I love a simple dish with a little something special.  This is such an easy weeknight dinner, with the smoky flavor of bacon, the bright color and fresh bite of spinach and a creamy sauce that is surprisingly simple.  I prefer to use regular spinach, not the baby spinach sold in the salad section, which I find really ticky to cut into pieces and remove stems.  I love the big, hearty tunnels of rigatoni, but any tubular pasta will work.

Creamy Spinach and Bacon Rigatoni

1 pound rigatoni pasta

6 strips of bacon

1 bunch of fresh spinach leaves

Clove of garlic, minced

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup of grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni according to the instructions on the package.

While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, cut the bacon into small pieces and cook it in a large sauté pan on high heat until crispy.  Meanwhile, rinse the spinach leaves, leaving a bit of water clinging to them. Remove the stems and roughly chop the leaves into manageable pieces.  They don’t need to be miniscule, but you don’t want long strands in the finished dish.

When the bacon is crispy, remove it with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Reduce the heat to medium and give the bacon grease a couple of minutes to cool down.  Add the garlic and cook for just a minute before dropping in the spinach.  Be careful as the water from the spinach will cause some spitting.  Stir to coat it all in the oil, cover the pan and cook for about three minutes until the spinach is bright green and wilted.  Add the ricotta and stir until it is smooth and creamy.  Generously salt and pepper the dish, and stir in the nutmeg.

Your pasta should be ready by now.  Dip out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the rigatoni in a colander.  Add the rigatoni to the ricotta sauce and stir to coat well. Drop in the bacon pieces and add about ½ cup of the pasta water and stir to loosen up the sauce and coat the pasta.  Use more pasta water if you need Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.

Serves 6

Making homemade crackers is one of the little culinary secrets I love so much.  It never occurs to most people that making your own is something that can or would be done.  But it is easy to do and pretty impressive when you serve homemade crackers.  It took me awhile to get where I wanted to go with making my own crackers.  I read and sampled a lot of recipes.  Some were too complicated, some just weren’t good, most were fine, but plain.  I fiddled around until I had a base recipe that worked with a lot of different flavor additions – herbs and spices and cheese.  But this version literally hit me like a lightning bolt.  I was serving myself a bowl of soup one night, and doling out some (store-bought) plain crackers and I suddenly thought – bacon crackers.  Could it be possible?  I went to work immediately, and here is where I landed.

These crispy, salty little gems are the perfect sidecar for a bowl of soup, particularly with Pimento Cheese Soup.  That being said, they also take pimento cheese spread to a whole new level.  These are excellent on a cheese platter, with a creamy brie, a salty goat or a tangy blue.  Or smeared with a little butter.  Frankly, they are good all on their own.

If you have a fancy-edged pastry roller this is a great place to use it.  Personally, I like the rough and rustic look.  Not all my crackers are even or perfect, but if I actually make my own crackers, I want them to look homemade!  The crackers do need to be roughly the same size on the same baking sheet for even cooking.

Bacon Crackers

4 strips of bacon, cooked very crispy

1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

1 Tablespoon solidified bacon fat

5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 to 2/3 cup very cold water

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

Pat the cooled bacon with paper towels to remove as much grease as possible.  Break the bacon into pieces into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Pulse several times to chop the bacon very finely.  Scrape the bacon out of the bowl and set aside.  Do not worry of there is some bacon residue left on the sides of the bowl.

Place the flour, baking soda, salt and one Tablespoon of the chopped bacon in the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add the bacon grease and the butter pieces.  Pulse several times until the mixture looks like sand, with a few larger lumps throughout.  Turn on the food processor and drizzle in the ice cold water until the dough starts to come together.  Check the dough by pinching a bit between your fingers.  If it sticks together, you’re done.  You may use slightly less water, but you may need a touch more.  Add another tablespoon of chopped bacon bits and pulse a few times to mix through the dough. You may not use all the bacon.

Lightly flour a work surface.  Divide the cracker dough in half and place one half on the work surface.  Knead a little to bring the dough together and pat it into a nice square.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough until it is as thin as a dime, trying your best to keep it in an even rectangle.  Trim off the rough edges and set aside*.  Cut the dough into crackers, about 1 inch by 1 inch.  I find a pizza wheel a very handy tool for this. You can cut them into smaller crackers if you prefer, but you’ll adjust the cooking time.  Carefully transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets. The crackers puff up rather than out, so you can place them close together.  Prick the top of the crackers with a fork, then very lightly brush the tops with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the second half of the dough.  Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly puffed, golden brown and firm. Cool on the baking sheets.

