Tortellini with Asiago and Bacon

Yes, I did say bacon.

Now that I have your attention, this is one of the best things we've ever had at our house.  I would've payed $10 for a plate of this at a restaurant.  As it was, it wasn't that cheap, but for about $25 I fed the Flour Children plus two of their friends, Hub, and myself.  And Hub has some for tomorrow's lunch.  So that's pretty good.

And, yes.  This is pretty easy to make.

This is my version.  You can find the original here.  I had to double it to feed all of us.

You can't really see any browned bits from the broiler because I didn't leave this one
in long enough.  But I broiled the second one enough to brown it.  We just couldn't wait.  It happens.

Tortellini with Asiago and Bacon
adapted from Cooking for My Peace of Mind

12 oz. bacon (about 8 slices), probably better make a little extra for noshing while cooking
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or about 2 tsp. of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste (I skipped the salt, what with the bacon and the cheese being salty)
2 tbsp. flour
3-4 c. milk (depending on the consistency you want; I opted for 3)
2 lbs of refrigerated cheese tortellini, NOT cooked
1 c. grated asiago (or other hard cheese, like parm or romano)

Heat broiler.  In large skillet (I used two; this is a lot of food), cook the bacon until brown and crispy.  Set aside to drain.  You can pour off a little of the grease, but not too much.  That's right.  We're gonna eat it.  You'll be okay.  In fact, it's why it's so good.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.

Slowly whisk in the milk.  Add the tortellini.  Bring to a boil and stir occasionally.  Reduce heat to low until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and crumble the bacon over the pasta and add half of the cheese.  Stir to combine.

You could eat it now, but why?  Top with the rest of the cheese.  Stick it under the broiler for about 3 or 4 minutes and let it brown a bit.  It's just so pretty.  Well, make sure your pan can go under the broiler (I made mine in cast iron skillets).  If not, transfer it to one (or two) that can.

You are welcome, my friends.

Cheddar-Ale Soup

I don't care too much for beer.  But I do love to cook with it.

I found this recipe in an ad from Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago.  And then I got an immersion blender for Christmas (trust me, I was extremely excited), and I knew my dream of eating this soup would come true.

You don't have to have an immersion blender.  I have let many a soup cool a bit, and then blended it in batches in the regular blender.  There's a fear of burning with the regular blender that I don't have with the immersion blender.

Celery, carrots and onion waiting to go into the soup pot.

Cheddar-Ale Soup
adapted from Williams-Sonoma

4 slices of thick-sliced bacon
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 large onion, diced (because Hub is an onion-hater; if you are normal, you could use a whole onion)
3 carrots, peeled & diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced (I only had one clove, so I also added some garlic powder)
1/3 c. flour
1 c. pale ale (I used Boddington's because Hub has to drink the leftovers; it's the milkshake of beers)
1 tbsp. worcestershire
2 c. milk
2 c. chicken broth
1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar, shredded
salt & pepper to taste

W-S also suggested toasted croutons and olive oil for garnish.  I did neither.

In 4-5 quart pot, fry bacon until crisp.  Drain on paper towels.  Throw out all but 2 tbsp. of the bacon fat.  Over medium heat, add butter and melt.  Add onion, carrots and celery; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened (about 20 minutes).  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.  Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pan, for 2-3 minutes.  Add worcestershire, milk and broth.  Increase heat to medium-high and simmer.  Do not boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10-12 minutes.  Remove pot from heat and blend with immersion blender (or regular blender--please let it cool a bit first!) until smooth.
Over medium-low heat, add cheese by the handful, stirring constantly.  Do not boil!  Season with salt and pepper.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon.

Soup, pre-blend.

Giant pile of cheese.

Finished soup.  Get in my belly!

Williams-Sonoma says this makes 6 servings.  We had it for lunch, and I would say it's more like 8 servings.  Well, unless everyone likes it as much as Hub and I did...  The Flour-Children mostly rejected this.  I think they don't like the beer taste.  Funny liked it, but she loves every soup I have ever given to her.  Silly also found it tolerable.  The boys...well, you'd think I'd given them something horrid.  Fools.  I cannot even begin to tell you how delicious this soup was.  I will definitely make it again, and just let those punky kids eat something else.  I hate to waste perfectly tasty soup on whiners.

That sounds a little harsh.  But I know all you parents out there know where I am coming from.

Beer + bacon + a mountain of cheese = LOVE.


Need more soup recipes?  Check out Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Bacon really does make it all better

I don't normally consider myself to be a very creative person.  I'm not crafty.  I'm not artistic.  But, I can look at a fridge and pantry full of goodies and see something delicious!

This week's CSA brought (more!) beets, as well as potatoes and onions.  This looked like a perfect recipe for breakfast.  Only...something was missing.

BACON.

Oh, I love bacon.  It makes the boring exciting.  I think I could go vegetarian if it were not for the bacon.

I only used the beet greens.  I think that a lot of people don't eat greens, which I find kind of sad.  They are super easy and tasty.  They soak up all the flavorings in the dish, so, in my opinion, they end up being the best part.  In this case, second only to the bacon.  I set aside the actual tuber part of the beets for another dish.  What?  I don't know.  I'm open to suggestions.

I just rinsed the greens, and coarsely chopped them.

Yummy, and pretty!

I had a bunch of cute little red potatoes.  I cubed them.

I also coarsely chopped the bacon, and fried it up in my trusty (non-cast iron, sadly) skillet.

Mmmmmm.  Bacon.

Greens & Potato Fry with Bacon

1 bunch greens of choice (beet, kale, spinach, chard, collard)
a few potatoes
1 lb. of bacon (yes, I used a whole pound.  I don't want to have regrets.)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt
pepper

Wash and coarsely chop greens.  They should still be quite damp (but not wet) when they go into the pan.  Set aside.  Chop and fry bacon.  While bacon is cooking, cube potatoes.  Chop onion and garlic.

Remove bacon, once crispy, and drain.  I poured off most of the bacon grease, but I am not your cardiologist.  So do what you want.  You need some fat in the pan for the potatoes.  I won't tell if it's bacon grease or olive oil.  Whatever makes you happy.

Add potatoes, onion and garlic to pan with fat (or oil) in it (medium to med-hi heat).  Then leave them alone!  They need to brown.  Give them a few minutes to start browning, then stir and let them sit again.  After they are brown, you could cover them with a lid to help the middles steam.  This will probably take about 10 minutes or so, depending on how small your potatoes are.

When potatoes are done (taste one to see, but don't burn your tongue), throw in greens.  They will cook down in a couple minutes.  Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper.  Mix in the cooked bacon.

Log on here to thank me.