)
Tomatoes
Salt
Black pepper
Cumin (either seeds or powder)
Olive oil (the original recipe is with pork lard)
Grated Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese may work (if you can find Chihuahua cheese would be great)

Chop ingredients in small pieces, but do not mix them. In a large pan or skillet, pour some olive oil. Fry the bacon until it is well cook, and put it aside (but leave the mix of fat and olive oil in the pan).

The order in which you fry the ingredients is quite important. In the same pan, fry the chopped onions (add more oil if needed), until it's 3/4 done and put it aside. Repeat the same process with the peppers.

Now in the same pan, cook the pork and add some salt and black pepper to taste. When it's done put aside.

Now cook the beef (add more oil if necessary), and add some salt, black pepper and cumin. When the beef is somewhere 1/2 - 3/4 done, add the pork, the green peppers, the onion and the bacon. Mix everything well.

Add the chopped tomatoes (you need enough tomato to cover everything) and keep mixing until the tomato releases the juice. Cover until the beef is well done.

Put it into a big plate to serve it, and cover with the cheese. Eat it with corn tortillas (refried beans are optional).


courtesy of: Graduate Christian Fellowship, University of Florida

548. OCEAN TROUT with WARM POTATO and BACON SALAD, RIESLING CABBAGE, GARLIC SAUSAGE, and GRAINY MUSTARD SAUCE

Yield: 6 people

6- 7oz. Filets of Arctic Char
2 pieces of fresh garlic sausage
2 Tbs. Grape seed oil

For Potatoes:
2 lb. Fingerling Potatoes
1 Tbs. caraway seeds
1/2 onion (diced)
1 cucumber (peeled and sliced)
4 slices smoked bacon
4 oz. grape seed oil
4 oz. chicken stock
2 oz. hengstenberg vinegar or other white vinegar
2 Tbs. chopped parsley

Boil the potatoes (skin on), with the caraway seeds. Let cool and when still warm, peel and slice them. Heat up the tablespoon of the oil and sauté the bacon to a crisp, add the onion and sauté until translucent. Combine the mix to the potatoes and add the rest of the oil, vinegar, parsley, cucumber, chicken stock, and finish with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

For Cabbage:
16 oz. Sauerkraut
1 Tbs. Caraway seeds
1 ½ cups plus 4 Tbs. dry Riesling wine
1 granny smith apple
1 small Yukon gold potato
6 Tbs. Butter

Drain the sauerkraut. Sauté the cabbage in a pan with two tablespoons of the butter and the caraway seeds. Add the wine and reduce by half. Meanwhile, peel and grate the apple and potato separately. Add the apple to the reducing cabbage mixture. When the mixture is almost dry add in the potato. Cook the cabbage until it is nearly dry. Add the remaining butter, four tablespoons of fresh Riesling wine, salt, and ground white pepper.


For Grainy Mustard Sauce

Yields: 1 cup

2 Tbs. High quality grainy mustard
½ cup Riesling wine
1 Tbs. Honey
1 cup fresh fish cream

In a small saucepot, bring to a boil the wine, honey, and mustard. Reduce the mixture by half, and add in the cream. Bring the cream to a boil and season with salt and white pepper.

If the sausage has already been cooked, simply slice it in to 1/8-inch rounds. Warm your cast iron or cold steel frying pan up over a medium high heat. Sauté the sausage rounds in the pan with one tablespoon of the grape seed oil. Remove the sausage and keep them in a warm place. Add more oil if needed and sauté the trout fillets on the skin side for 6 minutes. Lower the heat if the skin is getting to dark. Flip the fish and cook for 30 more seconds.

To serve: Place a couple of spoons of the potato salad on six individual plates. Divide the cabbage equally between the plates. Put 4 of 5 slices of sausage and the fish on top of the cabbage. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the sauce on the plates.


courtesy of: 3030 Ocean Restaurant, Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, 3030 Holiday Drive, Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, Florida 33316, 954-765-3030

547. POACHED EGGS with an ARTICHOKE, BACON, and CROUTON SALAD

Serves 4


For the salad
4 large globe artichokes
lemon juice
2 soft round lettuces

For the croutons
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
sunflower oil, for shallow frying
4 rashers of rindless, thick-cut streaky bacon, cut across into short fat strips

For the eggs
4 large, very fresh eggs
white wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard
6 tbsp sunflower oil

To prepare the artichokes, break off the stems and discard.

Cut off the top half of each globe, and then bend back the green leaves, letting them snap off close to the base, until you reach the hairy choke at the centre.

Slice the choke away with a small knife, close to the heart, or scrape it away with a teaspoon.

Trim off the dark green base of the leaves to leave just the convex-shaped heart.