The crackers will keep in a completely airtight container for several days.  I find a flat, sturdy container works best as a zippered bag doesn’t protect the crackers from breakage very well.

* I like to gather all the scraps and knead them together, then roll them out as sort of a third batch.  They may be not as pretty as the rest, but taste just as good.

Makes about 3 dozen

When I claimed thanksgiving for my own, I wanted to create a tradition for this new configuration of family, one for grown-ups and kids alike.  So I came up with the Thankful Tree.  My mom drew a big tree, complete with falling leaves and acorns and a bunny rabbit at the base, on a piece of poster board.  Every year, my nieces and nephew come over before Thanksgiving, when school lets out, to decorate, design menus and work on the Thankful Tree.  We use sticky notes shaped like leaves or apples and write something to be thankful for on the back.  The notes are then arranged on the tree, very artfully mind you.  On Thanksgiving Day, before we start the food free-for-all, everyone pulls a sticky note from the tree (there are usually two for each person) and we go around the room and read out what our notes say we thankful for this year.  Of course, I let the kids choose all the various things to write on the notes.  In the past we have been thankful for air, photosynthesis, bacon and Jedi knights.  But always the first words to go on those stickies are family, food and friends.  As it should be.  But I am thankful for bacon too.

Sweet Potato Mustard

A little sweet, with a nice mustardy tang and rich amber color. Perfect on a leftover turkey sandwich.

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

½ cup sweet potato puree*

1 Tablespoon sorghum or light molasses

1 Tablespoon bourbon

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons ground mustard

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon kosher salt

In a saucepan over high heat, bring the vinegar to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the mustard seeds, bay leaf and cinnamon stick, stirring to combine. Cover the saucepan and let the mixture rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. The seeds will absorb the liquid.

Remove the bay leaf and the cinnamon stick, scraping off any clinging seed.  Add the water, sorghum and bourbon to the mustard seeds and stir, then scrape the mixture into the carafe of a blender.  Blend until smooth, then add the sweet potato puree and blend until you have a nice cohesive, smooth paste.  You can add a few drops of water as you go if you need to get things moving.

Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat over medium heat, bringing it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to boil gently for approximately five minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Whisk in the sugar, ground mustard, paprika and salt. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat, cooking the mixture until it has reduced a bit and is thick and spreadable. This should take about 10 minutes.

Cool the mustard in the pan, then scrape it into an airtight container.  The mustard will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Makes about 1 ½

*To make things quicker, I happily use canned sweet potato puree, but only plain all potato puree, not sweetened or seasoned.  I find at better markets and whole food stores.  If you can’t find it, wrap a sweet potato in foil, bake until soft (about 1 hour), then blend the flesh with a little water to make a very smooth puree.

Bacon Mayonnaise

Rich and creamy with that hint of bacon.  And yes, you can put bacon mayonnaise and crispy bacon on the same sandwich.

½ cup liquid bacon fat

1 egg

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ cup canola oil

Generous pinch of kosher salt

The bacon fat needs to be liquid and not at all solidified.  If you’ve just cooked the bacon, strain the fat through cheesecloth to remove any debris, then leave it to cool to room temperature.  If you are using stored bacon fat, heat it gently in the microwave on half power in 20-second bursts, strain and leave to cool.

Crack the egg into the bowl of a food processor and add the lemon juice.  Blend them together until light and creamy. Add the canola oil to the cooled bacon fat in a spouted measuring cup.  With the motor running, slowly, slowly drizzle in the oil in a steady stream until you’ve used all the oil.  The mayonnaise will thicken and emulsify.  When the oil is all incorporated, taste the mayonnaise, add salt to taste and quickly whizz it a few seconds.  Scrape the may into an airtight container or jar and refrigerate until ready to use.  It will thicken in the fridge and keep for three days.

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

Cranberry Ketchup

Rich red, with a tangy, vinegary bite.  Amazing on a turkey burger or as a dip for sweet potato fries.

