Devils on Horseback

Bacon Wrapped Dates

These to be quite fashionable some time ago and are making a comeback for good reason--the soft date, almost too sweet on its own, marries beautifully with the tangy melted gorgonzola and the salty crunch of smoked bacon. They taste, in a word, heavenly, which seems awfully appropriate for a fruit born in the fires of heaven, doesn't it?

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen appetizers

Ingredients:

5 ounces of soft dried dates, or approximately 24
4 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese
1 pound of apple wood smoked bacon

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Make a slice down the length of each date and remove the pit. Stuff with a small hunk (about 1 teaspoon) of cheese. Cut each slice of bacon in half crosswise and wrap around the dates. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down.

Bake for 6 minutes on one side, remove from the oven and carefully turn dates with tongs, securing any loose bacon with toothpicks if necessary. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the bacon is crisp, another 6-8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Goat Cheese

Goat Cheese

This cheese is easy to make and even easier to eat. Double the recipe to make more if you want, but keep in mind that it only stays fresh for a few days.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes, plus an hour or two to drain
Yield: about 1/2 cup of cheese

Ingredients:

1 quart of goat milk
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
pinch of salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat milk in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Place a candy thermometer in the milk and stir occasionally.

2. When the milk reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, stir in the lemon juice. Continue heating until small curds form, but do not let the milk boil. At this point, the milk will begin to look clearish yellow. That is the proverbial whey, which can be drunk, used in baking, or fed to your animals.

3. Turn off the heat. Line a small strainer with cheesecloth. Carefully pour the curds into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, reserving the whey in a bowl underneath if desired. Tie up the cheesecloth and gently squeeze to remove more whey. Hang the cheese from your faucet, or a wooden spoon set over a deep bowl or pot for one to two hours to continue to remove moisture from the cheese.

4. Remove the cheese from the cloth. It will be a bit crumbly. Add salt to taste and then pack the cheese into a small ramekin to store. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Use within a few days.

Curried Lentil Stew

Curried Lentil Stew

This hearty stew has stick-to-your-ribs goodness in every bite. Though this version is vegetarian, chunks of cooked, spicy Italian sausage would make a very nice addition if you are so inclined.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
4 medium carrots, halved length-wise and sliced
1 cup of cubed baby potatoes (fingerling or new potatoes)
2 tablespoons of good-quality curry powder
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 quart of vegetable stock
2 cups of dried green lentils
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and potatoes and cook until the vegetables begin to get tender.

2. Add curry powder and cook for two minutes more, or until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, and stock and bring to a boil.

3. Add lentils, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender. Check in periodically and add more stock if necessary.

4. Taste for seasoning, and ladle into a bowl. Top with crumbled goat cheese if desired. It is also great over brown rice or quinoa or you could serve it with a rustic loaf of bread to sop up all the delicious broth.

Oatmeal Brown Sugar Scones

Oatmeal Brown Sugar Scones

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 large scones

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk plus additional for brushing

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In the bowl of your food processor fitted with a steel blade attachment, pulse flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1 1/3 cups of oats 15 times to combine.

2. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. Place mixture into a large bowl and stir in buttermilk until the mixture begins to come together. Turn out the dough onto a board (it will still be floury and shaggy) and knead until it just comes together.

3. Pat into a circle about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Brush each wedge with buttermilk, then sprinkle on the remaining brown sugar and oats.

4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until scones are lightly golden brown. Cool completely on a cooling rack....although they taste wonderful warm too.

Lovely Lemon Curd

Lovely Lemon Curd
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

This curd is the perfect combination of sweet and sour and is so rich and glossy. Try it with scones, or as a filling for a tart.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yields: 2 half pint jars...with a bit leftover to eat right out of the bowl...shhh...

Ingredients:

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 extra large eggs
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch of salt

Preparation:

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the rind (not the white pith) from the lemons and place in the food processor, along with the sugar. Pulse mixture until lemon peel is finely minced and blended with the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar/zest mixture and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Mix in the lemon juice and salt.

Place mixture in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over a low flame, stirring constantly for 10-15 minutes, or until about as thick as a pudding. The curd will be about 170 degrees when this happens, and not yet simmering. Pour into a container and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. You may want to place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Dollop onto anything....

Greens and Ginger Soup

Greens and Ginger Soup
Adapted from Love Soup

Caramelized onions, combined with leeks, ginger, greens and a potato for thickening, make this a truly flavorful and delicious soup.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
4 cups of water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large leek, white and light green part only, washed well, and sliced
1 pound of mixed greens (I used spinach, turnip, mustard, and collard)
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
1 quart of vegetable stock
20 grinds of fresh pepper
2-3 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
a splash of tamari, if desired
Plain yogurt for dolloping

Preparation:

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet. Add onions and a large pinch of salt and cook for 30 minutes, or until they are soft and golden in color.

Meanwhile, put water, potato, salt, leek, greens and ginger in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. The greens will be huge at this point, but will boil down quickly. Simmer this mixture for 20-30 minutes, or until the potato and greens are tender.

Add the caramelized onions and vegetable stock and stir well. At this point you can either blend it in batches in your blender, or use an emulsion blender. Puree until completely smooth. Season with pepper, and add lemon juice and taste. If you want to add additional depth of flavor, add a splash of tamari. Serve hot, with a dollop of plain yogurt if desired.

Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

I like my chowder to be chock full of chunky potatoes, bacon and with minimal clams. So I only added a paltry 3 cans of clams, which equals approximately 1 1/4 cups of shucked clams. But if you're really in love with them, then by all means add more! But I think there's still plenty of flavor from all that clam juice. Some folks like their chowder thick, some like it thin. I fall somewhere in between and thicken it just a bit with flour, but not too much. I also favor half and half instead of heavy cream because it's not so heavy.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: serves 6

Ingredients:

4 slices of thick-cut, nitrate free bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cups of peeled, russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 large)
2 8 ounce bottles of clam juice
6 cups of half and half
1/4 cup flour
3 6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams in juice, drain and reserve juice

Directions:

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until it is crisp and fat is rendered. Remove bacon from pot and reserve and turn heat to low. Add celery and onion and cook for 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender and translucent.

Add potatoes to the pot, along with all the clam juice from the bottles and cans (except for 1/2 a cup) and raise heat to high. Bring clam juice to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining clam juice with the flour to make a slurry and set aside.

When the potatoes are tender, whisk in the slurry until thoroughly combined. Simmer for 3 minutes more to thicken soup slightly. Add the half and half and clams and heat for 5 more minutes. Do not boil. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Top with reserved bacon and don't forget the oyster crackers.