Savory Bacon Crusted Pumpkin Pie

My friend Nikos can't understand why I stopped drinking beer. Sometimes I can't understand it either. As a child, I would take sips of my father's beer from time to time. I liked the head (snicker). My father never drank crap beer so into my teen years, my palette was already too refined for the standard mass produced crap beers which were SOP at keg parties. I didn't drink much until I was 18 and could go to bars. Er, I mean 21, of course. Living in NYC, my go to was Brooklyn Lager. What awesome flavor. When I met Brooklyn Brewery's Brew Master, Garrett Oliver, at the Great American Beer Festival back in 08, it was like I just met a rock star. Seriously I was star struck. It takes alot to do that to me. I've never gotten weak kneed from meeting a celebrity before, not even Dr. Ruth. (ok, maybe a little. Never mind, Liz did have to help me walk a few steps after our Dr. Ruth encounter.) I quit my career in archaeology to work as a cellarer in a microbrewery, that is how important beer was to me. I would plan vacations around breweries and beer fests. When I was on the road, I would go out of the way to find a local brew pub. Beer was my passion, my love; it was in my blood.

And I gave it up for my health. Perhaps it was foreshadowing when I was working at Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church and there was a guest in the restaurant who was celebrating with friends. He didn't want a appetizer plate. He didn't eat anything the whole time he was there. He had a few glasses of red wine y nada mas. He had Celiac Disease. (he couldn't eat the food because everything on the menu was marinated or battered in it beer.) I had heard of it, I even suspected I had it when did my brief stint as a vegetarian and realized that despite the cool freakin' name, Seitan did not agree with me. The guy told me he used to be really into micro brews and was a real beer connoisseur. It made me sad. I actually thought that I would rather die of some horrible disease than give up beer.

But back to Nikos and his bewilderment over my grain-free diet. He asked me what I was going to do over the holidays (work, of course.) But seriously, turkey and vegetables are all I need. Plus, the drumstick doesn't touch the stuffing and it's the best part of the bird! The moment of inspiration came when Nikos asked about pumpkin pie. I said you can eat the filling with out the crust. He said, "are you going to put a sardine on top?" It was at that moment that I realized that bacon, being pliable and having a propensity to crisp when cooked would make a perfect pie crust. He said he would try it. If it weren't for the 2 glasses of wine I just had, I would bring a slice to him at work. Wouldn't I be everyone's best friend ever if I showed up on my night off with bacon-crusted pumpkin awesomeness. That would be better than the oatmeal cookies I used to bake.

Ingredients:
1 12 oz pack of bacon
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 can
3 eggs
1/4 cup walnut butter (or any nut butter or cheese if you choose to eat it, or leave it out completely, whatever)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp anise seed

If you're using fresh pumpkin, you want to drain off as much excess liquid as possible. I measure the 2 cups into a colander and then drained the liquid, so it was less than 2 cups drained.

Line pie plate with bacon. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and drain off excess bacon grease. You can dump this is you live in fear of saturated animal fat, or you can save it to season your cast iron.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add all the other ingredients. beat together then put in pie crust. Place extra slabs of bacon in a lattice on top of pumpkin. Bake at 400 for approximately 45 minutes, then broil for 5-10 or until bacon on top is crispy. let cool, drain extra bacon grease and enjoy.

This was the longest blog I will ever write. I blame the wine.

Crab Cakes

I traveled all over the East Coast before settling in the vast desert wasteland that is Southern Arizona. There are many, many things I miss about it. Mostly my friends and seafood. I lived in Falls Church, VA for 2 years and when I say I'm homesick, it's usually the DC area that I'm longing for. Not NYC, that place stresses me out.


But back to the seafood. Virginia, being next to Maryland, has it's fair share of great places to get crab cakes. Consequently, so does Delaware, but then you're faced with the dilemma of finding something else to do in Delaware besides eat seafood. If you happen to be passing through DE, it only takes about 10 minutes so there might not be a reason to stop. But if you're stuck working there for 3 weeks like I was, or you're visiting family or you're a NASCAR fan and just have to go to Dover, you can explore the many delicious options. I imagine that there aren't too many NASCAR fans who are going to stumble across this blog.