1 pound fresh cranberries

2 shallots, chopped

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup water

1 Tablespoon pickling spice

½ teaspoon salt

Place the cranberries, shallots, sugar, vinegar and water in a medium saucepan.  Tie the pickling spice into a little bundle of cheese cloth (or use a tea ball).  Drop it into the cranberries and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the salt and cook until the cranberries burst and the mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Remove the spice bag and set it aside. Scrap the cooled mixture into a blender.  Puree the cranberry mixture until smooth. Rinse out the sauce pan, then press the cranberries through a mesh sieve back into the pan. Pour ½ cup of water in the blender and run for a few seconds to pick up any remaining cranberry, then pour it into the pan. Return the spice bag to the pan, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it is thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Remove the spice bag, squeezing it up against the side of the pan to get out all the good cranberry flavor.

Cool the ketchup in the pan, stirring a few times to prevent a skin forming, then scoop it into an airtight container. It will thicken up as it cools.  The ketchup will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Makes about 1 cup

This is the turkey. I’ve been perfecting this for many years now.  I must say, it is a showstopper, and delicious to boot, because I treat it well.  I send my turkey to a bacon spa. It gets a salt scrub, a bacon butter deep tissue massage, a hand-woven bacon spa robe, some time in the sauna and a little tanning to finish it off.

I’ve got a set of instructions here, more than a recipe, but this way there is enough detail to produce a beautiful bird.

The Turkey

I usually cook an 18 – 20 pound turkey. Not because I have a huge family, but because I like Thanksgiving leftovers.  I always buy a fresh, never frozen turkey of the best quality I can afford.  If you buy a frozen turkey, you need to get it in advance and leave plenty of time for thawing.  You  can do a computer search for the proper method.  My methods below are for a big bird, but easily adapt to a smaller one.

What you’ll need:

A large plastic bag

A platter or pan that fits the turkey in the fridge

Kitchen twine

A roasting pan that fits the turkey (and fits in your oven. Check. This is important.)

A probe-style meat thermometer

A turkey

Lots of kosher salt

1 ½ pounds bacon

½ pound butter

Fresh herbs: sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, marjoram, rosemary

Roasting vegetables: carrots, celery, onions, leeks, apples

I dry brine my turkey for a juicy bird.  I used to wet brine, which involved removing drawers from my fridge and stuffing turkey into a large stockpot full of salted water.  That is a lot of trouble.  Here’s my easy solution that makes for a lovely moist turkey.

Start the brine 2 to 3 days before Thanksgiving. Remove all the interior parts from the bird.  Discard them or use them for stock, or the giblets for gravy.  Wash the bird well, inside and out. Place the bird in a great big plastic bag.  Cookware stores sell fancy “brining bags” but a cheap browning bag from the grocery works just as well, or a big ziptop bag.  Go to town rubbing kosher salt all over the gobbler, inside and out.  Use a lot of salt.  Wash your hands. Tie the bag closed and place it on a platter or pan and put it in the fridge for up to two days.  I do this on Tuesday, butter it up on Wednesday for cooking on Thursday. Thoroughly wash the sink you rinsed the turkey in.  Right now.

Now we work on the flavor and added juiciness.  I tinkered with this recipe for many years, until I hit on just the right method.  I have always rubbed butter on roasted chicken or turkey, or covered it in bacon to keep the bird moist.  For a big mama gobbler, I double down.

In a food processor, blend together ½ pound raw bacon slices, ½ pound butter and  generous handfuls of fresh herbs.  I like a lot of sage, some parsley, oregano, thyme, marjoram and maybe rosemary.  A packet and a half of “poultry herbs” works well. Blend all this until you have a smooth paste.  You can make this ahead and store the bacon butter in an airtight container for up to five days.

We eat our big meal at one o’clock, so I like to have everything ready to go in the morning.  I prepare my bird on Wednesday evening and refrigerate it.  I have a timer feature on my oven that lets me start preheating before I want to wake up, so the oven is ready for the bird when I stumble out of bed.

