Vacation

Off to South America. New posts coming in January 2010. Sweet.

Maple Bacon Ice Cream

Who knew a dessert could be so polarizing? Everyone agreed that the maple ice cream was a great success. The addition of bacon, however, was more controversial. Some people loved the smokey & salty contrast, while others were freaked out by having little bits of meat in their dessert.

Heat, in a small saucepan:
1.5 Cups Milk
1.5 Cups Heavy Cream
.5 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1.5 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Allow mixture to cool, and then run through ice cream maker.
Meanwhile, cook, until very crisp:
6 Slices Bacon

Break bacon into small bits.
Stir into ice cream.
Freeze 15 minutes.

Really Easy Soup

Add to a pot:
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Pureed Tomato
2 Carrots, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Cup Broccoli Florets 
2 Teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Two Cooked Chicken Breasts, diced 

Simmer for 30 minutes. 
Add salt and pepper as desired.

Roasted Butternut Squash

One of the things I miss most about living in the east coast is having some kind of winter. Not a full winter or anything, just a little bit of cold. In Los Angeles, that hardly happens. Since it's early December, I decided to make it feel like winter a little bit by roasting the ultimate winter vegetable, squash. Added bonus- this side dish is stupidly easy to make.

Split in half, and then seed:
One Butternut Squash

Place squash on a roasting pan.
Roast in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until squash is tender.

Remove flesh from squash, and mix in:
2 Teaspoons Butter
1 Teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Salt
Fresh Grated Nutmeg (about 1/4 teaspoon)

If you want to get all fancy-pants, you can return the squash to its shell and serve it like that.