My Top Five Favorites of 2011

Let me start out by saying 2011 was an incredible year for me.

My blog traffic has more than tripled. The photo of my S'more Chocolate Chip Cookies was selected to be featured in Feast Your Eyes on by NBC's Today.com. BonAppetit.com featured my goat meat adaptation of their Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots recipe in their What People Are Cooking column. My recipe for Linguine with Chorizo, Clams, Shrimp and Calamari was featured as Winner of Editor's Pick on Food52.com. And, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, those simple little Caprese Skewers were featured all over the web.

I would have never thought when I started to blog about food the summer of 2007, I would have touched so many hungry eyes and stomachs.

I was touched, too, by so many of my fellow bloggers. Two of my top five come from the blogs I read religiously.

I love to try new recipes and new foods from different cultures, in addition to creating new copycat recipes from foods I've tasted at restaurants. With that in mind, my top five favorites of 2011 are as follows:

Number 5: Spaetzle

Believe it or not, I had never made spaetzle until this year. I saw Elly's recipe back in September, quickly saved it to my recipe file and ordered this spaetzle maker. I haven't looked back. It is the perfect accompaniment to stews or soups and it's faster to make than boiling noodles.

Number 4: Chicken Scaloppini ala Macaroni Grill



I've been making this dish for several years, but just posted it last March. I have modified it significantly from the "original" recipe you can find online, cutting down on the fat just a little bit. It remains one of our favorite pasta dishes.

Number 3: Goat Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots



This is the dish featured on BonAppetit.com and "Tagine" is the traditional Moroccan stoneware cooker used to prepare stews and other traditional dishes, but I made this dish in my electric roaster. We loved this Moroccan stew and I will make it again and again, with either lamb or goat.

Number 4: Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw



When I can find daikon radish, I always buy quite a large one and make the Vietnamese slaw, even if we're not having the Banh Mi Burgers. Tom is addicted to the slaw. He will eat it for lunch with his sandwich or as a snack. We've even had it as a side with Bang Bang Shrimp or even barbecued ribs. But those burgers topped with a nice big spoonful of the slaw and a side of sweet potato fries....irresistible.

Number 1: Bang Bang Shrimp



Yes. What was number 5 on my readers' list, was number one on ours. I made the dish for the first time last October and I'd guess I've made it no less than another half a dozen times since then, including over the Christmas holiday at our son's house.

The method of preparing the shrimp with milk, cornstarch and panko bread crumbs renders the crunchiest, perfectly cooked fried shrimp I've eaten anywhere.

So, what's in store for this year? Stick around for the adventure.

Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw

I love to cook. But I suppose that's pretty obvious because I wouldn't be a food blogger if I didn't.

Unlike most couples, Tom and I don't eat out much. We'd rather cook at home and eat dinner, wearing our shorts and a t-shirt or sweats, in the comfort of our backyard patio when the weather permits.

But I have a hard time finding ingredients, particularly fresh ingredients like the daikon radish required for the Vietnamese Slaw for this dish. The first time I made this slaw, there wasn't a daikon radish to be found between Conway and Little Rock, not even at Fresh Market. {pouting face} Since a daikon radish is more mild than the common red radish, Tom stopped at the store and bought a jicama, which has a similar color and texture, though sweeter than a daikon. When Tom got home, I started the slaw preparation, but when I cut the jicama in half, it was brown all the way through. Tom headed back to Kroger, rotten jicama in hand.

I opted to make the slaw with red radishes and tediously grated about a dozen of those little suckers, which yielded just about a cup, so I cut the recipe in half. I also didn't use a fresh jalapeno. I used candied jalapenos, which I make myself (a recipe I will share next time).

The night before I had prepared chicken fried pork steaks for dinner, and as we almost always do, we had leftovers - two pork steaks. I hate seeing food go to waste, so I decided to make the Banh Mi sandwiches using the leftover fried pork steaks. I can't even describe how delicious they were. The slaw is crunchy because the carrots and radish are julienned instead of grated, and slightly sweet from the pickling step, with a little heat from the jalapenos and sriracha. What a wonderful combination.

A week or so later, when I decided to make the Pork Banh Mi Sandwich, I happened to be in Kroger and lo and behold, they had three large daikon radishes! Yippee! I grabbed one daikon and a bag of julienned carrots, paid for my groceries and headed for home to make the slaw.

This time I did not grate the radish. I wanted the daikon to be the same texture as the carrots. I have a mandoline (this one) my son gave me over six years ago. I swear I use it almost every single day. Anyway, the daikon is much larger and easier to use on my mandoline, which has a julienne blade. I cut up two cups in no time.

