Curing Your Own Bacon at Home!

Making your own bacon at home is extremely simple and fast! Trust me, once you make it at home, you will never eat store-bought bacon!

Ingredients:

1 cup of salt, equal parts kosher and sea salt
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon of coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 to 1 ½ lb. slab of pork belly

1. Start with a slab of pork belly. The one shown here is about a pound and a half. I bought it at Whole Foods for $4.99 a pound.




2.Combine all of the ingredients (except the pork belly, of course) in a bowl. Rub the pork belly with the salt mixture. There will be some salt left over. Set this aside for now.

3. Store the pork belly in a Tupperware container and cover with the remaining salt.

4. Store in the fridge for 5 days. Remove from the container and rinse off the salt. If the pork belly looks like the photo below, you’ve successfully made bacon!




5. Slice the bacon and fry in a pan!

6. If stored in an airtight container, the bacon can keep for up to 3-4 weeks. I read this somewhere because the bacon did not last more than a week and a half in my house. If you manage to keep bacon for up to three weeks…kudos to you!

Mambo-New London, CT

You could go to the most critically acclaimed restaurants and have an exquisite, flawless meal; however, there is no denying that the best food in the world is the food you grew up with. The greatest chefs don’t stand a chance against the skills of my Cuban mom and grandma!

I went to this tiny hole-in-the-wall in New London, CT called Mambo. Although they claim to be Caribbean, the term is somewhat broad. Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisine are all very similar, but can differ greatly from other Caribbean Island cuisines, such as Jamaican or Haitian. I can sit here all day and describe the differences, big or small, amongst them. Instead, I am going to make you hungry…

The menu at Mambo closely resembled Puerto Rican Cuisine. The “mofongo” and “habichuelas” were a dead give away. The Cuban versions of these foods are called “fufu” and “frijoles” (see below for their descriptions). Now, I am not Puerto Rican, but the cuisine of this wonderful little island is basically the same as the food in Cuba. The ingredients and dishes are the same; we just call them different things. The food I ate at Mambo reminded me of the many home cooked meals my mom or grandma used to make. Anyway, I digress. Let me get back to making you hungry…

I ordered the chicken stew. My mom would call this “fricase de pollo”. It is chicken cooked in a tomato-based broth with onions, garlic, saffron, oregano, and cumin-the basic Cuban pantry. (Mom, help me out here. Let me know if I forgot any ingredients). The chicken just shredded apart and was packed with flavor! It was served with a side of fluffy white rice and bowl of red beans. The latter were slightly different from what I am used to eating, simply because I prefer black beans. They were also sweeter and had less cumin. Nonetheless, my meal was FANTASTIC-the epitome of Cuban comfort food!

Scott ordered the “pernil”, or shredded pork. The pork tasted exactly like the pork I grew up with. It was garlicky and citrusy and shredded apart like pulled pork, sans the barbecue sauce. He just had the white rice because I haven’t been able to fully convert him… he still won’t eat beans! ☺

If you find yourselves in Southeastern Connecticut stop by Mambo. Better yet, bring me along with you. I'll order in Spanish so that we can be treated like part of la familia.


Mofongo/Fufu: plantain mash, usually served with pork rinds and garlic
Habichuelas/Frijoles: Black or red bean soup

Tico-Boston, MA

Simply put, Tico was a colossal waste of money! Now that I told you how I really feel, let me describe the food and drinks in more details.
I ordered a pitcher of Tico’s Sangria. Now, you don’t have to be Pythagoras or Descartes to figure out this next problem. An individual glass of Sangria was $10; a pitcher was $36. If the pitcher yielded only 3 glasses of Sangria, how much did I get ripped off? I paid $2 more per glass by getting the pitcher than I would have if I ordered 3 individual glasses. I guess this restaurant doesn’t reward its customers who order in bulk. But silly me, what did I think this was, Costco? Still, the Sangria was overpriced and quite frankly, extremely mediocre.

My favorite dining partner and I opted for ordering several small plates: chorizo bites with a chimichurri sauce, quail in a mango and aji amarillo sauce, fried manchego cheese with a soy pomegranate dipping sauce, tuna tartar, shishito peppers with shallots and lime, and creamed corn with bacon and basil. The first two dishes listed above were the better ones of the bunch. They were also served on sticks, which made them fun to eat.

The chorizo plate came with three medallions of chorizo, each about an inch in diameter. These were serve with a chimichurri sauce: garlicky and parsley-y…clearly the latter is not a word, but you get the idea. The chimichurri sauce was great, as was the chorizo. Both had a very authentic Spanish taste. Priced at $7, I felt that I overpaid for my chorizo. It was great, but it wasn’t worth that much.
The quail was seared and crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. In other words, it was cooked perfectly. It was drowned in a mango and yellow pepper sauce- the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. Oh man, it was good! I have no complaints about this dish. I loved it!

