How to Make Garlic Croutons

I used to think of croutons and just dried bread squares. Let's face it. That's what they are. Most of the time the croutons I’d get in restaurants were okay, but once in a while I’d come across things that would be best used in slingshots to kill small rodents. Yes, they were that hard. Freshly made, however, croutons can be a revelation, adding a wonderful crunch and additional flavor to green salads and are a must for a good Caesar salad.

Croutons are simple to make at home. The results are well worth it, too. Certainly they’re better than the flavorless cubed formations you normally find in the supermarket. Baguettes are the classic choice for making croutons, but almost any type of bread will do. I like using homemade wheat bread. Leftover stale bread works great, too.

Equipment needed
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Garlic press (optional)
Serrated slicing knife
Whisk
Mixing bowls
Rubber spatula (optional)
Rimmed baking sheet

Ingredients
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 loaf of sliced bread
3 Tbl olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 °F.

Peel and mince the garlic cloves using a garlic press of chef’s knife. Using a serrated slicing knife, cut the bread slices into 1/2-inch thick strips, then cut each strip into 1/2-inch cubes. You should end up with about 4 cups of bread cubes.

Whisk the olive oil, minced garlic, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss with your hands or a rubber spatula until completely coated. Spread the bread evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake on the center rack until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow the croutons to cool before serving.

Makes 4 cups of croutons.


Once made, croutons can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week, although I prefer eating them the day they are made.

The Power of Bacon

Want to get a man to salivate? Say, “bacon.” It works on women, too. The only people this doesn’t work on is die hard vegetarians. Oh, Jews and Muslims aren’t going drool like a mad labradoodle, either. They don’t eat piggies. Mormons do, though. So does just about everyone else.

In case you’ve been living at a vegan commune, bacon is cured pig meat. It is highly salted, either by brine or dry pack, and usually smoked. It can be made from several cuts of meat, but mostly from the side and back cuts, except in America. Here in the US, it is almost entirely made from pork belly. Outside of the US this would be known as steaky, fatty, or American style bacon.

While other countries* use bacon, I think America has raised it to a national obsession. It’s become America’s meat. It’s cooked and cured differently in different countries, but here in America bacon is almost always smoked. The Virginia House-Wife,  published in 1824 and thought to be one of the earliest American cookbooks, mentions nothing about unsmoked bacon. Historical evidence seems to suggest that bacon making was one of the few cooking tasks that wasn’t gender specific. Either sex could be makin’ bacon.

Bacon can be cooked any number of ways: smoked, boiled, fried, grilled, even microwaved. It is wonderful enough to eat by itself, and versatile enough to be used as a flavoring agent for other dishes. It’s highly addictive nature is probably due to the large number of umami (savory) factors in it, giving it a high flavor profile.

In spite of America’s bacon mania, there’s one thing most American’s have quit doing, using bacon fat. Like most animal fats, pig fat liquefies, becoming bacon drippings when heated. If the meat is uncured, it becomes lard when cooled.  From cured meat, such as bacon, it becomes rendered bacon fat.

I recommend saving your bacon fat.  This may seem strange in today’s hyper-health conscious world, but don’t dismiss the idea out of hand. Rendered bacon fat is very flavorful and can be used for a variety of cooking purposes. In Southern cooing, rendered bacon fat is used as a base for cooking and as an all-purpose flavoring. You’ll find it in everything from gravy to cornbread to salad dressing. If I don’t have any bacon on hand, I’ll use it to add flavor to split pea soup and other dishes, instead of the regular oils or butters used to cook them.

The idea isn’t super healthy, I admit, but it does save some money and adds interest to cooking. It appeals to the frugal side of me. My mother didn’t do it much, but my grandmother and great-grandmother did. You just didn’t waste anything in those days. It was too hard to get in the first place.

Rendering bacon fat is easy. Next time you cook bacon, just pour off the accumulated fat, run it through a fine mesh strainer, and let it cool. You can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several weeks, or several months in the the freezer.

*What American’s think of as Canadian bacon is actually back bacon, smoked or unsmoked bacon cut from boneless eye of pork loin. 

Mexican Rice Recipe

Coming up with side dishes for taco night can be tough, even if you include a salad. A favorite of mine has always been Mexican rice. I fooled around with quick ways of making this dish for years, but they were always sub-standard. This recipe, modified for my panty from an America’s Test Kitchen recipe, is the bomb. It uses a trick I first learned by watching Rick Bayless, cooking the rice in the oven.

Equipment Needed
Strainer
Measuring cups and spoons
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Garlic press (optional)
Food processor or blender
Dutch oven or large saucepan
Long handled spoon

Ingredients
2 cups white rice
1 can diced tomatoes, 15 oz. can
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
3 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbl tomato paste
Salt
3 Tbl dried parsley
Pepper
2 tsp lime juice

Directions
Place the rice in a strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Open the canned tomatoes and drain them, reserving the juices. Peel and quarter the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Set each aside.

Put an oven rack into the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 °F.

Add the onion and tomatoes to the blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add back only enough of the reserved juice to make exactly 2 cups. Remove extra and either discard or save for use in something else.

Heat 1/3 cup of oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the rice and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. The rice will start to become lightly golden. Stir in the garlic and chili powder. Cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.

Stir in the tomato mixture, broth, tomato paste, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Stir once halfway through cooking.

Remove from the oven and fluff the rice with a fork. Mix in the lime juice and dried parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 6 servings.

You can add additional chili power or a few dashes of Tabasco sauce if you want more heat.