Peas'n Prosciutto

Ok, so maybe I now have a lot of left over bacon. And pancetta. And prosciutto. Whatever. There have to be some consequences (besides poundage) for hosting Iron Chef. Hence, I tweaked a recipe that I saw Christine Cushing do that includes peas and prosciutto. A nice way to dress up peas - an even nicer way to rid yourself of extra pork.

prosciutto - a couple of slices cut into smallish pieces
a teaspoon or so of butter
1/4 onion or shallot chopped
about 2-3 cups of frozen peas, thawed.

Saute onion and prosciutto in butter until onion is softened and prosciutto a bit translucent and cooked looking. Toss in peas and stir gently until peas are cooked through. season with salt and pepper to taste. I am sure you could substitute pancetta or just old fashioned bacon- even diced ham - too.

Bow down to Raichlen

The dish that made him famous - beer can chicken - may be the reason that some of you have not discovered him yet. But Steven Raichlen might be my favorite cookbook author on the planet (he certainly is Jason's). Alright, I will admit there is some barbecuing involved, but it is not all smoked meat, charcoal and streaky sirloin steaks. He is truly an aficionado of all that is outdoor cooking - be it vegetarian or otherwise.

This past weekend we tried an amazing Morroccan salad out of his new book, Planet Barbecue that was truly like nothing you have ever tried before and out of this world. I needed to share so here it is.

3 anaheim or cubanelle peppers
4 bell peppers (assorted colors)
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and 1/4 inch dice
1/2 of a SWEET onion, chopped
3 tablespoons mint, chopped but not too fine.
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice or more to taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or more lemon juice
kosher or sea salt
fresh ground pepper

place whole peppers (all of them) on the grill and grill them until blackened. Take them off the grill and let cool. Then peel off as much as the blackened skin as you can, and chop into a 1/4 inch dice. Place in a non-reactive bowl and dump the rest of the ingredents on top and mix. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Lordy. So good - even a bit out of our usual food fare, but worth the attempt for your next summer meal.

Battle Bacon

Iron chef time again and this time it was a head to head battle between the Smiths and the Haneys! The ingredient was BACON. Have I had bacon since that day? Well, actually no, come to think of it, I have not. But nonetheless we did cook some very delectable bacon dishes.

The ingredient was picked by my coworkers so no one had any advance knowledge of the challenge at hand. However, we might have taken some license as we allowed any sort of bacon to be used - back bacon, pancetta, proscuitto or the old fashioned strips.

What was the outcome?
A delicious range of dishes.
Jason - bacon havarti "melts" on garlic bread, caramel bacon fritters
Sandy - bacon chowder and a decontructed caesar salad
Pat - brie proscuitto roll, melon and bacon, bacon in a "blanket" with duo of dipping sauces
Carlyn - bacon popped popcorn with pancetta croutons and parmesan cheese, deconstructed bacon avocado and tomato sandwich, potato skins and bacon wrapped stuffing.

Needless to say, I continue to kick ass and take names.