Sin is In Part II: Bacon Maple Cheese Cakes

Sometimes I see a recipe in a magazine and think 'What a fabulous idea! I should make that!'.  Other times I see a recipe in a magazine and think 'That's okay, I bet I can make it better!'

That's exactly what I did with a recipe from this month's edition of Food Network Magazine. They had these great looking mini bacon cheesecakes on page 124 of the May edition.  Now don't get me wrong, they look fabulous with their little pieces of bacon on top but I started thinking...

'A chocolate cookie based crust would just take over the bacon flavour'....then it was..
'Why use vanilla when you can use maple? Everyone knows maple and bacon were just meant to be together!'
'How can I get more bacon into the the crust?'
'Can it really be called a bacon cheese cake if the only bacon is actually just the garnish?'

Seriously folks, I almost hurt myself on this one!  After making some adjustments to the original recipe, I came up with a fantastic little treat with a great bacony bite and a maple taste.  This may seem like a lot of work for 24 mini cheese cakes, but come on now, it's bacon!

Maple Bacon Mini Cheese cakes

Printable recipe here

Yield: 24 minis

Bacon

Place 10 strips of your best bacon onto a baking sheet and slip it into the oven. Turn the oven on to 350F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You want the bacon to be crisp, but not too dark as some will cook more in the crust and some will cook more with the maple glaze....mmmmm

Drain the bacon on some paper towel. Save 4 for the crust and 6 for the maple application.

Maple glazed bacon

6 strips cooked bacon

¼ cup maple syrup (NOT fake pancake syrup...the real deal people!!)

Cut each strip of bacon into 4 or more pieces. As long as you have at least 24 you will be good.

Heat the maple syrup in a pan and add the bacon strips.  Let the syrup get all bubbly and thick (boil it down, reduce....whatever word you want to use).

Once the syrup is all thick and the bacon pieces are each well coated in a nice coat, remove the pieces to a sheet of parchment paper to cool. Save 24 pieces so you will have one piece per mini cheese cake.

You will know you've boiled it enough because you will get sugary/maple strings like this:

sweet, stringy, maple goodness!

Line a mini muffin pan with liners

The crust

½ cup panko

4 strips bacon, baked until crisp

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp melted bacon fat (or butter)

Whir everything in the food processor or blender until mixed and the bacon is broken down into small pieces.

Scoop 1 tsp of the crust mixture into each liner and pack it down tightly with your finger tips.

Cheesecake

1 8oz pkg cream cheese (at room temperature)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp maple extract

2 tsp maple syrup (optional)

1 egg

Heat the oven to 325F

Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before starting. It will be easier to blend and make a smoother cheese cake.

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. (I like to use the mixer for this but a wooden spoon works the arm muscles).  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the maple extract and syrup.  Keep mixing until smooth and blended.

Add the egg and blend just until fully incorporated.

Scoop 2 tsp of filling onto the crusts.

Bake for 15 minutes (at 325F), until the cheese cakes are set in the middle.

Cool in the pan, then transfer to an airtight container, top with a piece of maple glazed bacon and store in the fridge!

Chill for at least 4 hours....or as long as you can wait....

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Swinging Side Dishes- Creamed Spinach

Due to the fact that snow sticks around the prairies so long we have been lucky enough to have some interesting travel opportunities.  Thanks to the Boy's baseball program, during spring break from school, the boys jump on a bus and travel South to greener pastures, quite literally!!  *Play ball!!*

This pic was taken in Muskogee, Oklahoma

In the past two years we have been to Jackson, Tennessee and Tulsa Oklahoma.  Of course the week or so that we spend South is generally filled with baseball practices, games, and tournaments.  The team gets tired but they get to play on grass and outdoors well before everyone else at home.  They also get to play teams that pitch faster and hit harder.  It is a great opportunity!!  The boys work their buts off all winter in order to go on this trip and they are getting excited for this year!

On first base in Owasso, Oklahoma

One of the yummy things about these trips South is getting to try all of the wonderful new foods.  If it weren't for these trips I never would have tried tasty yummy things such as okra (fried and pickled), properly fried catfish, properly fried chicken, grits, real biscuits, Frito pie, deep fried pickles, and of course the Boy's favourite: creamed spinach! 

Tonight the Boy confessed to a hankering for some creamed spinach...this is one of my favourites too...
I do have a quick and easy recipe for creamed spinach that is perfect for this type of craving.  I originally used the recipe from Martha Stewart but over time I have changed it somewhat.  This is what I made tonight:

Easy Peasy Creamed Spinach
Printable recipe

• 2 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed (hey, it is winter here, cut me some slack)
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed (or grated)
• 6 0z block cream cheese
• pinch (or grating) nutmeg
• 1 tbsp oil, butter, or coconut oil

Heat a pan over medium heat and add the oil.

I like to use a small grater to get the garlic into the party!

Saute the onions and garlic until soft.

Squeeze the excess liquid from the thawed spinach and add it to the pan.

Grate or add a pinch of nutmeg to the pan and stir.

