Category: Bacon

Harvest Tortellini Skillet.

This harvest tortellini skillet is sponsored by Stella Cheese! This tortellini skillet is a pan full of fall heaven! Cheesy, satisfying and filled with autumn flavors of squash, sage and brown butter – there is nothing better! I look forward to these flavors all year long. Nothing tastes quite as comforting as a caramelly brown […]

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This harvest tortellini skillet is sponsored by Stella Cheese!

This tortellini skillet is a pan full of fall heaven!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

Cheesy, satisfying and filled with autumn flavors of squash, sage and brown butter – there is nothing better!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

I look forward to these flavors all year long. Nothing tastes quite as comforting as a caramelly brown butter, sweet squash cubes, fried sage, bacon and cheesy pasta. This will be a go-to weeknight meal for you this season. And let me just say that the leftovers are incredible.

stella mozzarella cheese

Today I’m partnering with Stella Cheese again, featuring their Fresh Mozzarella Cheese. Their mozzarella is absolutely incredible. It’s soft and silky – perfect for caprese salads in the summer, but it also melts beautifully, perfect for topping pizzas and pastas in these cooler months. Because of its versatility, fresh mozzarella is a staple in our fridge. We love it so much!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

The Stella Fresh Mozzarella Cheese has a delicate flavor that enhances dishes so well. We’re layering it on top of a cheesy tortellini pasta dish today and the indulgence level is over the top.

Let’s get to it!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

First, we’re cooking some bacon and once it’s crispy, we’re cooking a bunch of butternut squash in the bacon fat. Oh my YUM.

While the butternut squash is cooking, we’re going to brown a little butter and fry some sage. These are my ultimate favorite fall flavors and just typing them out has me excited.

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

Oh! We’re also cooking a bit of cheese tortellini here too. You have a little bit of leeway – you can make a spinach tortellini or another version you love. As long as it’s mild enough to go with these incredible flavors.

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

Then, it’s time to combine everything in one skillet – throw the tortellini and sage brown butter into with the squash. Add a touch of Stella Parmesan and a blanket of sliced Stella Fresh Mozzarella Cheese.

Throw the whole skillet under the broiler and let that Stella Fresh Mozzarella Cheese get all bubbly and melty. It is DREAMY!

Serve it up with an extra Stella Parmesan sprinkle for good measure. It’s hard to not eat it right out of the skillet!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

This a major flavor bomb. The squash is sweet and a bit savory, the bacon is smoky and crunchy, the sage is earthy and slightly fresh. The Stella Fresh Mozzarella Cheese is melty and mild and brings the entire dish together.

I can’t get enough!

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

And!

Like I mentioned above, the harvest tortellini skillet leftovers are deeeelish. I love a dinner where I find myself craving the leftovers the next day. This reheats well and is perfect to grab for lunch. It’s such a treat.

harvest tortellini skillet with butternut squash and sage

Harvest Tortellini Skillet

Print

Harvest Tortellini Skillet

This harvest tortellini skillet is loaded with butternut squash, bacon, sage, parmesan, mozzarella and cheese tortellini. Yum!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 2 to 4 people
Author How Sweet Eats

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat the bacon in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until it’s crisp and most of the fat has rendered. Throw in the sage leaves and let them crisp up in the bacon fat, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bacon and sage with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper-towel lined plate to remove excess grease.
  • Add the squash to the same skillet with the remaining bacon fat. Season it with a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook, stirring often, until the squash is fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes.
  • While the squash is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions, usually 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Once the tortellini is finished, add it to the skillet with the squash. Toss well. Stir in the Stella Parmesan cheese. Stir the bacon and sage back into the pot. Cover with the Stella Fresh Mozzarella Cheese.
  • Preheat the broiler in your oven to high. Stick the skillet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the mozzarella is bubbly and melted. Remove the skillet and top with more parmesan. Serve immediately!

harvest tortellini skillet

Those cheese pulls!

