Category Archives: Great Food

Jack Daniel’s Smoky Bacon Mac and Cheese

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https://breadboozebacon.com/jack-daniels-bacon-mac-cheese/

INGREDIENTS

WHISKEY CANDIED BACON:
10 slices bacon
1/2 cup Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey or whiskey of your choice
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

MACARONI & CHEESE:
1 pound macaroni pasta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
2 cups milk
3 cups medium or sharp cheddar cheese
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

CANDIED BACON:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray. In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup Jack Daniel’s to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat. On a plate, combine brown sugar and cayenne. Dip bacon into Jack Daniels and then press each side into brown sugar mixture to coat. Place on prepared baking sheet.Bake for 7 minutes, then flip and bake for about 5 minutes. Watch the bacon so it doesn’t burn!! (The sugar will run all over the pan, and the bacon with have a shiny lacquered look.) Remove the bacon to a plate coated with non-stick cooking spray to cool completely. Chop bacon; set aside.

MACARONI:
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add macaroni and cook until al dente. Drain pasta; set aside. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and whisk to combine. (You will have a tight roux.) Add 1 tablespoon Jack Daniel’s and whisk into roux. Whisk in 1 cup milk until combined. Add remaining milk. Whisk frequently until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Add cheeses; whisk until cheeses melt and sauce is smooth. Add paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over pasta, and add bacon. Stir until pasta is completely coated in sauce. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

NOTES
Watch your bacon like a hawk! The sugar can go from awesome to burnt quickly if you’re not paying attention.

NOTES FROM JAMES
I totally skip the candied bacon and just air fry the bacon and chop it up. The flavor it adds is wonderful. I am a little heavy handed with the Jack Daniel’s (only when cooking!!!) It will burn off once it cooks down. It freezes well.

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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I started making this cake a couple of years ago after having a slice of Charlie Frank’s Key Lime Pound Cake.

I adapted this recipe from this Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe. The 10 cup Fleur-de-Lis cake bundt pan makes for a lovely presentation but the 12 cup bundt will hold all the batter. I used 3 sticks of butter instead of 2 1/4 sticks. I also doubled the amount of sugar and lime juice for the glaze because I am a little heavy handed with my brush.

Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the Pound Cake:

3 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. very finely grated lime zest

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Garnish:

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F (160 C). Grease and flour a 9 or 12-inch bundt pan or Fleur-de-Lis* cake pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

With an electric mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30-40 seconds. Add 3 cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and 3 tbsp. lime juice (or regular fresh squeezed lime juice). Reduce speed to low. Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt mixture in 3 additions, blending each addition just until smooth, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Fold in lime zest.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, making sides higher than in center. Bake until cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool upright in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto cooling rack with waxed or parchment paper placed underneath rack, and glaze.

Makes 12-16 servings.

Lime Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 cups sugar until blended. Set rack over a sheet of waxed paper, Generously brush cooled cake with glaze. After glaze has set; approximately 10 minutes, lightly sprinkle cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Notes:

Nordic Ware’s Fleur-de-Lis cake pan can be purchased at Nordic Ware’s website at: http://www.nordicware.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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I am always amazed by number of people who will visit my website over the next week for dessert recipes as we all prepare for Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for stopping by. I do not get to update this site much but it holds its own. I am wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving and good baking!!! Please send me some of your favorite recipes and I will post them. Enjoy!!!

Lemon Icebox Pie

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The last Lemon Icebox Pie of the season.

I made a couple of pound cakes for a friend’s mom in late winter. I delivered them and she told me that I needed to learn how to make a lemon icebox pie. Being a baker who does love a challenge, I researched on the internet and found a recipe that I liked. It was really simple to make and no baking was required. I made a couple for Easter and a few during the summer. However, the photo above is the last lemon icebox pie for the year. I made it for my friend’s mom who inspired me to learn about lemon icebox pie. I took it over to her and she was totally surprised and quite pleased. She said it was her favorite dessert. That truly warmed my heart.

I used Emeril Lagasse’s Lemon Icebox Pie recipe as shown below.

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

Combine the cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Pour into the pie crust. Refrigerate overnight.

Note: I actually froze mine overnight then put it in refrigerator a few hours before serving so it would still be firm. I want to try it with limes too!

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lemon-icebox-pie-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Bacon Cheeseburger @ Flame Gourmet Burgers

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Bacon Cheeseburger @ Flame

At the suggestion of a good friend, I went to Flame Gourmet Burgers on College Avenue near Ashby Avenue in Berkeley for a late lunch. I had the bacon cheeseburger, steak fries, and raspberry lemonade. My burger prepared medium well with cheddar cheese and smoked applewood bacon on a toasted sesame seed bun. I was very satisfied with my meal and it was all for under $15 with tip. I will definitely be visiting Flame again soon.

The Making of a Peach Cobbler

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The Making of Peach Cobbler

Baking is one of my passions. I can make some desserts really well but my peach cobbler has never quite been to my liking. My dad made a much better cobbler. I think I first tried to make a peach cobbler when I was about 13 years old and try again every few years but have not mastered it yet.

I contacted my friend, pastry chef David Benton, to teach me how to make a really good peach cobbler. It turned out amazing and it was much less difficult than I expected. Everyone has a take on how to make peach cobbler but David made it look simple. I look forward to making a peach cobbler on my own very soon. I will definitely take photos when I do.

Please check out David’s baking at www.sugarsweetsf.com. Your taste buds will thank you!

Festival of Desserts 2008

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Festival of Desserts 2008 11

These red velvet cupcakes were an absolute showstopper. They were made by friend, Marvin, for this year’s Festival of Desserts. I am hoping to get the recipe for them and I will post it here. This was the first year that we had guest desserts. I made 10 desserts, ranging from sweet potato pie to cranberry oatmeal cookies and chocolate eggnog rum cake. As always, we had ham and chicken. A great time was had by all.
Additional photos from the Festival of Desserts can be seen here. I am already cooking up ideas for Festival of Desserts 2009. :)