Interesting fact about people from Maryland and Delaware, they put Old Bay on everything. You can't make Crab Cakes without it. Well, I just did. I used Penzey's Chesapeake Seasoning. I guess you can use any Old Bay wannabe seasoning, but if you have Old Bay, it's probably best.

1 16oz can of crab meat
2 tsp Old Bay
1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
1/2 cup green pepper finely chopped
1/2 Roasted Red Pepper Aioli (or any aioli or mayo will do)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour (maybe more)
Coconut oil (or any fat you like)

The aioli is what holds the crab cakes together. Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup (or 1/4 cup if you want them smaller) scoop out crab mix and form into patties and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Set up your assembly line with one plate of coconut flour, a bowl with the eggs, and another plate with almond flour. Dredge cakes in coconut flour, then dip in the eggs and then coat with almond flour. Fry until golden brown. try to get the sides cooked too. I did this by putting the cakes against the side of the pan.

Remove from heat and serve with aioli, cocktail sauce or tarter sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

I'm on this aioli making kick. I think it's because I like saying "aioli". it just rolls off the tongue and sounds so much more appetizing and gourmet than "mayonnaise". This time, I used the food processor. So much smarter. This one didn't come out as thick as the Smoked Tomato Aioli, but it tastes good and that's what counts.

1 large egg
1 large red bell pepper, roasted
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup olive oil

All ingredients should be at room temperature, even the egg. Puree red pepper in food processor. Add garlic and puree some more. Then  add everything else but the olive oil. blend thoroughly. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in. It took me about 10 minutes and I switched hands a few times. When all the olive oil is in, continue processing for another couple of minutes. remove from processor bowl and refrigerate. Like revenge, best served cold. To make it thicker, you could try draining some of the liquid from the red pepper.

Smoked Tomato Aioli

With Almond Crusted Asparagus Fries

Today, I ordered a food processor. I had thinking about it for weeks, trying to decide what brand to get and how big I should get it. The one I ended up buying is probably way bigger than I could ever need, but it had great reviews and I can order lots of extra attachments.

And it's a good thing I finally did this because I burnt out the motor on my immersion blender trying to make this recipe. I was being overly cautious about drizzling the olive oil and I realized it was taking way longer than it should and the blender was getting really hot. I had slightly less than 1/4 cup of olive oil left when it died. I quickly grabbed a whisk and mixed up the beaker. I can always use that olive oil later when I make asparagus fries.

This recipe was inspired by a restaurant in Fredrick, MD called Isabella's. They serve panko crusted fried asparagus with smoked tomato aioli. When I lived in Virginia, I would go there often with my friends Danielle and Kevin. We order these every time we go there.

1 large egg
1 cup smoked tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle powder (depending on how spicy you like it. You could also use Chipotle Tabasco)
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup olive oil

Puree first 7 ingredients in food processor or immersion blender. When smooth and not at all lumpy, slowly drizzle in the olive oil blending continuously. If you're using an immersion blender, don't take too long like I did.

Smoked Duck Legs

People who know me know I'm not particularly fond of children. Individual children are fine over the age of ten. That's about the age when you can finally talk to them like they're human beings. However, hordes of children at any age are best avoided.

I do like dogs of all ages. I have two. They are both totally with me on the paleo diet. Jack won't have it any other way. He was born wild and probably had to do alot of hunting and scavenging in his formative years. At least his mom did. I'm sure he helped. He's always trying to help me around the house. It's a shame he doesn't have thumbs. If you give Jack a dog cookie that was made with wheat, he'll look at you funny and try to hide the treat. Hazel will eat anything.

It's alot easier to get your family on board with the paleo diet when your family members are canines. I don't need to keep cookies and cereal in the house. I can cook any vegetable I want without anyone complaining. Their treats are my scraps: bones, gristle, fish skin. They love it. They won't have it any other way.

The duck legs came two in a package. How convenient, I have two dogs who like leg bones. Well, they like all bones. They're not picky. 

