Something I love...Bacon Fat

Ok, I know it is the new year and everyone is attempting to eat healthier and I keep vowing I will too, however it is so hard when I have such strong feelings for bacon fat. It just makes everything better. Last night I did not have dinner planned and decided I would just whip up some Bacon, Egg, and Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches. I cooked the bacon low and slow like normal until it was nice and crispy. I poured out the bacon fat into the old soup can I keep in the freezer to store all that fatty goodness for later use. I set the pan aside to cool and kept some fat in the pan to cook the eggs...naturally. (This is a requirement in my book by the way if you are ever cooking eggs and bacon.) I whisked my eggs with cream, salt and pepper and poured them in the slightly heated pan to cook the eggs low and slow. When I bit into my finished sandwich, I savored the powerful smokey flavor that the bacon provided to the eggs. I don't know why I am choosing to mention this food love affair now. I have been in love with bacon fat (any pork fat really) for a long time, and I just absolutely adore eggs cooked in bacon fat.

Bon Appetite...Here's to breakfast for dinner and saving your bacon fat!

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Happy New Year! Sorry I have taken such a long break to soak in the new year. I had good intentions to bring you my wonderful black eyed pea recipe and mexican cornbread on New Year's Day, but my free time lately is hard to come by. I have been quite busy with work. Last week I was only able to accumulate 24 hours of sleep in 6 nights due to work, so needless to say there was no time left over for blogging. All I could think about all week though was cooking. I travel so much with work and it is hard to not have a home cooked meal for a week straight. This weekend my husband treated me by taking a trip to the Spiceman here in Dallas to get a bag full of wild mushrooms. What else to do with a bag of wild mushrooms than to make a wild mushroom risotto? I was hoping we would have some left over to enjoy some chicken marsala later in the week, but I ended up using them all. We had a mix of yellow chanterelles, black trumpets, king oysters, mini shiitakes, and hedgehogs. This dish is incredibly hearty and delicious and made for a wonderful Sunday night dinner.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto (Created by Me)

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus (cut in small pieces in a diagonal)

3 tbls olive oil, plus 2 tbls separated

1 tbls red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

5 tbls butter

3 shallots, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups aborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 lb assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into bite size pieces

7 cups chicken stock, heated through

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for topping)

4 tbls parsley

2 tbls lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk 3 tbls olive oil with 1 tbls red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and toss in asparagus. Let marinate for about 15 minutes.

Next, melt 3 tbls butter and 1 tbls olive oil in your dutch oven. Toss in shallots and let saute for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and saute for about 1 - 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add aborio rice and toss to coat with the butter, olive oil, shallot and garlic mixture. Let rice toast slightly.

Once rice is slightly toasted, add wine and stir until wine is fully absorbed. Add chicken stock one ladel at a time, stirring constantly until fully absorbed. Keep gradually adding stock until rice is cooked through. This should take about 20 - 30 minutes.

In the meantime, roast marinated asparagus for about 8 minutes until tender. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Set aside.

Also, melt 1 tbls butter in a skillet and add cleaned mushrooms. Cook until browned and crisp on the sides. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Once risotto is fully cooked, stir in lemon juice, parsley, parmesan cheese and last tbls butter. Stir until combined. Last, fold in cooked asparagus and cooked mushrooms. Serve immediately.