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La Buvette Terrine

It amuses me when people talk about snooty people sitting around, leisurely eating pâté, because pâté is rustic, country fare, not considered fancy in France. While pâté can have a pastry-type crust (pâté en croûte) and some are a little fancier than others, the cousins of pâté, terrines, are truly down-to-earth. They can be baked in a special mold (you can come across them at…

It amuses me when people talk about snooty people sitting around, leisurely eating pâté, because pâté is rustic, country fare, not considered fancy in France. While pâté can have a pastry-type crust (pâté en croûte) and some are a little fancier than others, the cousins of pâté, terrines, are truly down-to-earth. They can be baked in a special mold (you can come across them at French flea markets for around 5 bucks, like the one I used here), they can also be baked in any ovenproof bowl, which I did with this terrine. So there’s no excuse not to sit around and eat pâté, or terrine, all day. And not only is this one incredibly easy, it’s also one of the best terrines I’ve ever had.

Continue Reading La Buvette Terrine...

Orecchiette with Bacon and Wilted Frisée

This easy weeknight pasta recipe will satisfy all your senses: with chunky bits of bacon and delicate wilted frisée and a mountain of freshly shredded Pecorino cheese. Quick and easy is the name of the game with this orecchiette pasta dish. It’s satisfying and flavorful, and even manages to get some greens in there in […]

This easy weeknight pasta recipe will satisfy all your senses: with chunky bits of bacon and delicate wilted frisée and a mountain of freshly shredded Pecorino cheese.

Quick and easy is the name of the game with this orecchiette pasta dish. It’s satisfying and flavorful, and even manages to get some greens in there in a surprisingly delicious way.

Bowl of orecchiette on a vintage wood board with a silver fork

Much like escarole, frisée is a unique, sturdy green that’s a bit too bitter to really enjoy as part of a salad. For me at least!

And other than soup, pastas are our favorite way to handle these slightly-bitter greens; in this case, slightly wilted and coated in bacon-y goodness which really does wonders to allay the bitterness.

Overhead, bowl of pasta with bacon and wilted frisee on a wooden board with pepper flakes and pecorino cheese

We first made this pasta months ago; I even shot it and wrote up a draft, but never published it because something just wasn’t quite right. Turns out, it was the pasta shape that was the problem. We originally used bucatini, which is one of our all-time favorite pasta shapes, but when used in this recipe it makes it really hard to get a nice ‘bite’ that includes all the goods in a single forkful. All the bits and toppings tend to settle in the bottom of your bowl.

That’s where orecchiette is so perfect: the little pasta ‘ears’ basically serve as scoops for the good stuff.

Anyone else reminded of those little rubber poppers you’d get from the quarter machines? You know, the ones you’d flip inside out, set on the table then hold your breath until they went flying? Just me?

Also: I will never spell orecchiette right on the first try. Heck, I can barely spell it right on the second, I usually end up having to google it and copy the spelling from there. It’s even worse than mozzarella or prosciutto!

Orecchiette: impossible to spell, effortless to eat.

(more…)

Why Wild Boar Bacon Is the Hero of My Fridge Right Now

Welcome to Living Wild by Danielle Prewett, a wild game cook and contributing editor at MeatEater. In this series, she explores what it means to eat consciously and live mindfully. For Danielle, that way of life relies on hunting, fishing, foraging, an…

Welcome to Living Wild by Danielle Prewett, a wild game cook and contributing editor at MeatEater. In this series, she explores what it means to eat consciously and live mindfully. For Danielle, that way of life relies on hunting, fishing, foraging, and gardening. Her stories aim to inspire you to live a life more closely connected to the earth and to celebrate its natural bounty in your kitchen.

One weeknight after a long day of work, I found myself hungry with what felt like nothing to eat. It’s an all-too-familiar feeling for many of us. Under normal circumstances, I would have run to the store and grabbed a few things, but these are not normal circumstances. I was forced to reconcile with current conditions and reevaluated what was available in my pantry.