When the spinach is heated through, add the cream cheese.

Let the cream cheese get all melty and mix it in with the spinach.

Eat!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

(And play ball!!)

Bundles of Happiness: Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

It is so difficult to not get caught up in the Superbowl madness that goes on these days.  Even the Boy's baseball coaches booked today's practice for 6am so they could be free this evening for the big game.  Hubby tells me the smack talk among the parents waiting for the boys started early as well.  I am more of a baseball fan, but honestly, anything that allows me to eat some great treats can't be all that bad, can it?  I first saw these bacon wrapped jalapenos over at Brown Eyed Baker and I knew I was going to have to make these!  You can also find this recipe at the Pioneer Woman Cooks...either way, they are a must have!!

I could have eaten the whole pan!!!!!

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker and Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 10 to 12 jalapenos, pick some nice large peppers
• 1 8 oz brick cream cheese, softened (you can use light cream cheese if you wish)
• 3/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound bacon, choose your favourite.  I went with a glorious apple wood smoked bacon.

 Pre heat the oven to 350F

Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar, cilantro , and some salt and pepper until well mixed.

Wash the peppers

Remove the innards!!

Slice the peppers in half and remove the seeds and the veins.

Cram a good tablespoon full of creamy cheesy goodness into each pepper half...mmmmm...

If your peppers are on the small size, you can get away with half a strip of bacon to wrap around but lets face it, we all know I love bacon....I used a whole slice per pepper half....glorious apple wood smoked bacon.
Wrap a slice of bacon around each pepper half.

The other two recipes recommend baking these little beauties on a rack to lift them out of the bacon drippings.  I didn't do that but I think I will give it a try next time just to get the bottoms nice a crisp.

Bake at 350F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the bacon is nice and crisp!

Let these fantabulous little bundles of jalapeno bacon goodness cool a bit so you don't burn your tongue.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Heavenly Devil's Food Chocolatey Goodness

Tonight my son is having his buddies over to celebrate his birthday.  I'm not sure if 15 year old boys officially call it a birthday party, but there is a room full of teen age boys playing video games and eating tons of food in my house.  I didn't make a huge shaped or a really fancy cake this time since I made the baseball cake last weekend.  My son and I decided to go with devil's food chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  Devil's food chocolate cake just happen to be one of my favourite types of cake.  I have tested this recipe with different ratios of butter and oil for maximum tastiness and moistness.  Ultimately this family favourite has been adapted from Martha Stewart.  As usual this recipe has been doubled to produce maximum chocolatey goodness.  These little bundles of chocolatey goodness just happened to be served at my friend's wedding with rave reviews.  I have also made them for the wedding of a friend's son, also to rave reviews.

Devil’s food cupcakes

Shopping and prep list

Yield: Approximately 60 cupcakes

Printable recipe

• 1 ½ cups Cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups Hot water
• 6 cups Flour
• 2 tsp Baking soda
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 2 ½ Salt
• 2 cups Butter
• ¾ cup Canola oil
• 4 ½ cups Sugar
• 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp Vanilla
• 8 Eggs
• 2 cups Sour cream, full fat

Devil’s food cupcakes

this mixture will be smooth like chocolate but won't taste like chocolate!

In a bowl whisk together until smooth:

• 1 ½ cups cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups hot water

Mix in another bowl: 

• 6 cups flour 
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder  
• 2 ½ tsp salt

·         

Melt together:

• 2 cups butter
• ¾ cup canola oil
• 4 ½ cups sugar

Beat the sugar/butter/oil mixture in the bowl of stand mixer until cooled (about 5 minutes).  When you first start mixing the sugar, oil, butter mixture it will look like this:

The start of mixing

After a good 5 minutes of mixing, it will turn a nice, pale yellow colour and will look more like this:

After 5 minutes of mixing

Adding the chocolate mixture after the eggs and 

vannilla

Add to the bowl of the stand mixer:

• 8 eggs, one at a time until blended
• 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp vanilla 
• Chocolate and water mixture you made before

·   Beat until well blended then alternate the additions of:

• 2 cups sour cream, full fat

the last of the flour

with additions of:

• the flour mixture until both are gone (about 3 additions of each)

Scoop into lined cupcake pans and bake at 35o degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Once the cupcakes are cool it is time to ice them.  We just can't have plain ol' chocolate cupcakes now can we? I  have been looking for a recipe for cream cheese frosting for a while. Some research dug up many different ratios of cream cheese to butter and icing sugar.  I browsed for a while before adapting what I found to suit my needs. (each set of underlined words leads to a cream cheese frosting recipe)

Cream cheese frosting

In the bowl of your mixer, blend together until smooth:

• 1 brick cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

Once the cream cheese and the butter are well mixed and smooth, add and continue to mix:

• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

When the milk and vanilla are will mixed in, add 1 cup at a time, mixing thouroghly after each addition

• 4 1/2 cups icing sugar

Frost your cupcakes as you please!  I like to use a piping bag with a large star tip on it for nice swirls of icing!