I love manchego cheese. No wait, scratch that. I live and breathe for manchego cheese. I also live and breathe for anything deep-fried. I thought the union of these two food groups (yes, to me they are their own separate food groups) would make me hear angels, but instead I heard the purring of soft, fluffy kittens. For those of you who missed my subtle humor, I meant to say that the fried manchego was good- I enjoyed it, but it was not as “foodgasmic” as I expected it to be. The fried manchego bits were glorified cheese sticks, but who doesn’t love a cheese stick? I also didn’t care for the soy-pomegranate dipping sauce. It was too sweet and it didn’t complement the cheese well. I would recommend that the chef pair this sharp and delicious Spanish cheese with a romesco sauce. Sure, it is not as eclectic as the pomegranate sauce, but sometimes being a purist with your food pairings can yield amazing results.

The tuna used to make the tuna tartar was mushy. I can only imagine that mushy tuna can only mean one thing: it wasn’t fresh! I am assuming that it was made at around noon and it sat in a container until I ordered it at 6 pm. Tuna tartar, just like sushi, is only good when made to order. If it sits around too long, it’s just not good. I am not going into a lot of detail because after all, no one cares for mushy tuna.

I am noticing that shishito peppers are the latest trend in the culinary world. These light green peppers are thinner and for the most part, less spicy than a jalapeno; however, a batch of these peppers range in heat. Some are extremely spicy and some are extremely mild. It’s unusual and I love it. It’s a surprise in every bite because you never know what you are going to get! Served whole and roasted, these peppers were covered in sea salt, crispy shallots and limejuice. For those extra-spicy peppers, the lime was a refreshing element! This combination was fantastic.

And now for the catastrophe of the night, I introduced to you the creamed corn. This corn was crap. Honestly, I can’t find a witty or eloquent way to put it. I expected roasted corn- corn that had been grilled and shucked off the cob. What I got was frozen kernels, with a splash of half-and-half, a soggy-handful of bacon pieces, and 4 jalapeno rings. This dish resembled a pot-induced experiment, not a dish you would serve in a restaurant. Flavorless and mediocre! Absolute crap!

All of the above, not including tip, was a few cents shy of $100. I have never paid this much money for food that has left me extremely dissatisfied. Sure a few dishes were good, but I they are not worth returning to Tico. Under no circumstances, will I be returning to this place! I am usually very opinionated about food, so I encourage my friends to try restaurants on their own and form their own opinions; however, my dear amigos, save yourselves the time and money and go elsewhere. This restaurant is not worth your patronage.

Pollo a la Peruana-Peruvian Style Chicken

The origins of the Peruvian-style chicken recipe are unknown. I saw it somewhere and I emailed the recipe to myself. Honestly, I thumb through so many cooking magazines and online blogs that I lose track of them all. As with most recipes I come across, I did alter it significantly. I can safely say that it is my recipe and I used another simply for inspiration.

Ingredients

2 tsp of paprika. I used a combination of bittersweet and spicy Spanish paprika. The paprika I have is very, very strong, hence why I only used 1 teaspoon, instead of the 1 tablespoon the recipe originally called for. If you don’t have either of these, any paprika can be used; however, use the full tablespoon. Most generic paprikas bought at supermarkets are subtle in flavor.

1 tbsp ground cumin. I ran out of cumin halfway through making this dish, otherwise I would have doubled it. That is just my preference because I simply love the taste and smell of cumin.

2 tsp of sea salt

3 tsp of black peppercorns. I used my lava-rock mortar to crush the peppercorns. You can also use ground pepper, but I highly recommend grinding it yourself in a pepper mill. I haven’t bought ground pepper in years; it doesn’t compare to the taste of fresh stuff!

8 cloves garlic. I smashed these in a mortar with the 2 tsp of sea salt until they turned into a paste. If you don’t own such a thing, you can mince the garlic.

4 tbsp sherry or white wine vinegar. The original recipe called for white wine vinegar, but upon Scott’s request to get rid of the last bit of sherry we had, I used that instead.

2 large Vidalia or sweet onions, peeled and thickly sliced

2 bell peppers, I used yellow and orange, seeded and cut into strips

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

5 boneless chicken thighs. This was enough to feed three people and I still have two left over. The original recipe called for a whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (cut the breasts in half). If you decided to use a whole chicken, trim some of the fat. The cooking time will remain the same.

