Bacon Bomb!

The food star of our Beachy Blues Buffet event, was our son's infamous Bacon Bomb! We didn't have a pit dug to roast a pig, which would have been a lot of fun, so we asked Alex if he would make his "Bacon Bomb"!  A few of the neighbors who were attending had heard about this concoction and always wanted to try it.  Alex wouldn't tell me all of his secret ingredients but he agreed to let me photograph the steps involved!

First, Alex wove a mat of bacon using strips that are similar in length, width and thickness.  Then he spread ground pork over the woven mat of bacon.

 He sprinkled spices which included dry mustard, onion powder, garlic salt, steak seasoning, 

and other secret spices over the pork mat.

Alex cut long chunks of sharp cheddar cheese and lay them in the middle. He topped the chunks of cheese with his secret cranberry/ bacon bit reduction sauce and was ready to roll!

 

Carefully, he pulled the far side toward him . . . 

 . . . and rolled  and rolled until it was all tight.

He secured the ends with toothpicks

He prepared four bacon bombs for our buffet, 

using the sharp cheddar cheese in two, and crumbled blue cheese in two.

 Next, the top chef in the making deglazed the pan from the cranberry/bacon bits, 

using apple juice . . .

. . . to make a sauce to spread over the bombs.

The 'bacon bombs' cook with indirect heat in a smoker.

After six hours in the smoker, the 'Bacon Bombs" are done!

Just slice and serve - succulent!

How could they be anything but good with all those ingredients?!

We served some rolls in case some guests wanted to make a sandwich out of the pork creation, with tropical fruit and mixed greens salads.

We figured we needed to round out the meal with something light and healthy! 

Everyone agreed the "bacon bombs" were 'the bomb'!!

Spring Break Cupcakes!

It's that time of year again - Spring Break!  A time all college kids cherish!  After the long winter months holed up in the campus library studying, college students make plans to unwind and relax - and most head for sunshine somewhere!  My youngest son, Alex,  is studying Architectural Engineering and spent many long hours in labs this past quarter.  His spring break destination - Hawaii!  Alex was all set to visit his brother, Sam, my second son, who is living in Kaneohe, Oahu.  While Sam was at work, Alex made arrangements to take classes to become a certified scuba diver. Needless to say, Alex sounded elated when he called to say he was on his way home.   I wanted to surprise him with a Bon Voyage treat and decided on cupcakes! After watching back to back episodes of "Cupcakes Wars" on the Food Network I was inspired!    The packaging on this mix caught my eye as it just shouted 'tropical' and the flavor - pineapple with pina-colada frosting - was perfect for a send-off to Hawaii.    But how was I going to decorate these to really create the "Aloha spirit"?!  I had some finely shredded coconut so I decided to toast it to a golden brown.  I had some blue rock candy I had picked up at "Urban Outfitters" on clearance - it reminded me of the crystal blue waters.  I remembered I had found some miniature palm tree picks on clearance somewhere. I think they were supposed to be used like those little umbrellas that you put in exotic drinks, but why not use them for cupcakes?  

My vision started to come together - but I needed cupcake liners.  I searched my stash and nothing I had on hand even came close to looking tropical.  What to do?  I decided to make my own cupcake liners out of brown lunch sacks to resemble raffia hula skirts.  I started by tracing around one of the cupcake liners I had for size, adding about a half inch to the diameter to be sure I had enough extra to make the fringe. I cut out my pattern and then traced and cut out twelve circles. (The mix made twelve cupcakes)  Next, I folded circles in half three times to make a wedge, just like when you make paper snowflakes at Christmas.  Little cuts in the arched side of the wedge created the fringe and then I folded the tip of the wedge inward about 3/4 of an inch.  I unfolded the whole thing and voila!  I had my grass skirt cupcakes liners.  I placed the brown fringed liners in each of the tin cups of the cupcake pan and then put a plain liner inside. I wasn't sure if the cupcake batter would stick to the brown lunch sack paper so I thought it would be best to add a regular liner inside the homemade one! 
  I filled the liners with batter and put them in the oven.  The batter cooked up beautifully and filled out the liners.  Next, I whipped up the frosting mix, included in the bag, with the suggested cream cheese, and frosted the cooled cupcakes. I sprinkled some toasted coconut on one half of each cupcake and some of the blue rock candy on the other half.
 
  One palm tree pick placed in each cupcake was the finishing touch!  I grouped the dozen cupcakes on a green pedestal plate and left it on the counter in the kitchen.  Alex has a five hour drive from San Luis Obispo to Sacramento so he was ready for a treat when he got home!
   While enjoying the delicious cupcakes, we chatted about the past quarter and the adventure Alex was about to embark on. No matter how old your kids are, they always love a special treat.Each time one of my three sons walks in my door is a moment I cherish.  Alex arrived in Oahu the next day and was a certified scuba diver two days later! 
 
I'm pretty sure it was a Spring Break he will always cherish!

I linked this post to