Two books a great buy for beer and bacon lovers
Eliza Cross is an award-winning author and journalist. She also develops recipes and styles cuisine for corporate and print media. Cross is the founder of the bacon enthusiast society BENSA International. She lives with her family near Denver, Colorado. I am in love with these two books from her little 101 series! She is a master of devising clever ways to use a favorite ingredient! She skips right from a list of tips to an organized presentation of a wide variety of recipes.
Both the Bacon and Beer books have much to offer. Since several elements of the layout and organization are the same, I am discussing common elements first and will then tell you what I particularly liked about each of the books.
The organization of these tiny tomes is simple and easy to follow, which makes it superb for me.
After a short introduction to the topic with hints, each book is simply organized by meal type from appetizers through desserts. Within each category, there is a wide range of creative recipes, some ethnic, some "All-American" sounding. In both books, the title ingredient is a background condiment in some recipes and the all-star in others.
After my first read through of each book, I found that I had earmarked more than ten recipes per volume—and more on subsequent readings! This is well over my rule-of- thumb rule for adding a book to my collection.
Furthermore, each section in each book contains recipes that use the title ingredient as a condiment and some that give it a starring role on the plate. Below, are some specific comments about each Bacon then Beer, followed by sample recipes from both books. I am putting both on my gift list for my husband. He will want to cook from them and have me cook a few for him.
General advice? Buy the bacon book now and sign up for that beer book now, so you will have the duet in hand as soon as it comes out.
Bacon
Remember the ad where a girl surrounded by a crowd of admiring men, opens her clutch bag to show her friend her secret? Her little evening bag is full of cooked bacon slices! AHHHHH. The aroma of bacon! More alluring than anything the Paris perfumers could conjure. Cross takes bacon far from its simple role as a breakfast ingredient and man bait and brings it into side dishes, salads, entrees and desserts. Cross's creativity extends well beyond the BLT sandwich. I was entranced by the ultimate bacon wrapped turkey and the recipe for glazed bacon Dijon pork made me hungry just to read it.
Bacon maple walnut fudge may not make it to my holiday table, but I am already thinking about the sweet potato, bacon, and apple casserole and the bacon roasted squash as a new side dishes for this Thanksgiving!
Her helpful hints include tips on using and draining bacon grease, as well as instructions on freezing bacon, cooking it in the microwave and baking it in the oven. On a personal note for those, who like me, love bacon but who suffer nitrate issues, you can purchase nitrate free bacon at a number of local groceries and sometimes in local farmer's markets.
German Bacon Slaw
Bacon roasted butternut squash
Beer
“Take your love of the suds to the next level by infusing your favorite libation into breakfast, lunch, and dinner with “101 Things To Do With Beer” is the advice on the back of the book.
Even if like me, you are not much of a beer enthusiast, the recipes in this book sound awesome.
If you do like beer, you will be "over the moon" for the creative ways Cross finds to use beer to add a depth of flavor to all sorts of recipes—even sweets. (Stout chocolate cake!) Notable is that many of the recipes can be prepared using non-alcoholic beers. She notes on each the ones where the substitution can be made.
The wide range of recipes in all categories included more common beef stews and a creatively laid out beer simmered chicken tacos. Her garlic Parmesan onion rings sound like the perfect add-on to any dinner, especially if serving her divine sounding focaccia bread. While you are
marking recipes, mark the calendar to order this when it comes out or simply pre-order it now
and stock up on various types of beer to use in its recipes come September.
Recipes:
Beer Focaccia Bread
Reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith Press
Ingredients
4 cups flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, divided
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid rise yeast
1 can or bottle (12 ounces) lager beer
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Method
Lightly prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add 2 cups flour, sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and yeast.
Pour the beer in a small saucepan and heat to 125 degrees. Add the beer to the mixer, and mix on medium speed until combined. Add the remaining 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5–6 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Place dough in the prepared pan, and stretch to cover the entire pan. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Press your fingers into the dough to make indentations across the entire pan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and coarse salt. Bake until golden brown, about
25–30 minutes. Makes 1 loaf.
Bacon Roasted Butternut Squash
(reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith Press)
Ingredients
8 strips bacon
1 butternut squash, about 2 1⁄2 pounds
1⁄4 cup maple syrup
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the bacon on the baking sheet and cook until bacon is just starting to brown but not crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour the bacon drippings in a large bowl.
Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Peel the squash and use a sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and cut the squash into 1 1⁄2-inch cubes. Add the squash, maple syrup, salt, and pepper to the large bowl with the bacon drippings and stir to coat. Chop the bacon and stir into the mixture; spread in the prepared baking dish. Bake, stirring once during cooking, until squash is tender and bacon is crispy, about 30–40 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.
At A Glance
Title | 101 Things to do with Bacon
Author | Eliza Cross
Length | 128 pages
Publisher | Gibbs Smith
Price | $9.99
Title | 101 Things to do with Beer
Author | Eliza Cross
Length | 128 pages
Publisher | Gibbs Smith
Price | 9.99
Notes | Available for pre-order now, will be published in September
This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Two books a great buy for beer and bacon lovers."