Drop them into a pan of acidulated water (water and lemon juice) to prevent the hearts going brown.

When you have prepared them all, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the hearts and cook for 4-5 minutes or until just tender, then drain and leave to cool.

Remove the outer leaves of the lettuces and break the pale green hearts into leaves.

Wash and dry well, using a salad spinner if you have one. Slice the artichoke hearts across into thin slices.

For the croutons, tear or cut the bread into small pieces about 1cm/¾in in size.

Heat a thin layer of sunflower oil in a small frying pan, add the bread pieces and fry over a medium-high heat until crisp and golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper.

Heat a little more sunflower oil in the frying pan, add the bacon strips and fry for 2-3 minutes until crisp. Set aside with the croutons and keep warm.

To make the dressing, return the empty frying pan to a medium-high heat and add the vinegar, followed by the mustard.

Whisk together well, allowing the mixture to reduce very slightly as you do so, then gradually whisk in the sunflower oil and some salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and keep warm.

To poach the eggs, bring 5cm/2in of water to the boil in a wide, shallow pan. Add vinegar and salt (1½ tsp vinegar and ½ tsp salt per 1.2 litres/2 pints water) and reduce to a very gentle simmer. Break in the eggs and leave to poach gently for three minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.

To serve, arrange the salad leaves over the centre of four plates and tuck the artichoke slices in among the leaves. Slide a poached egg into the centre of each salad and scatter with the croûtons and bacon. Spoon over a little of the warm dressing and serve straight away, while everything is still warm.


courtesy of: Rick Stein, French Odyssey

546. DOG BACON DROPS

4 cups of all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons of baking powder
½ cup of dry nonfat milk
½ cup of vegetable shortening
16 slices of crisp cooked bacon strips, crumbled
2 cups of chicken broth, or as much as needed

Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and pre heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place 2 lightly greased baking pans on the side.

Use a large bowl and a wire whisk to mix the all purpose flour, baking powder and dry milk together. Use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening until the mixture acquires a fine meal consistency. Then form a hole in the middle of the dry mixture and add in the chicken broth and work it until it turns into a soft dough and pulls away from the bowl it is in.

Drop 1 teaspoon full of dough onto the previously prepared baking pans. Allow them to bake for around 10 to 12 minutes or until the top of the cookies acquire a light brown color.

Once done, take them out of the oven and place them over a wire rack allowing them to cool. Refrigerate them when they are done.


courtesy of: seeFIDO's Dog House

545. PORK, PROSCUITTO and BACON MEATLOAF with CHICKPEAS

serves 8

Four 1-inch-thick slices of Italian bread, crusts removed, bread soaked in 1 cup of milk and squeezed dry
4 ounces sliced bacon
4 ounces sliced prosciutto
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper from a jar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 cup tomato puree
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 cup prepared plain hummus

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the bread, bacon and prosciutto. Add the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pepper and eggs; process to a paste. Pulse in the parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, oregano and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and knead in the pork.

Preheat the broiler. Pat the mixture into two 8-inch-long loaves. In a large nonstick roasting pan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Transfer the loaves to the pan and cook over moderate heat until the bottoms are browned, 6 minutes. Brush the tops with oil and broil until slightly browned, 8 minutes. Lower the oven to 350°.

In a cup, combine the tomato puree, stock and hummus. Pour the mixture into the roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one of the loaves registers 180°. Light the broiler.

Spoon some of the sauce over the loaves and broil for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a platter and serve with the gravy.


courteys of: Andrew Carmellini, "Chef Recipes Made Easy," Food & Wine, October 2006

544. BACON-WRAPPED GRILLED SMOKED DOVE

12 dove breasts
6 slices bacon, halved
2-3 fresh jalapeno's (seeded and sliced 1/4 inch)
onion (make a 1/4 inch slice off a onion and cut a ring 1 inch long, need 24 pieces)
cajun seasoning

Take dove breasts and make a slice half way down the sides of the breast long ways. Place a piece of onion and jalapeno in each side of breast, wrap half slice of bacon around dove breast and secure with tooth pick. Heat up smoker and place a piece of aluminum foil on grill and place dove breast bone side down on foil. Poke holes around each dove in the aluminum foil and smoke 45 minutes or till done.

Note: You can also do Quail the same way, if you don't have a smoker you can do it in a 350 degree oven for approx. 30 minutes.

courtesy of: Walter Horton Stafford, Texas / The American Outdoorsman

543. ROAST PARTRIDGE with BACON, GARLIC and THYME

Serves 2


2 young partridge, drawn, livers reserved
salt and black pepper, freshly ground
10 garlic cloves, blanched for 10 minutes
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 rashers streaky bacon
2 tbsp light olive oil
4oz unsalted butter
2 shallots, sliced
8fl oz brown chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Season the birds inside and out with salt and pepper and stuff the garlic and sprig of fresh thyme inside each bird. Drape the bacon over each bird and truss into place with string.

Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large ovenproof pan until the butter is foaming and very hot. Add the partridge and fry briefly on all sides, place in the preheated oven and roast for 8-10 minutes on each side.

Remove from the oven, turn the birds breast down and allow the birds to rest for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.

Using the same pan that the partridge were cooked in, sweat the shallots in a little butter.

Meanwhile untie the birds and remove the bacon and the garlic cloves.

Chop the bacon into ¼in pieces. Set aside with the cloves.

Cut off the legs and the breasts from the birds and keep in a warm place.

Chop the carcass and livers and add to the shallots. Cook gently for a few minutes.

Add the stock, thyme and two garlic cloves. Simmer for 5 minutes then strain through a fine sieve into a small pan.

Boil until reduced to a sauce consistency which coats the back of a spoon.

Whisk in 1 tbsp of butter and season with salt and pepper and a few leaves of fresh thyme.

To serve, fry the reserved bacon pieces and garlic cloves gently in butter until the bacon is starting to crisp up and the garlic is beginning to brown. Make sure the partridge is still warm and then arrange on warm serving plates. Pour over a little sauce and then garnish with the fried garlic and bacon pieces.


courtesy of: Paul and Jeanne Rankin, Gourmet Ireland

542. GRIDDLED SPRING ONION and BACON FARL STACK with FRIED EGG and CHEESE SAUCE

Serves 2


For the griddled spring onion and bacon
3 large spring onions, halved
6 rashers organic dry-cured streaky bacon
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

For the farls
12oz chilled mash
1 medium egg, yolk only
1oz plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1oz unsalted butter
extra flour, for rolling

For the cheese sauce
4oz cheddar cheese, grated
¼ pint double cream
a pinch of grated nutmeg

For the fried eggs
2 medium eggs
2 tsp olive oil

Preheat a griddle pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the potato, egg yolk and enough flour to make a stiff dough. On a floured surface, roll the dough out until it is 1cm thick round, then cut out six triangles. Place the bacon on the griddle pan. In a large frying pan, heat the oil for the farls. Fry the farls for 1-2 minutes each side. Add the spring onion to the griddle pan. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the bacon and spring onions. Griddle until cooked through and charred. Add the butter to the farl pan. Fry for a further minute on each side. In a small pan gently bring the cream to a simmer. Stir in the cheese and nutmeg, until melted. In a small frying pan, heat the oil for the eggs. Fry the eggs.

Place a farl triangle on a serving plate. Top the farl with a slice of bacon, then spring onion. Repeat twice more on top. Lay a fried egg on top of the last spring onion and drizzle over half of the cheese sauce. Season. Repeat this the remaining ingredients.

Serve.


courtesy of: Lesley Waters, Ready Steady Cook

541. SPAGHETTI SQUASH with BACON-BRAISED, GLAZED CHESTNUTS

Serves 4


1 spaghetti squash, approximately 2 1/2 lbs.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
Grapeseed oil to sauté
Pinch cayenne pepper
20 to 25 large fresh chestnuts
Canola oil to fry
1 1/4 cup chicken stock or water
1 ounce bacon, cubed

For the squash: Preheat oven to 350. Split spaghetti squash lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and fibers, reserving seeds. Drizzle squash with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Wrap squash in foil, and bake for approximately 11/4 hours. (Meanwhile, start on the chestnuts.) Remove squash from oven, and, using a fork, scrape the strands of squash flesh free from the shell; let cool. In a medium skillet, brown 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the squash strands for about five minutes. Wash squash seeds and dry them in a toaster oven at 250 for about an hour. In a small skillet, sauté seeds in grapeseed oil over low heat for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and cayenne, and set aside on a paper towel.

For the chestnuts: With paring knife, carve an x in the flat side of each chestnut to facilitate peeling them later. Over medium heat, (1) fry chestnuts in large skillet with canola oil for about five minutes until skin starts to curl away from the x. Remove chestnuts and (2) let cool slightly before (3) removing skin and inner peel. Return peeled chestnuts to covered skillet, and braise with chicken stock or water, bacon, remaining butter, and salt for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until chestnuts are soft. Remove lid, raise heat, and glaze the chestnuts until liquid is reduced.

To serve: Place squash on platter, arrange chestnuts on top, and sprinkle with seeds.


courtesy of: New York Magazine, November 28, 2005 / Laurent Gras, Bistro du Vent, 411 W. 42nd St., (near Ninth Ave.), New York, New York, 10036, 212-239-3060