Spicy Beer Bread

A few weeks ago I posted about a Honey Beer Bread I made that was literally the easiest bread ever to make. Well, last weekend, my roommate and I were out at our favorite local watering hole, Riverside Market. Side note--Riverside Market is literally the coolest, most chill place to go and have a beer. It's a little off the beaten path, but they have amazing food and a ridiculous beer selection. If you live in Ft Lauderdale, definitely check it out when you're jonesin' for a chill day or night. The past few times I've gone there I've had my eye on this Billy's Chilies Beer and I tried it when my roomie and I were there.

The beer actually gave me an ulcer I think...I can totally handle REALLY spicy food, but I think it was the combo of the spiciness and the carbonation that did me in. My tummy hurt really bad. But then I thought that it might make an interesting combo in the bread.

So I bought an extra bottle and whipped up a loaf Sunday morning after my run (I also was out of honey so I used maple syrup instead and you couldn't taste the difference). And the bread was... interesting. Not bad, but it definitely tasted like the beer, just a more subtle spicy flavor. The peeps at work loved it (I'm beginning to think they'll eat anything??) so that was a positive! I think it would've been really great with chili or to make spicy crutons on gazpacho.

But, just goes to show, you gotta experiment with things! I always say, follow the recipe to the T the first time, and afterwards adjust it as you see fit. (Although, following that rule has definitely done me in a few times, when I've read something and said.. WAIT no that can't be right.. and then I do it and it definitely isn't right.) And always, USE what you have!! The internet is a great resource and I would've never thought to use maple syrup instead of honey, but it worked out!

Have you ever experimented in a recipe and it worked out? Or didn't work out??

I Love Bacon ... or How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Pretty sure I might be going senile because I SWEAR I've written this post before, but I looked and apparently in 77 posts I haven't shared my DEEP ROOTED and PROFOUND love of bacon yet. It is TRULY shocking, even to me, because I LOVE bacon. Like probably more than I will ever love any other person in my life, I love bacon. Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE bacon. My old boss at Disney STILL sends me emails about bacon and I haven't worked for the man in over a year. (He also got me a bacon ornament as a Christmas gift last year.. LOVE HIM!)

There's a bacon coffin (for those who love bacon to death... HA!):

There's this amazing website that shows you 18 Life Changing Ways to Eat Bacon.

Um, bacon pancakes... YES PLEASE. 

A Bacon Sundae from Burger King:

(Haven't tried yet but I am DYING to... See what I did there?? With the coffin?? I crack myself up.)

My favorite sandwich is the BLT. Easy and so good. And I love a bacon-wrapped filet. I just recently made bacon-guacamole grilled cheese sammies. I've also made bacon cupcakes and they are AMAZING. And I've made bacon pie, ALSO AMAZING. Sadly, both are not on this blog.

So, you can see that I love bacon... but I guess after all this bacon talk, I should teach yall how to cook bacon. You can obviously fry it in a pan with it's own grease (delish!). Or in the microwave if you're in a hurry--just slap some paper towels on an microwave proof plate and zap it for a few minutes. Or my favorite way to cook bacon is in the oven. Grab a half-sheet pan and put some aluminum foil in the bottom (you'll still need to wash the pan because some of the grease always seeps through the cracks, but the foil makes clean-up a little easier). Set your cookie rack on top, then lay the bacon on the cookie rack.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye on it though because it can burn easily! Mine got a little brown.. that's why there's no after picture, oops.

Do you love bacon as much as I do?? Tell me about it in the comments!

Sriracha Loving

I have long been a devoted fan of Sriracha aka rooster sauce. You know the stuff... it comes in a bottle with a rooster on it in the Asian section of the supermarket?

I literally put it in and on everything. In my eggs in the morning, in mayo in my sandwiches, when I saute spinach at night. Truly, EVERYTHING. (I like some spice! Jeez, stop judging!)

There's this AMAZING youtube rap video about it.. trust me, you'll want to watch this over and over again. And it will get stuck in your head....sriracha rap....

I've made a delicious Sriracha Remoulade on the blog before. Tasty!

And, now my favorite magazine (even AFTER Adam Rappaport took over as editor and kind of screwed up my flow) Bon Appetit, has this great slideshow with 25 Ways to Use Sriracha.

So run, don't walk, to your nearest grocery store and get some sriracha already!!

Spicy Thai Noodles

Oh my god, y'all. I made these noodles Friday for dinner, and then went out in Miami for a friend's birthday, and finished them when I got home (at 4am--yikes!) and they were a million times better cold than hot. I can't even describe how good they tasted when I got home (the flavors might've been accentuated by the wine & vodka I had while out, or because the pasta had time to soak up the sauce), but it was seriously so good. AND so easy! And, of course, I saw it on pinterest, LOL!