When you are ready to prepare the turkey, bring the bacon butter to room temperature.  Take the turkey out of its salt bag and give it a good rinse.  Place it breast side up on a large platter or pan that will fit in the fridge.  Wash the sink you rinsed the turkey in.  Now.  If your turkey comes with a pop-up timer, remove it now.  It’s useless. Wash your hands, remove your rings and watch and gently separate the skin from the flesh.  Lift the skin by the cavity and gently slide your hands under the skin.  It will pull away from the flesh.  Keep going to get the skin opened up all the way to the neck and over the legs.  Try not to tear the skin, but don’t fall apart if you do.  It’s not a big deal. Now take big fistfuls of butter and rub it up under the skin and overthe flesh.  Use about ¾ quarters of the bacon butter under the flesh.  Pat theskin down and press the butter into a pretty even layer under the skin.  Rub the remaining butter over the outside of the bird, paying particular attention to the legs, which will not be covered by the bacon blanket.

There is nothing like presenting a beautiful bird to your guests at Thanksgiving, and if I may say so, this is a stunner.  But the bacon is not only decorative, it amps up the juiciness of the meat and flavors the juices for the gravy.  I use thick cut bacon, the best I can find.  I don’t use any kind of artificially flavored bacon.  My big babies use about a pound of bacon.

I think the picture really says it all.  I weave the bacon strips into a lattice.  It’s kind of like making those construction paper placemats from kindergarten.  Lay one strip crosswise over the breast, then one lengthwise. Keep going, folding up the strips already placed to fit the new ones under.  The bacon will shrink when you cook the bird, so place the strips close together and use as many as you can fit.  Tie the legs of the bird together with kitchen twine. When you’ve got the bacon all woven, wash your hands thoroughly, put the bird in the fridge, fix yourself a bourbon and collapse on the sofa.

As I said, we do the meal for lunch, and I am not a morning person, so I do as much ahead as possible.  With the turkey ready to go and the oven heated to 450 degrees, I get ready to roast. Remember, remove one rack and place the other in the right position to fit the pan with the bird.  You don’t want to get everything hot, then have to move things around.  I like good, flavorful juices from the bird to add to gravy.  That really is the only thing that makes gravy worth serving.  My roasting technique creates good juices.

Line the deep roasting that fits your bird with several layers of foil.  It never makes clean up a breeze, but it helps.  If you have a rack that fits a deep roasting pan, great.  I use a grid that is technically a cooling rack.  No rack, nor problem.  Just set the bird on the vegetables as follows.  Cover the bottom of the roasting dish with a thick layer of aromatic root vegetables.  Whole vegetables, don’t’ peel or chop, just remove the paper  from onions and the tops from carrots.  I use carrots, celery, leeks, onions and a couple of apples cut in half.  Stuff an apple and an onion into the cavity of the bird. Tuck some fresh sage leaves and any other herbs you have around the bird. Place the rack over the vegetables if you are using one, don’t worry if it’s wobbly, or just put the bird on the vegetables directly.  Take a piece of foil and mold it to make a shield to cover the bird if it starts to brown too much later.  Remove the molded piece of foil to a safe place.  It is really hard to properly cover a hot turkey in a hot oven. Roast the turkey at 450° for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375° for the rest of the cooking. I highly recommend that you make the small investment in a probe meat thermometer, one with a probe to stick in the turkey and a long cord that plugs into a counter unit.  Gently stick the probe into a thick part of the breast, carefully sliding it between an opening in the bacon blanket.  Make sure you don’t’ go so deep you hit the bone. You want the turkey to be cooked to 165°.  I usually set the thermometer to 155°, remove the turkey from the oven and cover the whole pan with foil.  I let it rest until it reaches 165°.  If the turkey and the bacon start to get too brown before the meat is cooked, cover it with your prepared foil armor. Generally, you need about 15 minutes cooking per pound of turkey.  For a 20 pound turkey, I go 4 to 4 ½ hours.  Leave your self some wiggle room, the turkey will happily wait under its warm foil wrap.  Your guests are not likely to be so patient.

Now we have our beautiful cooked turkey.  Remove the bird to carving board (preferably one with a well to collect juices).  Allow some time for your guests to ohh and ahh and admire your bird. Then let the designated carver go to work.  Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a measuring cup, or one of those neat gravy separators if you have one.  Let the juice settle for a bit, skim off the fat, and add the delicious juices to your gravy.

And here’s a recipe for a simple, tasty make-ahead gravy.

When October rolls around, I start thinking about beer.  Because I start thinking about Oktoberfest.  I’ve never been to Germany, so I’ve never been to a real Oktoberfest celebration, which I understand generally happen at the end of September anyway.  But the idea of Oktoberfest just presents so many options for cooking with, and drinking, good beer. It’s impossible to pass up.