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, Avocado, blue cheese, chives, and a simple red wine vinegar dressing. This traditional salad is loaded with goodness and always a favorite! I love making salads because they are pretty, fresh,…

Cobb Salad with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, Avocado, blue cheese, chives, and a simple red wine vinegar dressing. This traditional salad is loaded with goodness and always a favorite! I love making salads because they are pretty, fresh, and delicious. We have been eating salads all summer long and can’t get enough. Josh…

The post Cobb Salad appeared first on Two Peas & Their Pod.

Turkey in White Wine Sauce

Being a baker, braising wasn’t something I did a lot of. I also didn’t cook a lot of meat or poultry. Actually, I didn’t cook much at home as I ate most of my meals on the fly when working in restaurants. (I was also going to say that when I lived in California, I tended to grill as much as I could on my…

Being a baker, braising wasn’t something I did a lot of. I also didn’t cook a lot of meat or poultry. Actually, I didn’t cook much at home as I ate most of my meals on the fly when working in restaurants. (I was also going to say that when I lived in California, I tended to grill as much as I could on my patio but someone sent me a rather pointed message to stop talking about living in California…so I guess I should work on that.) It wasn’t until I came to France, which has a plethora of butchers and volaillers (poultry sellers), that I started branching out from my usual fall-back meals from when I was a professional baker and line cook in San Francisco (if that woman is reading this…sorry!), which included chips & salsa, bbq from Flint’s in Oakland, or a burger at The Smokehouse.

Another thing that happened when I no longer had to work in the evening was that I began to have people over for dinner. But I’ve learned in France not to make something that needs to be served at a precise time. That’s because it’s considered impolite to arrive on time. If you do, you’ll surprise your hosts which I did recently when I was invited to someone’s place for dinner who I didn’t know. I arrived 15 minutes after the time I was told, and I was the only one there, except for the host, who was surprised to see my standing in his doorway. And it was a somewhat uncomfortable twenty minutes I spent making small talk, and watching him put the last-minute preparations on things while I just stood there like a dope. Oops.

Continue Reading Turkey in White Wine Sauce...

Pasta Carbonara

My favorite recipe for authentic Italian pasta carbonara that’s easy to make, full of the richest flavors, and made with four basic ingredients. A few months ago while I was in Valencia doing a two-week Spanish language intensive, I became good buddies with my fellow classmate, Alessio, who proudly hailed from Rome.  He and I […]

My favorite recipe for authentic Italian pasta carbonara that’s easy to make, full of the richest flavors, and made with four basic ingredients.

Pasta Carbonara

A few months ago while I was in Valencia doing a two-week Spanish language intensive, I became good buddies with my fellow classmate, Alessio, who proudly hailed from Rome.  He and I instantly connected over a shared obsession with his hometown’s famous cuisine (he was so delighted that I was a fan!) and had a blast chatting each day about our favorite dishes, and tips for how to authentically make them, and where in Rome to find the best so-and-so.  But the joke amongst our classmates was that not a single day could pass without one of us somehow bringing the group conversation back around to one Roman dish in particular…

…pasta alla carbonara. ♡

Now, lol, I may have gravely disappointed Alessio when he asked my opinion about pineapple on pizza.  (“Have to admit — I love it.” / “Noooooo, Ali — no pineapple on pizza ever!”)  But I did earn a bit of Roman cuisine street cred when he asked how I make my carbonara.  (“Eggs, pasta, guanciale and Pecorino Romano — no cream.” / “Yesss, that is correct!”)

According to Alessio, the greatest tragedy of this Roman dish being exported around the world has been the addition of cream.  It’s often used as shortcut to make the sauce extra creamy, but it is actually completely unnecessary.  When made properly, the eggs in carbonara should melt with the starchy water and cheese to create a creamy, silky, luxurious sauce all on their own.  Then when combined with chewy al dente pasta, lots of guanciale (or bacon), and a generous crack of black pepper — I mean, does Italian comfort food get any better than this?!

I think not.  We’d better make some.

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A Hands-Off Trick for Better Bacon

You probably know and love Erin McDowell from her Bake It Up a Notch video series, or all her amazing Food52 recipes, or her debut book, The Fearless Baker, or her upcoming book, The Book on Pie, or—well, you get the idea. Erin’s the best.