Gratuitous Dog Picture

2 duck legs
1 Tbsp Black Currant Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp anise
1/8 tsp cloves
salt, pepper to taste

Mix spices together, rub on legs. The duck legs, not your own legs, although, it might make a soothing muscle rub. Put legs in a ziplock bag and add vinegar and the rest of the spice mix and marinate overnight. Smoke! I used cherry wood chips. You can use any balsamic vinegar for the marinade, but I recommend finding a sweet and fruity one.

Bison Stuffed Tiger Pumpkin

Bisons and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! Well, not so much bears. Sometimes I even impress myself with my cooking skillz. It's a shame that this isn't a year round recipe. If you can't find Tiger Pumpkins, then any mini pumpkin will do. The pumpkins I used are about 3 inches in diameter. I got them at Trader Joe's. I bought them because they were esthetically pleasing. It's a pumpkin, so it can't possibly taste bad. This recipe is pretty easy. Cutting the tops off the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds is a bit time consuming, but doesn't take too long. I think the recipe took about an hour all together.

I fell in love with a grill

Ingredients:
6 Tiger Pumpkins
1 lbs ground bison
1 pablano pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/2 an onion
5 cloves of garlic, mas o menos
1 Tbsp coconut oil (any fat will do)
2 tsp Penzey's Arizona Dreaming (you can sub chili seasoning, fajita seasoning, adobo, whatever.)
salt to taste






Roast the pablano and red pepper. I had the smoker going, so I smoked mine. YUM! While that's going, heat the coconut oil in a large pan. Saute the onions. When they become translucent, add the garlic cook for a minute then seasoning and salt. Add the bison and brown, breaking it up into little pieces. Remove from heat and set aside in a mixing bowl.

Put the peppers in a mini food processor or finely chop by hand. Add the peppers to the mixing bowl and mix. With a sharp knife, score a circle on the tops of each pumpkin to pop off the top. Keep the tops. Scoop out the seeds. Fill each pumpkin with equal amounts of meat. Put the tops back on and bake or grill at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let cool and enjoy. They are a great portion size for kids but if you're a big eater, you might want to eat two at a time. For me, one is filling enough so they make a good lunch or snack.

The skin isn't edible, so you're going to have to cut it off or scoop out the meaty pumpkiny goodness. If they're cooked long enough, the skin will peel off easily. Since I grilled mine, the bottoms were really tender.

Chili Cilantro Aioli

A word of caution before you get started: beware of splattering peppers in your eyes. If you use an immersion blender, you may want to wear goggles. Leaning over right above the blending beaker = bad idea. I'm telling you this because . . . well, guess. Yes, it happened to me. Fortunately, it was only a hatch chili (1000 to 2500 Scoville) and it was just a drop. I wouldn't do this with habeneros. Mostly because the mere act of cutting them burns my lungs. If you don't have a Hatch chili due to the fact that they're only available in late summer and you don't live in the Southwest, you can substitute a Cubanelle, a banana pepper, maybe half of a pablano. The hatch I used was about 3.5 inches long. As I mentioned the Scoville above, hatches are not very hot at all. If you prefer to make this hotter, use a couple of jalapenos or add some cayenne or chipotle powder or Tabasco Sauce.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup cilantro mas o menos (half a bunch)
1 hatch chili, roasted
Juice from 2 limes
salt, pepper, cumin, chipotle powder to taste
1 cup olive oil

I used an immersion blender to make it easier. blend first 6 ingredients to a smooth liquid. Slowly, I mean very, very slowly drizzle the olive oil. I might have done this too slowly because I had to switch hands half way through. It should take about 5 minutes. You need to blend as you drizzle. I had my blender speed set to 2. My blender started to get hot and it warmed the emulsion so at first I was afraid that it seized, but it didn't. (I'm going to use this next time I make hollandaise). After some time in the fridge the consistency became more mayo-like.

This is great on seafood or veggies. Makes a great dip. Keep refrigerated and serve cold. Should be good for about a week or so.