So here is my contribution to the festivities this year.  A nice little beer- based starter.  Tangy with camembert cheese and beer and studded with crispy bacon, these would make a great starter to a meal of German Meatballs, or Belgian Beef and Beer Stew with a selection of nice, crisp beer.  There are so many amazing imported and locally made beers out there now, it’s a great chance to have a little tasting party to familiarize yourself with the latest options.  In the name of research, of course.  So, the name of this recipe is a little silly, but any celebration focused on beer is bound to get silly at some point…

Bacon CamemBeer Bites

Use a good beer you like to drink, but not a dark or amber.  The color would be muddy and the taste overwhelming.

½ pound bacon

7 ounce round of camembert cheese

1 cup pale or golden ale or lager

4 Tablespoons butter

¼ teaspoon ground mustard

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

Cook the bacon until crispy and drain on paper towels.  Finely dice the bacon and set aside. Cut the rind off the camembert as best you can, cut it into small pieces and leave it to come to roomtemperature.

Pour the beer into a high-sided saucepan, add the ground mustard, smoked paprika and cayenne.  Drop in the butter, cut into pieces. Bring the beer and the butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts.  When the beer is boiling, dump the flour in all at once and stir vigorously with a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon until the dough comes together in a ball.  Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition until the mixture is smooth.  Drop in the camembert pieces and continue stirring until it is melted into the dough.  Stir in the bacon, mustard and salt.

Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350° degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Take the dough from the fridge and using a 2 Tablespoon scoop or spoons, drop mounds of dough onto the prepared sheets,  about ½ inch apart.  Bake for 15 – 17 minutes until puffed and golden. They puff up quickly, wait until they are firm and golden brown on top to take out them out.  They willdeflate a bit, no worries.  Serve immediately.

Makes 18

As October begins, I start to think about the farmers market season wrapping up.  I’ve got a few weeks left, when I can buy beautiful apples, as well as pumpkins, winter squash, pears and greens, but I know things are moving into fall and winter. Smaller versions of the market continue, which is a boon, but not quite the same.  My Saturday ritual is wrapping up for the hibernating season.

After a spring and summer of early morning marketing and weekends filled with putting my bounty by, I know the shorter days have a little less to keep me busy. One way I fill the Saturday morning void is with baking and preparing breakfast treats. And this is one of my fall favorites.  A moist morning cake topped with maple-sweetened apples and salty, crispy bacon.  It is a perfect warm treat for a crisp autumn morning.  You can
easily make the apple and bacon topping up to a day before, and whip up the cake in the morning.  A spicy cup of hot tea would be great with this kuchen.  And I will say, I consider this a coffee cake, but it would also be nice as a dessert with some ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Apple and Bacon Kuchen

For the topping:

8 strips of bacon

2 Tablespoons butter

¼ cup light brown sugar, packed

1 Tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 granny smith apples

For the Kuchen:

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten, room temperature

1 Tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

For the filling:

Cook the bacon in large skillet until nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Pour the bacon fat out of the skillet and reserve. Wipe out the skillet to remove any bits and pieces.  Add back one Tablespoon of bacon grease and the butter and melt over medium heat.  Stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup.  While the buttery brown sugar is melting together, peel and core the apples and cut them into small chunks.  Drop the apple pieces into the butter as soon as you chop them to prevent discoloration and stir to coat well.  Sprinkle over the cinnamon and stir to combine.  Cook until the apples are soft and the syrupy brown sugar is reduced and just coating the apples.  Cut the bacon into small pieces and stir into the apples. Set aside to cool.  The topping can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the fridge until ready to cook.

For the kuchen:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat until combined.  Beat in the maple syrup. Mix in the flour, baking powder and baking soda alternately with the sour cream.  Beat until well combined.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it out to the corners.  Spread the apple-bacon topping over the batter to evenly cover the top.  Press the filling in a little bit with a spatula.

Bake the kuchen for 25 – 30 minutes, until the kuchen is puffed and brown on the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm cut into squares.

