Tag: bacon

Minestrone Soup

Fall is upon us and winter will be here before we know it.  I love soups of all kinds and this is one of my favorites…my take on Ina’s Garten’s Winter Minestrone Soup.  

Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soup

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil.  Heat about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot.  Add about 3 Italian hot sausage links (out of casing) and about 6 strips of thick cut bacon (cut into small pieces) to the heated oil and brown.  Once meat is browned, add one small shallot diced, 1/2 cup carrots diced, 1 zucchini diced, 4 to 5 cloves of minced garlic, and fresh thyme leaves.  At this point, I also add about 3 celery stocks with leaves.  You can dice the celery and leave in soup, I just prefer the flavor and will remove once soup is finished.  Cook for about 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.  Add one box of chopped/diced tomatoes, 6 Cups of chicken stock (I use Rachel Ray’s), 2 to 3 bay leaves and salt/pepper.  Allow the pot to come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes.  

Add your favorite small pasta to the boiling salted water.  I prefer Barilla’s Mezze Penne.  Cook to just al dente.  Drain and set aside.

When soup has simmered and vegetables are softened, remove the bay leaves and celery stalks and discard.  Add two cans of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed).  Add one big bag of baby spinach leaves and prepared pesto.  I love She’s Pesto.  She is local to Charlotte.  Two to three frozen cubes of her homemade pesto is perfect for this soup.  If soup is too thick, add a bit more chicken stock.  Taste for salt…add more if needed.  Serve in individual bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh chiffonades of basil. 

Baked Stuffed Clams with Bacon

Here’s the recipe for my most recent creation: Baked Stuffed Clams with Bacon.  Start by soaking 2 dozen clams, that you can find locally at the Carolina Fish Market, in a mixture of flour and water for about 15 minutes. Then heat a large can of clam juice and one cup of white wine in a deep pan, bring to boil. Rinse clams, add to broth mixture and cover. 
Here’s the recipe for my most recent creation: Baked Stuffed Clams with Bacon.  Start by soaking 2 dozen clams, that you can find locally at the Carolina Fish Market, in a mixture of flour and water for about 15 minutes. Then heat a large can of clam juice and one cup of white wine in a deep pan, bring to boil. Rinse clams, add to broth mixture and cover. 
As the clams open, remove from pan immediately. Once all clams have opened and been removed, let cool. Discard cooking liquid. In the meantime, crisp up chopped bacon and set aside. Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a bowl, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cut up about 5 or 6 slices of crusty bread and place in the cream mixture, allow to soak for about 15 minutes. Add one small diced shallot, about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, and chopped canned clams and fresh chopped parsley to this mixture.  Remove the cooked clams form the shell, chop and add to mixture. Create vessels from the shells of the clams by pulling apart the clam shells. Add the bacon to the bread mixture and form a stuffing like consistency. If the mixture is too moist, add a bit more Parmesan cheese. Fill each 1/2 clam shell with the mixture and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and serve with fresh lemon wedges.
As the clams open, remove from pan immediately. Once all clams have opened and been removed, let cool. Discard cooking liquid. In the meantime, crisp up chopped bacon and set aside. Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a bowl, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cut up about 5 or 6 slices of crusty bread and place in the cream mixture, allow to soak for about 15 minutes. Add one small diced shallot, about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, and chopped canned clams and fresh chopped parsley to this mixture.  Remove the cooked clams form the shell, chop and add to mixture. Create vessels from the shells of the clams by pulling apart the clam shells. Add the bacon to the bread mixture and form a stuffing like consistency. If the mixture is too moist, add a bit more Parmesan cheese. Fill each 1/2 clam shell with the mixture and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Grilled Oysters with Bacon and Parmesan Cheese

 

Today, I bring to you a great recipe that I developed a few weeks ago, Grilled Oysters with Bacon and Parmesan Cheese. I purchased the oysters and had the lids removed at my local fish and food market,  Carolina Fish Market.  You can find all of the ingredients for this dish at this market.

You start by heating the grill or oven to 400 degrees. Top each raw oyster (One dozen raw oysters without lids, but not shucked) with melted butter, shredded Parmesan cheese and crisp bacon crumbles.  (If you cannot get your oysters shucked, you can place them on a hot grill and just when they open, remove and continue following the recipe above with the toppings…just be sure to place back on grill to melt and brown cheese…this may take only 2 minutes…do not overcook or your oysters will be tough…see picture below for how to open oysters on grill). 

Grilling oysters... 
Grilling oysters… 

Place on hot grill and cover with grill lid  Grill for about 4 to 6 minutes or until you notice the cheese melt and turn brown. Remove from grill onto a serving platter.  I chose this wood, food safe platter from Home Goods. Garnish with fresh parsley and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Be sure to serve it immediately and enjoy!