CARBONARA WITH PAN SEARED SCALLOPS

Ingredients for Carbonara

8 slices of Harter House thick cut bacon diced

1 shallot finely sliced

1 clove garlic (leave whole)

4 green onions

2 egg yolks

½ cup cream

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

fresh ground pepper

pasta of your choice (I used Linguine, but most recipes use Spaghetti)

Instructions

Pasta Carbonara

Start cooking pasta in large stainless steel pot.

In small bowl mix together cream, egg yolks and ¾ of cheese.

In large skillet cook bacon until crisp, add shallots and ½ green Onions.

Smash down garlic clove a bit, add to bacon. (remove prior to adding pasta)

When pasta is finished cooking, drain well, then add to skillet of bacon.

Toss well, then transfer to large bowl.

Add cream mixture to pasta and combined well. Make sure pasta is still hot in order to cook the eggs and melt the cheese.

Arrange pasta on plate, top with seared scallops, add some fresh ground pepper, grated parmesan, and green onions.

Perfect Pan Seared Scallops - I use 4-5 Scallops per person.

Blot scallops with paper towel to remove any water. Salt and pepper.

Heat large cast iron frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Make sure frying pan is hot before adding scallops but not smoking.

Add scallops leaving plenty of space between. Overcrowding the pan will drop the pan temperature and cause scallops to steam rather than sear. (may have to do in batches)

Sear for about 2-4 minutes or when bottom is a nice golden brown. Don't move them around in the pan or you will prevent them from forming that nice brown crust. After a couple of minutes have peek under to see if golden brown.

Turn to sear other side. (about 1-3 more minutes)

Add 2 tablespoons of butter to pan now.

Spoon the melted butter over the scallops as the other side finishes cooking.

Transfer to paper towel covered plate.

Keep warm in oven, if making in batches.

Goat Cheese stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

 

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese 

– a simple 3-ingredient appetizer that will blow you away! 

Enjoy with a crowd of friends!

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon (I find that thin bacon works better)
• 16 dates
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• toothpicks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice the dates lengthwise on one side to create an opening. Remove the pit.
3. Using a spoon, stuff a small amount of goat cheese into the cavity of each date and press the sides together to close.
4. Cut the bacon slices in half. Wrap each date with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
5. Arrange evenly on a baking sheet with raised edges (otherwise grease will get everywhere) and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the dates and use the toothpick to turn each one so it’s laying on its side. Bake for another 5-8 minutes, until browned to your liking, and turn the dates to the other side and repeat. Remove from the oven, place on a paper towel lined plate, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Take these to the next level by putting a little honey bourbon glaze on top. Just mix about 1/4 cup of honey with 1 tablespoon of bourbon and brush the mixture on the dates when they come right out of the oven. 

For crispier, browned bacon, set the oven temperature at 375. For crispier bacon, bake longer. Usually my bacon pieces wrap around the dates 1.5 times. If it’s wrapping more than twice around the date, trim your bacon slices so they’re a little shorter. If that bacon layer is too thick, it won’t cook. Keep leftovers in the fridge.

From:  Pinchofyum.com

Maple Bacon and Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

 From The Steve and Kathy Doocy The Simply Happy Cookbook

Ingredients

10 Slices Bacon 
2 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
One 17.5 oz. can Grands Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese icing 
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 
1/2 tablespoon whole milk or half and half

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 425 F.  Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

2.  Bake Bacon slices on a nonstick sheet pan for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and use tongs to flip slices.  Brush 2 tablespoons of maple syrup over the slices, return to oven, and bake until browned and cooked, but still flexible, not crispy, 3-4 minutes.  Remove to a plate, not a paper towel or the syrup will stick.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.  Open the cinnamon roll package.  Set aside the icing packet.  On a clean surface, carefully separate and unwind each cinnamon roll to make a long piece of dough.  Place 2 pieces of bacon on one length of dough, so they stretch from end to end.  Roll up the dough with the bacon inside, leaving about 1 inch open dough at the end.  Pinch the roll shut at the end.  Place it on a prepared baking pan and repeat to roll up the rest of the bacon and dough.  It's OK to have the rolls slightly touching.  If the bacon is sticking up above the dough, gently push it straight down to the bottom of the pan.

4.  Bake until the tops are deeply browned., 30-35 minutes.  The bacon makes the dough take a bit longer to bake, so wait till they are deeply browned.

5.  Meanwhile, make the frosting.  In a medium bow, combine the icing included with the cinnamon rolls., cream cheese, milk, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup.  Use a rubber spatula to blend until perfectly smooth.

6.  When the rolls are done baking, remove them from the oven, let them rest a couple of minutes, and slather on the frosting as generously as you like.

7.  These are too messy to eat by hand, so serve them warm with a knife and fork.  Enjoy - that is one sweet and savory sweet roll!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Chicken, and bacon, better yet, crispy bacon. They are two of my favorite foods both in one easy recipe.

I was looking for an easy dinner which brings us today’s recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken.

What really surprised me was the amount of ingredients in this recipe, there are very few! I feel the chive and onion cream cheese is a huge ingredient in the flavor department and does most of the work for you.

Try and pound the chicken breasts down with a mallet as thinly as possible because they will roll up a lot easier. If you want to do some outdoor grilling these can also be grilled as well. They go great with a side dish of pasta or flavored rice. Enjoy

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:

12 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves

2 (8 oz) cartons chive and onion cream cheese

12 slices of bacon

salt (to taste)

2 tablespoons butter

I recommend the Fresh, Never Frozen Boneless Chicken Breasts, in the fresh meat counter at Harter House Supermarket.

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Between 2 sheets of wax paper, with a mallet, flatten chicken breasts to ½” thickness.

Step 2: Spread 3 tablespoons of cream cheese over each chicken breast. Then Dot with butter and season with salt. Wrap with bacon and stick a toothpick through the rolled chicken breast to hold it together. Roll up and stick a toothpick through to hold it together.

Step 3: Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes (or until juices run clear).

Step 4: Turn on the broiler and broil six inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.