I have never before blogged about food. There are so many great food-related blogs out there already, I just refuse to compete. Besides, my random thoughts are the usual fodder for my writing practice and blog. But I do love food, and I especially love anything bacon, beer, whiskey or chocolate related, and as I often say "never say never." Then along comes something in my life that is quite inspiring on a level more than just something good to eat - a little booze, some bacon, and some devilish goodness - so how could I pass up on writing about that one! Besides, all the ladies at Bunco last night where I shared my newest kitchen creation loved this dish and wanted the recipe, so I thought others might enjoy it as well.
There is another reason I don't blog about food. To me, cooking is an art, not a science. I am a good cook but I am a terrible recipe writer as I usually do not follow recipes exactly (yes even my own), rarely actually measure anything, and often throw in a few extra somethin'-somethin's here and there as I taste and tweak what I have come up with. So as a food artist rather than scientist, it is a bit difficult to pass things along in the form of writing them down to share with others, even though writing is also a passion of mine. That being said, I have tried to pen this recipe as closely as I could to what actually happened yesterday in the kitchen - skipping over the part where I drank the rest of the bottle of beer used in the recipe as a chaser to my Catoctin Creek rye whiskey and Vosage Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar that I was enjoying during the downtime involved in this creation - so, please know that results may vary and more importantly I do encourage you to experiment a bit as well. Enjoy your own kitchen art!
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Deviled Egg and Beer-Candied Bacon Dip and Crustini
For the Beer-Candied Bacon:
1 lb thick-cut, high quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dark beer, like Guinness (I used Sam Adam's Chocolate Bock; I have also seen this done with whiskey instead if you want to kick it up an extra notch!)
For the Deviled Egg:
1 dozen large eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon horseradish mustard (or other brown spicy mustard)
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout (a Moroccan spice mix; see below for sources/alternatives)
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1/4 c. chopped chives
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika, for dusting at serving time
For the Crustini:
2 baguettes
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar and beer in a small bowl, whisking well to form a thin syrup. Set aside. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top. Place the pieces of bacon on top of the rack, overlapping if necessary. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush one side of the bacon with the beer syrup. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Flip, and coat the other side with the syrup as well. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and repeat process another time or two more, until bacon is crispy and browned, and you’ve used all the glaze. Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving.
While bacon is baking, slice baguettes into 1/4 to 1/3 inch slices. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet in single layer. Drizzle olive oil over top. After bacon is out of the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325°. Bake crustini until crisp, approximately 15-20 minutes. Cool completely, then store in airtight container.
In a large saucepan, cover the eggs with water, add the vinegar and bring to a rapid boil. Cover the saucepan and remove it from the heat; let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs and cool them under cold running water, shaking the pan vigorously to crack the shells. Let the eggs finish cooling in the water. Once the eggs have cooled, shell the eggs and tear them in half. Set aside half of each white and put the other half of the white and the entire yolk into a bowl. Coarsely chop the set-aside egg whites and set them aside yet again. In a food processor, add the remaining whites and yolks along with the mayonnaise, mustard, and spices and process until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the reserved chopped egg whites and chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to mix. When bacon is completely cooled, crumble or chop and stir into egg mixture. Taste again and add more salt and pepper if needed. Place into serving dish and sprinkle with paprika for appearance. Serve with crustinis.
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Here's a bonus tip for you - if you happen to have any left-overs of this dish after you serve it at an evening gathering as an appetizer, it also makes for a fun and delicious breakfast as well. I mean really, it is perfect for that as it has your bacon, eggs, and toast all in a fun bite-sized package!!! Although, honestly, you likely won't have leftovers, so go ahead and set some aside to enjoy the next morning, maybe with a Bloody Mary or other hair of the dog beverage of your choosing.
And finally, here's a little bit about Ras el Hanout, which happens to be one of my favorite spice blends. You may have never heard of it, but everyone should have this in their kitchen because it enhances the flavor of a vast variety of dishes from meat to eggs to soups and stews to grains and veges, and yes even cakes and cookies. Heck, I even love this stuff lightly sprinkled on pear slices. Just search Pinterest for "ras el hanout" and you will see that the opportunities for its use are endless! So what is it, you ask? Well, it is blend of spices used primarily in Moroccan cooking for which there is no one authentic recipe. And that is probably another reason I love it so - it's an art not a science! It almost always has varying amounts of the following: paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, turmeric, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves. Some brands also include saffron (which I do like), anise (which I don't like), sumac, rosebuds and bay leaf (to which I remain uncommitted either way) and a few other oddities. You can buy Ras el Hanout already mixed - just be sure to read the ingredients in case there is one or more spice that you know are objectionable to you - available at middle eastern grocery stores or at Williams-Sonoma at http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/ras-el-hanout/ Personally, I really like the Williams-Sonoma blend and that is what I used when I created this recipe. If you are feeling really kitchen artsy, you can even make your own!!! Check out these two sites for good recipes for making it yourself and for more fascinating info on this awesome spice blend: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/ras-el-hanout and http://thelunacafe.com/moroccan-ras-el-hanout/
Although this crazy creation is mine alone, I give special thanks to a couple of my favorite food blog sites for the inspiration to this dish:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com
http://tideandthyme.com
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