Serves 8 – 10

Field peas are one of my favorite summer time treats.  Though to be honest, I spend enough time in  summer portioning little bags and stashing them in the freezer that I can enjoy them all year round now.  And I’ll be honest; I don’t veer too much off my standard method of cooking them.  Peas, water, a piece of pork of some variety, maybe onion or garlic and hot sauce.  When the farmers market is going full swing, I even pick up a good naturally smoked ham hock from the fine pork purveyor and make some hock stock to tuck away in the freezer with the peas.  Then I can have a quick summery dish of purple hulls or cream peas or zippers or blackeyes or butter beans in the middle of winter.

But I have always wanted to try field peas in a cold bean salad.  It makes so much sense in summer, refreshing when the heat is so oppressive. The idea has been rattling around in my noggin for a while, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I wanted to go with it.  Then, as recipes sometimes do, it literally jumped out of my brain, while I was in the car one day, driving around on mundane errands.  I could make a vinaigrette with bacon drippings, coat the peas in rich dressing and add the crispy bacon for texture.  From there, pimento peppers and green onions seemed like the most Southern of additions for flavor and color.

In my book, this is the ultimate summer farmers market salad, incorporating many of my favorite Southern farm products. Bags of freshly shelled field peas, the magnificent Berkshire hog bacon, shiny red pimentos and good ol’ green onions (we don’t call them scallions around here). Purple Hulls seem to be the most readily available field pea, but any variety will do.  Just adjust the cooking time accordingly, cooked, but still with a little bite.  If you can’t find fresh pimento peppers, use jarred and drained pimentos, or keep it fresh with a chopped red pepper.

Purple Hull Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

2 pounds purple hull peas

2 cups chicken broth

2 fresh pimento peppers

4 green onions

1 pound bacon

For the Vinaigrette

¼ cup bacon drippings, not solidified

½ cup vegetable oil

4 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon sorghum or dark honey

1 teaspoon hot sauce (or more to taste)

Generous grinding of black pepper

Salt to taste

For the Purple Hull Peas:

Place the purple hulls in a large bowl and cover with water.  Let the peas settle, then remove any floaters and pick out any trash or bad peas.  Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a large pan, leaving behind any debris.  Cook the peas with the chicken broth and  enough fresh water to cover by an inch and bring to a boil.  Spoon off any scum that rises, then reduce to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 30 minutes.  For a cold pea salad, you want a little bite to the peas, so don’t let them get mushy. Drain the peas in a colander, rinse them well and drain again.  Transfer the peas to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator.

Cook the bacon until crispy, then remove to paper towels to drain.  Save ¼ cup of the drippings for the dressing and set it aside to cool, but not solidify. Dice the crispy bacon into small pieces.

Remove the seeds and the ribs from the pimento peppers and cut into a small dice.  Dice the green onions, whites and some of the green parts.  Toss these into the bowl with the chilled peas to combine.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, mix all the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously to emulsify the dressing, making sure the sorghum is blended in.  Pour the dressing over the peas and stir to coat.  You may not want all the dressing.  Taste the salad and add some salt if needed.  These peas tend to need quite a bit.

Chill the salad until ready to serve.  Toss the crumbled bacon into the salad right before serving.  The salad (without the bacon) will keep for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.

Serves 8 – 10

Bacon Popcorn.  Yep.  How about a giant bowl of this in front of the big game? Slightly sweet, perfectly salty with the amazing flavor of crispy bacon.

Popcorn cooked in bacon fat is nothing new.  I imagine it was a popular method before cooking oil could be readily bought and folks were a bit more thrifty about waste.  I often use bacon fat from my stove-side canister to cook popcorn when I want a little flavor boost.  But I couldn’t help thinking there would be a way of upping the bacon-y goodness even more.  Of course, adding lovely little crunchy pieces of crumbled bacon works, but I moved on to this bacon dust seasoning to spread the bacon love all over the bowl, and added a little of the bacon grease to the butter for an extra boost.  The kettle-corn sprinkling of sugar doesn’t hurt, either.

To make the bacon dust, you’ll need an electric spice grinder.  That can be a specially designed spice grinder or a coffee bean grinder used only for spices (the coffee will overpower the spices).  You just can’t get make dust with a food processor or blender.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, just chop the bacon strips into small pieces and toss it with the popcorn.  And yes, the bacon dust has many other uses.  Let your imagination run wild.

Use your own judgment and taste here – you may prefer to use a little less of the butter mix, and may want to add more salt if your bacon doesn’t do it for you.