Spicy Thai Noodles
1/4 cup sesame oil (find it in the Asian section at your supermarket)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (but I think this can be omitted)
1-2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you can handle)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
linguine, angel hair pasta or spaghetti (I used about a half of a box)
Toppings/Mix-ins
sauteed spinach
sauteed mushrooms
sliced chicken or shrimp
thinly sliced cucumbers
sliced water chestnuts
shredded carrots
thinly sliced green onions
chopped cilantro
chopped peanuts

Start by cooking the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, simmer the sesame and vegetable oil with the red pepper flakes 2-3 minutes. Be careful it doesn't burn! I looked away for a minute and it almost got burnt. Strain out the red pepper flakes, and put the oil in a large bowl. Add in the soy sauce and honey, and whisk until mixed (I added a little extra soy sauce because it seemed a little oily). Toss in the pasta and any of your mix-ins. I did the sauteed spinach and mushrooms, because that was what I had on hand, but if you serve this cold, making it into a cold noodle salad would be delicious! Or, making it into a meal by adding some grilled chicken or shrimp. Seriously, the possibilities are endless because the sauce is just so good.

When I got home, the noodles were almost brown from all the sauce! Just so good. Try it, NOW!

A BIG hug and kisses to my good friend Diame for her birthday! We had an amazing time Friday night at Wynwood Kitchen & Bardot Lounge. Wynwood Kitchen is this amazing little tapas restaurant in the design district in Miami. I had the gazpacho which came with spicy croutons and it was amazing. Then we finished the night at Bardot; it's a dark, smokey lounge, with a great DJ, also in the design district. All in all, a great night for an amazing friend!

Bacon-Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich

My friend was in town this week, and I wanted to make something easy and delicious since we were spending the night in. On pinterest, there are a lot of grilled cheese sandwich combos, so I chose one of those. I've had this bacon-guacamole grilled cheese pinned for awhile, and my friends know how much I LOVE bacon, so this seemed like the perfect mix for me.

Bacon-Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich
bacon
guacamole (I was lazy and got pre-made guac from the store, but this would definitely be better with homemade)
cheese (I used shredded per the recipe, but I think it might be easier with sliced American)
white bread
butter

Start by frying up the bacon! You could also cook it in the microwave or in the oven (I swear I wrote a post on this, but apparently I am going senile! Maybe another day). Butter one side of your bread, lay in a skillet on medium/medium-low (not too hot, otherwise the outside gets done before the cheese inside gets melted). Add your cheese, then spoon on the guacamole (this was really tricky with the shredded cheese, but easier on the last one where I used slices). Add your bacon slices, more cheese, and your other piece of buttered-bread. Finish frying until the first side is golden brown, then flip and fry until the second side is golden brown. Then, DIG IN!

This is truly so yummy, but a lot of people have asked, what kind of combination is this?? Well, the easy answer is a quesadilla is basically a Mexican grilled cheese, and you eat guacamole with quesadillas all the time. And bacon goes with everything... I MEAN EVERYTHING. :)

I served this with a yummy cucumber-apple salad (which has become my official new favorite salad).

And a big special shout out to Kevin who after this delicious sandwich helped my roomie & I build our new kitchen island!!

Sausage Balls

This recipe isn't from pinterest (shocker!), but it is an oldie and a goodie! My mom used to make sausage balls for as long as I can remember, and I LOVE them. I also make these for work potlucks, movie nights (shout out to the Estates crew!), pool parties, tailgates, brunches, pretty much any time I can make these, I will. They're ridiculously easy to make, but I recently found a new trick that makes them even EASIER... my KitchenAid! (Okay, so I found this tip from pinterest.)

Sausage Balls
1 package breakfast sausage (I get the spicy kind, you can get the regular stuff, but you probably don't want to get the syrup flavored sausage)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Bisquick

Put all ingredients in your mixer with the paddle attachment (the one you make cookies with).

Mix until incorporated. (You might want to lock the top part down.) It takes a few minutes so have faith, all the Bisquick will mix in!

Action shot!

If you don't have a mixer, you can do this part with your hands. I used to do it this way! I always let the sausage set out for a bit before, because my hands would get really cold.

Then form into balls (I forgot to take a picture.. oops.) And place on a non-stick baking sheet with sides maybe an inch apart (they don't expand much). You want one with sides because these give off quite a bit of grease and you don't want it all over your oven floor. Also, don't try to put these on aluminum foil to spare yourself a greasy cleanup--they stick and it's a hot mess trying to get them off!

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a cookie rack covered with some paper towels (again, more grease). These are amazing warm, but also good at room temperature or cool! I just really love them, so I'll eat them any way I can get them. :)