Roasted Cauliflower Soup With Bacon and Parsley Oil

This creamy, nutty-tasting soup gets an extra punch of flavor from crumbled bacon and bright parsley oil.

Special equipment: Blender or hand blender

Ingredients

serves Serves 6 to 8, active time 25 minutes, total time 50 minutes

• 2 medium heads cauliflower, separated into large florets
• 1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Procedures

1. Adjust oven racks to middle positions and preheat oven to 400°F. Toss cauliflower with 4 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets and roast, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned and tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven.
   
2. Meanwhile, lay bacon slices in a cold cast-iron skillet, then set over medium heat. Cook, flipping once, until browned and crispy, about 6 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel, then chop or crumble into bite-sized pieces.
   
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add roasted cauliflower and stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
   
4. Let soup cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Add half and half and use a hand blender to blend soup until smooth. Alternatively, blend soup in a blender in two batches. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Keep soup warm.
   
5. Combine remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and parsley in blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pass oil through a fine-meshed sieve.
   
6. To serve, ladle soup into bowls, garnish with parsley oil, and sprinkle with chopped bacon. Serve immediately.

Bacon and Deviled Eggs

Suggested tweaks: You could certainly pick and choose techniques from this recipe as you'd like. The brined eggs taste great on their own if you don't want to devil them, and it should go without saying that glazing bacon with pepper jelly is an awesome idea. That said, if you want to go through with the whole recipe but don't have a piping bag, you can use a Ziplock or just spoon the filling back into the eggs.

Ingredients

serves Makes 24 deviled eggs, active time 45 minutes, total time 1 1/2 hours, plus 48 hours to marinate the eggs

• Deviled Eggs
• 12 large eggs
• 4 cups (907 grams) cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce (15 grams) Lapsang Souchong tea (about 6 tea bags)
• 1 tablespoon (18 grams) fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s or Hellmann’s
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) sweet pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons (43 grams) red pepper jelly
•  
• Glazed Bacon
• 6 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup (85 grams) red pepper jelly

Procedures

1. Cook and brine the eggs: Set a stovetop steamer over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Put the eggs in the steamer basket, add them to the pot, cover, and steam the eggs for 14 minutes. While the eggs are steaming, prepare an ice water bath. When the eggs are cooked, transfer them to the ice water and let cool for about 15 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cranberry juice, tea, and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved.
   
3. Take the eggs out of the ice water, and use the back of a spoon to uniformly crack the shells all over without piercing the eggs or removing any of the shell. Put the cracked eggs into the brine and put another bowl on top of the eggs to keep them submerged. Refrigerate the eggs for 48 hours.
   
4. After 48 hours, take the eggs out of the brine and peel them, discarding the shells. Halve each egg lengthwise. Remove the yolks and set the whites aside. In a small food processor, combine the egg yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, and pickle juice and puree until smooth. Scoop the deviled egg mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and put the bag in the refrigerator.
   
5. Make the bacon: Make the bacon: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
   Lay the bacon slices on a cutting board. Brush one side of each slice with some of the pepper jelly and then lay the slices glaze side up on a wire rack set over the foil-lined pan. Bake the bacon for 15 minutes, or until just crispy and glazed. Remove the bacon from the oven, brush both sides of the bacon with more of the jelly, and put it back in the oven for 3 more minutes. Remove the bacon from the oven and let cool. Cut each slice of bacon into 4 pieces so that you have 1 piece for each deviled egg.
   
6. Assemble the eggs: Put the egg whites on a cutting board or other flat work surface. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon pepper jelly into the bottom of each egg white. Pipe a rosette (about 1 tablespoon) of the egg yolk mixture on top of the jelly. Top with a slice of bacon. Arrange the deviled eggs on a cutting board or platter to serve.

Cider-Braised Chicken with Apples, Bacon, and Sage

Ingredients

serves Serves 4, active time 1 hour, total time 1 hour

• 4 whole chicken legs (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 3 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 2 shallots, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 2 cups hard apple cider (see note above)
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sprigs plus 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, divided
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon flour

Procedures

1. Pat chicken legs dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over over medium high heat until just smoking. Place chicken into pot, skin side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes (use oil screen if splattering). Turn over and cook another 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat.
   
2. Add apples and cook, stirring, until just softened and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer apples to bowl and reserve. Add bacon and shallots to pot and cook until shallots have softened and bacon has rendered but not crisped, about 3 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
   
3. Whisk in cider, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pot. Whisk in mustard, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper. Nestle chicken (skin side up) and sage sprigs into liquid, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer until chicken is cooked through and very tender, about 40 minutes (adjust heat to keep at gentle simmer).
   
4. Transfer chicken to serving plate. Whisk cream into cooking liquid and simmer 1 minute. Transfer 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to a small bowl and whisk in flour, then return to pot. Bring to a boil to thicken. Stir in apples and chopped sage, and season to taste. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Breakfast Tacos with Eggs, Spinach, and Bacon

Ingredients

serves Serves 2 to 3, active time 30 minutes, total time 30 minutes

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 quart packed flat leaf spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup homemade or store-bought salsa verde
• 4 soft flour or corn tortillas, warmed
• Crumbled queso cotija or feta cheese, lime wedges, and sliced scallions and cilantro for garnish

Procedures

1. Cook bacon in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind.
   
2. Add garlic to bacon fat and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and pale golden, about 1 minute. Add half of spinach and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and cook until wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and wipe out skillet.
   
3. Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add eggs and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer watery but still moist, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
   
4. Spread salsa over each tortilla and divide spinach evenly. Divide eggs on top of spinach and top with crumbled bacon. Serve immediately with crumbled queso cotija or feta cheese, lime wedges, and sliced scallions and cilantro.

Double Stacked Crab Cake Sandwiches with Avocado and Bacon

 

Ingredients

serves Makes 4 sandwiches, active time 40 minutes, total time 40 minutes

• 1 small russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 pound fresh lump or jumbo lump crab meat
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 English muffins, toasted
• 8 strips bacon
• 1 avocado, sliced

Procedures

1. Cover the potato with water and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain and transfer to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher. There should be about 1/2 cup mashed potato. Add crab meat, scallions, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, and beaten egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, divide crab mixture into 8 evenly sized patties. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and discard excess fat.
   
3. Wipe skillet clean and return to medium-high heat. Heat olive oil until shimmering. Add half of crab cakes to skillet. Gently press with a spatula to flatten them to the size of an English muffi.. Cook until the underside is browned, about 4 minutes, then carefully flip and cook until second side is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Remove and place on a plate. Keep warm in a 175°F oven while you cook the second batch.
   
4. Divide half of the sliced avocado between split English muffins, followed by 1 crab cake, then 1 slice of bacon. Repeat with avocado, crab cake and bacon to get 2 layers. Serve immediately.