Which is wh…

You probably know and love Erin McDowell from her Bake It Up a Notch video series, or all her amazing Food52 recipes, or her debut book, The Fearless Baker, or her upcoming book, The Book on Pie, or—well, you get the idea. Erin’s the best.

Which is why, as soon as she posts what she’s eating on Instagram, I pay attention. Like, this weekend, she made a BLT, her way: with lettuce and tomato, yes, but also with basil and onion. And even the bacon is special, because of course. As many of her followers asked, why and how did it look so crispy, so glossy, so good?

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Grilled Whole Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Ranch.

Tonight it’s grilled whole sweet potatoes for dinner! Seriously, these are about to be a staple in your menu. Because hello flavor! You can throw them on the grill and top them with ANYTHING. These sweet potatoes on the grill may be my new favorite thing. They are so easy. The skin gets crispy and […]

The post Grilled Whole Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Ranch. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Tonight it’s grilled whole sweet potatoes for dinner!

grilled whole sweet potatoes with homemade ranch

Seriously, these are about to be a staple in your menu. Because hello flavor!

You can throw them on the grill and top them with ANYTHING.

ranch dressing ingredients in food processor

These sweet potatoes on the grill may be my new favorite thing. They are so easy. The skin gets crispy and charred. You don’t have to turn on your oven!! 

Yes, the benefits are endless.

Plus, we have the whole smoky flavor that really takes everything over the top. 

homemade ranch in food processor

This is a simple recipe but one that is super good. I like to throw fresh garden tomatoes on top and crispy bacon. If you want to go full BLT-style you could top with shredded lettuce or even marinated kale. Or fresh arugula! 

I also like to add some quick pickled onions.

However, the thing that takes these over the top is the homemade ranch. I could do sweet potato fries alone dipped in the ranch. It’s insane. 

grilled whole sweet potatoes with homemade ranch

So, the ranch!

I have a few different varieties of ranch on my blog. Like this greek yogurt ranch and this avocado ranch. 

And I have never been a huge ranch person but my oh my, that has changed. After testing the potatoes with ranch a few times, I got hooked on the ranch. Like – OBSESSED. Finally, I fell in love with it. 

I’ve been making a batch of it every weekend. We use it on sandwiches, for veggies, all that good stuff. I’ve added hot sauce to it to make buffalo ranch and have just thrown an avocado in the blender with it for avocado ranch!

grilled whole sweet potatoes with homemade ranch

And here, I’m giving you two options – you can make it with fresh herbs or you can make it with dried. Whatever you have on hand, depending on the season. This one deserves a front row seat in your recipe box.

It’s seriously fool proof and so delicious. I do highly suggest using a bunch of fresh dill and chives straight from the garden right now. 

Then load up all of your favorite things on top of the charred sweet potatoes.

The result is so warm and comforting and FRESH. 

grilled whole sweet potatoes with homemade ranch

Grilled Whole Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Ranch

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Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Bacon, Tomatoes and Ranch

These grilled whole sweet potatoes are drizzle with the most delish homemade ranch and topped with bacon, herbs, tomatoes and pickled onions!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4 people
Author How Sweet Eats

Ingredients

  • 4 medium sweet potatoes
  • pinch salt and pepper
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup chopped herbs, like parsley, chives and basil
  • pickled onions, for topping

fresh herb ranch

  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt cream
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chives or 1 tablespoon dried chives
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

  • Preheat the grill to medium heat. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes.
  • Place the potatoes on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so. Note: if you don’t want the skin to get crunchy and blackened, you can definitely wrap these in foil. It’s your call!
  • While the potatoes are on the grill, heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. You can also make the ranch at this point too!
  • When the potatoes are done, slice them in half. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle with the ranch dressing. Top each with the chopped tomatoes, crispy bacon and a few pickled onions if you wish. Top with fresh herbs!

fresh herb ranch

  • Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until pureed and combined. Store in the fridge in a sealed container. This lasts for about a week!

grilled whole sweet potatoes with homemade ranch

Best breakfast, lunch or dinner!

The post Grilled Whole Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Ranch. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.