Best and Easiest way to cook Bacon

Who doesn't love bacon? I bet vegetarians who converted later on in life even miss bacon a little. I love when bacon is crispy, flat but has enough fat in it still to melt in your mouth. I hate bacon that is overly crisp, curly and burnt where the curls touch the pan, often due to too high heat. To cook bacon to perfection, the fat must be rendered out over low flame or in low heat. Baking bacon in the oven my fool proof and splatter-proof way to cook bacon. It is especially good if you are cooking large amounts of bacon.

TBC's Best Way to Cook Bacon

Line a rimmed baking sheet (half sheet pan) with foil. Fit rack on top. Line bacon up without touching each other. The bacon will shrink as it cooks so it doesn't need to be spaced out, just don't have the edges touch because they can stick together.

Place in the cold oven and turn the oven to 350˚F. The oven heating to temperature will render out the fat slowly without burning or curling. After the oven reaches 350˚F, leave the bacon in for 10 minutes more. After 10 minutes, your bacon is done and is perfectly crisp and flat.

Try these variations:

Brown Sugar Bacon: Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar mixture over 1 lb. bacon and bake following the instructions above.

Sweet n' Spicy Bacon: Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with 2 tsp. cayenne pepper. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar mixture over 1 lb. bacon and bake following the instructions above.

Blueberry Cake

I am not an expert cake maker. I may technically be a pastry chef but cakes are not my forte. They are a pain in my butt actually. At work, I dread birthdays and special occasions that require a cake or their named piped in chocolate. But cake means celebration so I better get my pastry chef butt in gear. I need to practice, dammit. I cannot rely soley on my pastry techniques. Most people won't care that I can make a perfect creme anglaise or fold egg whites expertly. The people have spoken and they want cake and they want it to look pretty.

I came across this blueberry frosting recipe from Rachel of Coconut and Lime. She is a fellow foodie from Baltimore (of all places!). The color was so pretty and I happen to have a package of blueberries so I just had to try this recipe. I thought it would pare nicely with the lemon filling.

The frosting was very easy to make, although I could see how it could be intimidating to the newbie baker. Pouring liquid hot sugar down the side of the stand mixer can be quite daunting. You could take a note from Alton Brown and use a metal turkey baster to add the molten sugar but it seems like a superfluous step to me. Also if you don't have a vanilla bean, you can add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract to the egg whites after adding the blueberry syrup.

Image courtesy of Coconut and Lime

Rachel's Blueberry-Vanilla Bean Frosting

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
2/3 cup blueberries
1 vanilla bean, split length wise
pinch salt

Directions:

Beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring sugar, vanilla bean, blueberries and water to a boil, stirring occasionally, mashing the berries a bit with the back of your spoon. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage (when a drop of the syrup forms a soft ball when dropped in cool water or 235˚-240˚F if using a candy thermometer) while continuing to stir occasionally.

Whisk the blueberry mixture through a fine sieve into a heat safe measuring cup and discard the blueberries. Keep the mixer running (to be safe use a stand mixer or a friend to complete this next step) and carefully pour a continuous stream of molten syrup into the egg whites. Continue to beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy, glossy and cool. Do not get any syrup on the whisk or it will spread sugar strings throughout your frosting! Frost cooled cupcakes or cake.

Source

Pulled Pork

Summertime to me means lots of BBQ and outdoor eating! Pulled pork sandwiches are one of my all-time favorite eats and I always seem to eat more pulled pork during the summer months. This is an easy pulled pork recipe using a Crock-Pot, a beer and a coke. Like they say, "Set it and forget it!" I like eating the pulled pork with the soft King's Hawaiian Rolls dipped in the cooking juices, French dip style. The pulled pork needs to cook at least 6 hours so cook it the night before you want to eat it or start it in the morning.

TBC Pulled Pork

Chile Rub:
8 TBSP brown sugar
3 TBSP kosher salt
2 TBSP chile powder
1 TBSP cumin
1 tsp each:

• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• jalepeno seasoning
• Old Bay
• Thyme
• Onion Powder

5 lb. Pork shoulder (I use the Boston Butt cut) <--LOL
1-12 oz. can of Coca-Cola
1-12 oz. can of beer
2 jalepenos, split lengthwise
1 yellow onion, wedged into 8 pieces

Directions

1. Rub the chile rub all over the pork shoulder, massaging gently into flesh. Marinate the meat for at least an hour or up to overnight. Meanwhile, prepare the jalepenos and wedge the onions. Depending on how spicy you like it, the ribs and seeds can be removed from the jalepenos for a less spicier kick.
2. When the meat is done marinating, place in the crock pot along with the beer, Coca-Cola, jalepenos and onion. Set the temperature to low and forget about it!
3. About six hours later, check on the pork. It should be falling of the bone. Separate the liquid into a large saucepan and place on stove to reduce to half the amount. In a large pan, use two forks to pull the pork apart. Place back in Crock Pot with a cup or two of the cooking liquid. Reserve the remaining cooking liquid for au jus or dipping!