Bacon Popcorn

8 strips of bacon

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 ½ Tablespoons white sugar

½ cup popcorn kernels

½ cup butter

Kosher salt

Salt to taste

Cook the bacon strips in a large skillet until very crispy.  Remove to paper towels to drain and pat the tops dry.  Pour the bacon grease into a small bowl and set aside.  Leave the bacon to become very dry, with no visible grease left on it.

Break the three crispiest strips of bacon into small pieces and place in a spice grinder with a pinch of kosher salt.  Grind the bacon to a fine powder.  You can add more salt if you’d like – just taste to see how salty the bacon is first. Scoop the bacon dust into a small bowl and fluff with a fork.

Melt the butter in a small measuring jug in the microwave.  Stir in 3 Tablespoons of bacon grease and set aside.  Finely crumble or chop the remaining bacon strips into small pieces.

My favorite method of seasoning popcorn is to put everything in a big brown paper grocery bag and shake it all up.  It seasons everything evenly, soaks up any extra grease and is easy to clean up.  You can also just do it in a large bowl, but whatever way you go, have the bag or the bowl ready to go right by the stove before you start popping.

Put 3 Tablespoons of bacon grease and 1 Tablespoon canola oil in a large stainless steel Dutch oven or sauce pan.  The canola oil keeps the bacon grease from burning.  Drop in 3 popcorn kernels, cover the pot and wait right by the stove until you hear all three kernels pop. Remove the top, drop in the remaining kernels and the sugar and quickly stir to distribute the sugar.  Put the top back on the pot and listen for the popping.  While it is popping in earnest, shake the pot a couple of times.  When the popping slows down to just a few random pops, immediately dump the popcorn into the paper bag or bowl. Do not leave it in the pot, or the sugar will continue to cook and burn.

Drizzle over the bacon grease butter and the bacon dust, shaking the bag or bowl to distribute evenly.  Do this in stages – don’t just drop everything in at once. Toss in the crumbled bacon. Serve in a big bowl and a side of paper towels!

Makes about 6 cups of popcorn

Back in the summer, I boasted to you that I am a chicken salad savant and that I have versions for every imaginable occasion and all seasons.  This is my favorite fall chicken salad, full of the crispy, crunchy, bold flavors of the season.  And yes, chicken salad is perfect in fall – it’s not just for summer anymore.  And if you’ve got visitors in the house for the holidays, having a nice bowl of chicken salad in the fridge is a great help, for a ready lunch or a nice snack.  And I love the autumnal russet, red, gold and brown colors.

This fall iteration of chicken salad has hearty roasted chicken, crispy apples, crunchy walnuts, smoky bacon, sweet cranberries all bound in a perfectly fall maple-tinged dressing.  Roasting skin-on, bone in breasts gives you nice, rich flavor that stands up to the other bold components. And using dark, grade-B maple syrup boosts the maple flavor.  I tend to prefer this version eaten with a fork, maybe over a few fall green leaves so I leave it a little chunky, but if you prefer it in a sandwich, cut your chicken and apples into appropriately sized pieces.  This recipe makes about four nice-sized servings, but feel free to double or triple the recipe.  And yes, this would be brilliant with leftover Thanksgiving turkey meat.

Maple Mustard Chicken Salad

2 large bone-in, skin one chicken breasts

½ cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons grade-B maple syrup

6 strips of bacon

½ cup walnuts

1 small tart red apple

¼ cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the chicken breasts on a baking tray lined with foil. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and bake until just cooked, about 35- 40 minutes.  A thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat should register 165 degrees.  Remove the chicken from the oven to cool, then remove the skin, pull the meat from the bones and shred or chop into bite-sized pieces. Place the chicken meat into a large bowl.

While the chicken in cooking, cut the bacon into small pieces and cook until crispy.  Drain on paper towels and set aside.  Toast the walnut pieces in a dry skillet, just until they release a nice nutty smell.  Watch carefully as nuts can burn quickly. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard and maple syrup until smooth.  Core the apple and chop into bite-sized pieces and drop into the bowl with the chicken.  Pour over a little of the dressing and stir to coat.  This will prevent the apples from browning.  Drop in the bacon, walnuts and cranberries and stir to combine.  Add the dressing as you go, a little at a time, until you get the consistency you like.  I think this is the right amount of dressing, but you may prefer to use less.  Taste the finished salad and add salt if you need it – the bacon may take care of this completely.  Refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to blend.  The chicken salad will keep in the fridge tightly covered for several days.