White cooking wine. I am very particular about the cooking wine I use. A great chef once said, if you can't drink it, don’t cook with it; however, my mom always used Goya Dry Cooking Wine and it has never disappointed me. If mom used it, it’s got to be good. You’ll need a drizzle or two. See below.


Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first six ingredients to make a paste. Combine the onions and peppers in a large mixing bowl and toss with enough paste to cover all of the vegetables. Set aside. Place the boneless thighs in a baking dish making sure not to overlap them. Rub both sides of the thighs with the seasoning paste. Cover the chicken with the lemon slices. If you have any remaining lemon, simply squeeze the juice over the chicken. Place the vegetables on top of the chicken, add a drizzle or two of the cooking wine and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes or until it is cool enough to eat. I served the chicken with white rice. Make sure to pour some of the pan drippings over your rice. Yum!

If you decide to make this meal, please give me your feedback.

Buen Provecho!

The Bloomy Rind, Hingham, MA

Oh, the sandwich! Layers of goodness stuffed in between two layers of even better goodness! It is not often that I eat a sandwich that I want to share with the world; but after eating one of Bloomy Rind’s hand-held creations, I want to shout it from the mountaintops! A more gourmet take on the BLT, the BLB is by far the best sandwich these taste buds have tasted. Pressed in between two slices of dark rye, oozing brie mixes with peach butter, lettuce and smoked bacon. The cheese is creamy; the bacon salty; the peach butter, sweet; the lettuce, crisp and fresh. I accompanied my sandwich with what else but fresh figs stuffed with a sharp, creamy, drool-producing stilton cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. What did you think I was going to accompany the best sandwich in the world with a bag of chips? Pffft…..you know me better than that!

The Bloomy Rind is located in downtown Hingham. It is a quaint shop that sells cheese, cured meats, and an assortment of salads and side dishes. I was greeted with a smile and a firm handshake from the shop’s owner, Mary. You can say that I was at the right place at the right time when she gave me a sample of a very creamy and very delicious blue cheese. Needless to say, after the work day is over, I will be picking up an order of this amazing blue along with some prosciutto, a crusty baguette, and perhaps a couple of those figs…talk about bringing home the bacon.

Buen Provecho!

Paul’s Pasta Shop, Groton, CT

Scott always bragged about this little hidden jewel in his hometown called Paul’s Pasta Shop. I was intrigued that he spoke so highly of it given that he doesn’t crave pasta on the regular. This past Sunday, he surprised me by taking me to Paul’s for lunch. When you walk into Paul’s the first thing you see is a pasta machine that is older than time itself. There was also a man standing over said machine feeding it sheets of fresh pasta. Nothing beats fresh pasta. I repeat, nothing beats fresh pasta!

I decided to sit in their back deck alongside the River Thames, enjoying the scenic landscape of Southeastern Connecticut. It was a warm day and that can only mean one thing, I had to drink white wine! I ordered a glass of white from Stonington Vineyards, a vineyard just up the road from Groton. The menu didn’t specify what kind of white it was nor did I ask. The wine was slightly sweet, and although I prefer crisp wines, this one was absolutely delicious.

Appetizers

Scott ordered a cold pasta salad: shells tossed with cucumber, tomato and a light Italian dressing. Given that their pasta is homemade, I don’t see any reason why their dressing shouldn’t be, so I assumed that it was made in house. The dressing was slightly tangy, indicating vinegar’s presence, and heavy on the oregano and basil. This dish was the star of the meal.

We shared the baked shrimp, six medium sized shrimp cooked in a sage butter sauce. The sage wasn’t as prominent as I would have liked, however the butter sauce was delicious. It was twice even more delicious when I soaked it up with some crusty bread.

Entrées

One thing I liked very much about this restaurant is that they let you choose from two entrée sizes, small or large. Even though the small was half the size of the large portion, I was only able to eat half of my entrée.

I ordered one of the specials: fettuccini with shrimp, mushrooms, and asparagus, tossed in a white wine sauce. The pasta was delicious, but I do have a few suggestions for improvement. The sauce was extremely buttery. I think the chef may have ran out of wine and decided to add an extra cup or two of butter to my pasta. Mind you, it was still delicious but I would have preferred if my pasta wasn’t soaking in a tub of butter. My second suggestion is that the pasta could have been ‘kicked up a notch’ in the words of Emeril. Nothing major, perhaps a few pinches of red pepper flakes or freshly ground pepper. The vegetables were actually my favorite part of the dish because they were cooked perfectly al dente, especially the asparagus.

Scott ordered pasta cooked with spicy and sweet Italian sausage and green bell peppers. His dish was far superior to mine. The pasta was drowned in a thick tomato sauce that was perfect for dipping crusty garlic bread. There was nothing too exotic about the sauce, just sweet marinara sauce. Luckily he ordered the large portion and I currently have over two servings of pasta in my fridge.

