Bacon Brittle

8 SLICES BACON (NOT thick slice)
2/3 CUP SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS SESAME SEEDS

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a non-stick pan liner.  Set aside.

Slice cold bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. In a cast iron or heavy skillet, cook bacon until almost done.  Remove from pan, draining all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.  Add sugar, sesame seeds and drained bacon.  With a heat proof spatula, stir continuously.  Sugar will melt. Continue stirring until it is a rich chocolate color and you see a small wisp of smoke.  Immediately and quickly pour onto prepared pan.  Spread around as thin as possible.  Let cool. Blot to remove any extra bacon fat.  Break and store in a tin.

NOTE:  Have everything ready before beginning the recipe....it goes fast and there is a very limited window of opportunity for spreading the hot brittle.

Courge de Muscade (French Pumpkin Soup)....Made in the USA

I have a feature in this month's O.Henry magazine. It is one one of my favorite soups and I want to elaborate more on its preparation and give you a head's up about the difference between the pumpkins that I use in France vs USA.  

Left: The French Courge de Muscade pumpkin  Right: My Greensboro pumpkin (back left)   Almost the same....but not quite.           

Don't let that stop you.  You just need to make a slight adjustment.  It is  a simple soup and oh so good.  

Now that I am back in the USA, I shopped our local markets for the pumpkins.  I struck out in the grocery stores but found what I wanted at the Yanceyville Street Farmer's Market or so I thought.  They were not sure of the variety but it looked close.  However, when the pumpkin was cooked, it released soooooo much water.  With this in mind, you need to change the recipe as it is written in O.Henry magazine.  Instead of the 10 cups of water, just add 4-5 cups and if you need to add more later, you can. 

Finished product....made in Greensboro. Ready 

for the truffle oil drizzle. 

The chanterelle des pins add alot but you can certainly substitute fresh shiitake....choose small ones and sauté briefly before adding to soup at the end.  

Now for the recipe......

3 ½ - 4 LBS. MUSCADE *

OLIVE OIL

1 ½ CUPS ONION, COARSELY CHOPPED

4 CLOVES GARLIC, TRIMMED

4 SMALL POTATOES, PEELED

½ TEASPOON SAVORY

NUTMEG

BAY LEAF and PARSLEY BOUQUET GARNI

½ CUP CREAM

SALT and FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER

CHANTERELLES des PINS, lightly sautéed in olive oil *

TRUFFLE OIL

Garnish:  Homemade CROUTONS

    or a few pieces of POPCORN that has been tossed with truffle oil.

Serves 6-8

Cut muscade into large chunks and peel.  Set aside.

In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic briefly in small amount olive oil.  Add muscade, potatoes, savory, nutmeg, bay leaf, and bouquet garni.  Add about 4-5 cups water.  (I have found the American pumpkin releases much more water so less is better to start and add more if needed later).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook gently until muscade is tender.  Remove bay leaf and bouquet garni. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.  Add cream. Season to taste with salt (don’t be shy, it needs alot) and pepper.  At this point, you can freeze or store. 

Just before serving, stir in chanterelles.  Serve hot garnished with croutons or popcorn and a drizzle of truffle oil.

Homemade Croutons:  Dice stale bread, baguette preferred, into petite squares.  Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add croutons.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and a bit of savory.   Toast,  stirring almost constantly until dry and crunchy.  Store in a tin or glass jar.

*USA SUBSTITUTIONS: 

For the muscade:  Hubbard Squash worked very well but not as fleshy so I purchased a 6 ¼ lb squash.  Great flavor and very similar to the muscade.  Be careful with the amount of water added.

For the chanterelles des pins:  Need a small mushroom that can be sliced thinly....small shiitakes work well...just need to saute a bit.   I have seen dried mushrooms at Whole Foods that appear to be like the chanterelles des pins. They would need to be reconstituted and also sauteed.

MENU SUGGESTIONS:   It is a ideal first course or use as part of a soup, sandwich salad menu.  See my Country Ham Past and Present blog for the perfect match. This soup freezes beautifully.

Some step by step photos....

And now just a bit of whimsy....photo taken in 2010 in the local market of Arlon, Belgium

Why ENGLISH MUFFINS in the South of France??

An unlikely topic but when there was one day after another of rain and cold, I thought it a perfect time to experiment with making English Muffins...

And since I am here in Provence, I decided to use the flour of grand épeautre, a grain grown in Provence since the 5th century BC.  And, yes, the flavor paid off big time.  Epeautre is  spelt in English and there is alot of misinformation about it. So, from about.com, we get this explanation "While not appropriate for individuals suffering from celiac disease, it is much lower in gluten than wheat and thus can be tolerated by many with minor wheat allergies. Its' taste is often described as nutty and sweet."

Enough technical stuff.  But I wanted you to know that this flour + the use of fresh yeast yielded the tastiest English Muffin I have ever had.  I will give you the alternative of dry yeast* as well. 

Here's the recipe which I adapted from several sources.  I began with a Momofuku recipe (3 pages long!) and then read and combined with others on the internet.

18 GMS (1/2 cube here in Provence) FRESH YEAST

1 CUP BUTTERMILK, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 2/3 CUPS (300 gms) EPEAUTRE (spelt in English)

1 1/2 TBS. SUGAR

2 TSP. SEA SALT ( I use the gray salt)

2 1/2 TBS. BUTTER, ROOM TEMPERATURE

CORNMEAL (in Provence, I had to use polenta)

Combine yeast and buttermilk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.  Use a whisk to combine.  Make a well in the center and add yeast/buttermilk mixture all at once.  Stir vigorously to combine well.  The add small pieces of the room temperature butter and stir to incorporate.  Dough is sticky.

Leave at room temperature until double in bulk.  OR for slower fermentation, refrigerate for several hours (I found that overnight was too long for the fresh yeast).

Spread a thin layer of cornmeal on a sheet pan.  Remove risen dough from bowl to a very lightly floured counter and quickly (don't over knead) shape into a log about 2-3".  Using a dough blade, cut the log into equal pieces (about 2 ounce portions yielding 10 muffins) .  Place on the cornmeal and gently flatten into circle.  Turn over and do same on second side.  

At this point, I let them rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.  They will not have risen much.  That is ok.  

Preheat a flat griddle or cast iron skillet.  Sprinkle griddle or pan lightly with cornmeal and transfer muffins from sheet pan. Heat must be VERY VERY low.  Cook  until just beginning to brown....about 5 minutes.  Using an offset or flexible spatula, turn and cook other side for 4-5 minutes.  For the next 25 minutes or so, turn back and forth about every 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to preheated 250 degree oven and cook for another 10-15 minutes.  Cool on rack.

To serve:  Split with a fork and toast.

*Dry Yeast alternative:  Simply add 1 package dry yeast to your flour mixture, whisk with other dry ingredients before adding buttermilk. 

Extra added bonus for making these in X's kitchen... the French flat top stove was PERFECT for moving the pan around and keeping the heat where it needed to be . Hmmmmmm..wonder how an electric griddle would work....probably great! 

#butnomoreappliancesforme

Like many recipes, the first time you make these, you probably won't see the simplicity of them.  However, second time around, you will understand how little time they require.

The plan was to have a final photo of a toasted half with generous slab of butter and the season's homemade fig confiture! Sad to say for you, it was eaten before I realized I had not taken the photo.  Next time!