Serves about 4

Shrimp and Grits, technically the child of the South Carolina Low Country has been adopted by Southerners as their own. You will find shrimp and grits in homes and on menus from Florida to Misssissippi, and of course here in Tennessee. I bet most Southerners would put it on a grand list of Southern classics without even realizing its specific geographic origin.

And I imagine there are as many recipes for Shrimp and Grits as there people who cook it. You’ll find it in simple cafes and in upmarket restaurants. I have seen versions with mushrooms, burgundy wine, yellow tomatoes or hot chili peppers. I have seen grits flavored with all manner of things. When I was planning weddings, there was one venue whose most popular item was the Shrimp and Grits bar. Martini glasses with your choice of plain grits or cheese grits, covered in gravy and shrimp, with bacon, onions, herbs, hot sauce and the like that you could sprinkle on top.

I started making shrimp and grits as a dinner for myself, nothing fancy, no real recipe and it often depended on what I happened to have in the fridge. But when I decided to make it company-worthy, I tinkered around until I hit on this version, which is what I think Shrimp and Grits ought to be. It may not be truly authentic or the way you’ve had it at your favorite restaurant, but it is good. So I hereby claim these Shrimp and Grits for Tennessee, but hope you’ll share them with the world.

It’s important to use good grits and good shrimp. You need stone ground grits, not instant or quick-cooking. I hear there are many brands available, but my preferred version is Delta Grind, made in Mississippi on an old grist mill and available online. If there is a good source close to you or online, please share it with us. I buy fresh Gulf shrimp when I can (I freeze extras when it’s available in abundance) or buy frozen Wild American shrimp from reputable stores if I have to. Personally, I never use Asian farmed shrimp. The taste is not as good and they are questionably raised.

Shrimp and Grits

For the Grits:

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup ( ½ stick) butter

1 cup stone ground grits (I use Delta Grind)

2 ½ teaspoons salt

Several grinds of black pepper

For the Shrimp

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I prefer fresh Gulf shrimp or frozen wild American)

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon regular mustard powder

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon salt

A few grinds of black pepper

Dash of cayenne pepper

6 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

¾ cups chopped green onion, white, light green and a little dark green (from a big bunch)

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 quarter of a large lemon

Finely chopped parsley for garnish

For the Grits:

In a deep-sided large pan (grits tend to spatter), stir the broth, cream and butter together over medium high heat until the butter is melted and it all comes to a low boil. Stir in the grits, salt, and pepper and reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 – 45 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. The grits should be tender and the liquid absorbed. You may add a bit more broth if needed. When cooked, the grits can be kept covered for an hour or so, then slowly reheated over low, stirring in a little broth.

For the Shrimp:

Mix together the paprika, mustard, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne. Pat the shrimp dry if necessary and place on plate. Sprinkle the spice mix liberally over both sides of the shrimp, turning over to get a good coating. Leave the shrimp in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

When the shrimp are ready, sauté the bacon pieces in a wide skillet over medium high until crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon. Pour the bacon grease into a small bowl. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of grease back into the pan and heat over medium high. Sear the shrimp briefly – just a few seconds per side – to seal in the spice mixture. You do not want to cook the shrimp. Remove the shrimp to a plate (you can scoot the bacon to one side and use the same plate). Reduce the heat to medium and add more bacon grease to the pan so that you have about 4 Tablespoons, then drop in the green pepper and the green onion. Sauté until the pepper and green onion are soft. As they release some liquid, you can scrape the tasty brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

While the vegetables are cooking, drain most of the juice from the tomatoes into a measuring cup. You can just hold the top of the can askew and drain out what you can – no need to dirty a strainer. Add enough chicken broth to make one cup of liquid and set aside.

When the green vegetables are soft, add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are heated through and start to soften. Break up any large pieces. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. There should not be any white flour visible. Pour in the broth and tomato liquid and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat a little and let the mixture bubble away until it is nice and thick, stirring to avoid scorching. Squeeze over a quarter of a lemon (making sure you’ve removed seeds) and stir. Add the shrimp to the sauce in the pan, cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. You can add a bit more broth if you like a saucier version.

Spoon the grits into shallow bowls and spoon over the shrimp and sauce. Sprinkle over the crispy bacon pieces and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Serves 4