I loved the simplicity and the freshness of the food. It was good Italian food at even better prices. The entire meal, including four glasses of wine, set us back $55. There were many things on the menu that I wanted to try, as is always the case with me, so I will definitely be returning to Paul’s.

Buen Provecho!

Mandu-Washington, D.C.

I was fortunate enough to have met someone in D.C. who loves food as much as I do. Elizabeth, like all the foodies in my life, has an adventurous palate. Needless to say, we instantly became friends. She took me to a Korean restaurant called Mandu in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. Now, before I tell you about the wonderful authentic Korean fare I had, I want to tell you more about Dupont Circle. If you live in Boston, picture the South End: gorgeous brownstones with big stoops, small bistros and trendy bars. Given that it is a very gay friendly part of town, it was tasteful, trendy, and absolutely fabulous! Being the fabulous gal that I am, I felt right in! Now, onto the food.

D.C. has something Boston doesn’t have and will never have: happy hour. Not the kind of happy hour where you get a half-priced burger, but you still pay full price for a drink. No, not that kind. In our Nation’s Capital drinks are discounted EVERYWHERE usually from 4-7 P.M. At Mandu, beers were $2 and martinis were $4. A girl who loves to get her drink on could get used to these kinds of prices. I ordered, upon Elizabeth’s recommendation a soju martini. Soju is a typical Korean alcohol, usually made from rice and resembling sake. My soju martini was mixed with aloe juice. Think of how refreshing aloe feels when you rub it into your sun burnt skin. It felt just the same drinking it. It had a very refreshing herbal taste, perfect for a hot summer afternoon. My second martini (because there is always a second) was soju mixed with yogurt. Korean yogurt is not the creamy flavored food that most of us have for breakfast. It was milky, but not creamy, and very sweet. Because of it sweetness, it was an excellent after dinner drink.

For an appetizer we shared the pan fried mandu, or dumplings. We couldn’t decide which ones we wanted to order, so we settled for a combination of shrimp, vegetables wrapped in a spinach wonton, and beef and pork (ground and mixed together). The inside of the dumplings were steaming and the outside was fried to a delightful crunch. They were accompanied with a very simple, soy and sesame sauce. The sauce was tangy, so I am assuming it contained rice wine vinegar.

Korean restaurants serve complimentary sides, or appetizers. These are the chef’s choice- they constantly change and you never know what you will get. The server brought out four sides: sweet potatoes cooked in a sweet glaze and paired with green beans, sliced zucchini cooked in a red chili paste, tofu with eggplant and onions, and a spicy pickled cabbage, called kimchee. They were all served cold. The sweet potato was my favorite. It was very sweet and was great to eat after the zucchini and the cabbage to offset their spiciness. This sounds like a lot of food, but the portions are small and serve as the perfect course between your appetizer and your entrée.

For an entrée I ordered the Dolsot Bibim Bap. It was a rice dish served in a very hot stone bowl, so it kept on cooking while you were eating it. Plain white rice was served with a variety of vegetables, such as mushrooms, spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, thinly sliced beef and topped with a fried egg*. Elizabeth explained that you mixed all the ingredients together so that yolk breaks and soaks into the rice. A spicy red bean sauce, similar to a red chili paste, was served on the side so that you can add as much as you’d like. I added a couple of dollops and it added the perfect amount of spice to my dish. To me, this was the perfect meal because it contained all the nutrients you needed: carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, and of course, the right amount of fat. Since the rice kept cooking, when you reached the bottom, it was crunchy. I have zero complaints about the Bibim Bap. I absolutely loved it!

Elizabeth ordered the Duru Chigee, thinly sliced pork belly served with kimchee, tofu and rice cakes. The rice cakes are made with rice flour and are chewy in texture. I sampled her dish and I was a huge fan. Pork belly resembles bacon, but contains more meat. It is a fatty meat, so I don’t recommend it if you are concerned with your fat intake. In fact, Elizabeth’s only complaint was that her dish was a bit fatty. Otherwise, it was a very flavorful dish.

This concludes my authentic Korean experience. I loved it. Absolutely loved it! It has been one of the greater culinary experiences I’ve had. I already found a few Korean restaurants in Boston so that I can introduced all my Massholes to this wonderful cuisine.

Buen Provecho!

*As a side note, I want to tell you that one of my favorite dishes growing up, being the well-fed Cuban girl that I am, was plain white rice mixed with a fried egg. I used to have this all the time, served with steak or just on it own. Try it some time. It’s delicious!