This...

Became this...


We've used the Vietnamese Slaw on the chicken fried pork burgers and as a side with Bang Bang Shrimp. But on top of those juicy, flavorful, herby, slightly spicy pork burgers....oh my! I served the burgers with oven baked sweet potato fries, which was the perfect compliment to the spiciness of the burger.


Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw
Adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

For the Burgers:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (if you don't have fish sauce, substitute soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 4 ciabatta rolls or other crusty rolls, sliced in half

In a medium sized bowl, combine the pork, basil, garlic, onion, fish sauce (or soy sauce), sriracha, sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper until evenly combined. Divide the mixture into four equal parts and pat into four patties.

Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with sesame oil. Cook burgers about 7 minutes minutes on one side until lightly browned, then turn the patties over and cook another 5 - 7 minutes or until the patties are cooked through. The internal temperature should be 145˚.

Remove the burgers from the pan and keep warm.

Place rolls in the same pan used to cook the patties, cut side down, over the heat until toasted.

Serve burgers on rolls topped generously with slaw. Top with additional fresh cilantro sprigs and sliced fresh jalapenos if desired.

For the Vietnamese Slaw:

• 2 cups carrots, julienned
• 2 cups daikon radish, julienned
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (I used candied jalapeno)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, minced

In a medium sized bowl, combine the carrots, daikon and jalapeno. Pour the vinegar into a measuring cup, add the sugar and stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour the mixture over the carrot/daikon mixture. Stir well to combine. Set aside for about an hour, stirring occasionally so that all of the vegetable mixture is submerged in the vinegar mixture from some time.

After an hour, drain the liquid from the carrot mixture and discard the marinade.

Add the green onions and cilantro to the carrot mixture and mix to combine. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and sriracha and stir until combined. Add to carrot mixture and mix well. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.

Chill until ready to serve.

French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I subscribe to the Tasting Table, a daily email for "adventurous eaters everywhere." Mostly it's advertising for all things food related and I usually wind up hitting the delete button. But a couple of times a week, I get a recipe that sounds rather interesting, so I print it for....well....whenever.

Last February, Tasting Table sent a recipe for French Onion Fondue, which sounded pretty good so I printed it. That's as far as I got.

A few days ago, I learned that April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich month. I had no idea there was a specific month dedicated to the awesomeness of the grilled cheese sandwich.

I knew I couldn't go the entire month without creating a delicious grilled cheese sandwich, but what? And as I was flipping through a large stack of recipes looking for inspiration, I came across Tasting Table's French Onion Fondue. Voilà! French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich, where French Onion Soup and a simple grilled cheese sandwich merge into a gooey, delectable, savory yet sweet, crunchy delight.

The onions are cooked in a deeply rich and flavorful broth that reduces and leaves them in an almost jam-like consistency. Then they are layered on sourdough bread slices, topped with Fontina and Gruyere cheeses and grilled to perfection.



French Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2 slices bacon, cut in small pieces
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Several slices Gruyere cheese
Several slices Fontina cheese
Sourdough bread slices
Enough butter to spread on the outside of each sandwich

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon on medium high heat until almost crisp.

Add the onions and stir with the bacon pieces until they are mixed well. Continue to cook until the onions have browned slightly. Add the beef broth, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, sherry vinegar and pepper to the onions, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. This can be done the day before and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. If cold, bring to room temperature or warm slightly in a small pan.

To assemble the sandwich, mound a nice amount of cooked onion on a slice of bread, top with a layer of Gruyere cheese, then a layer of Fontina cheese. Top with another slice of bread.

Heat a grill or large frying pan on medium high heat. Generously butter the outside of each sandwich. Place in the hot pan and grill until the one side is golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, turn the sandwich over and grill on the opposite side until golden brown, about another 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4 - 6 sandwiches, depending on the size of the bread.

My Top 5 Most Googled Recipes for 2009

I have been blogging about food and sharing recipes for over 2-1/2 years now. Like many of you, I have a site tracker that gathers statistical information about each visitor to my blog: their location, time spent on my blog, pages viewed and how each visitor ultimately landed on my blog. Most first time readers used a link to my blog that was part of a list of links that was a result of a Google search of recipes. Of those, most Googled a specific recipe or list of ingredients.

My readership increased quite a bit in 2009, but new readers generally visited because they were looking for something very specific or a specific recipe. The following 5 recipes are the posts that were visited most often during this past year.

I hope you find them interesting and appetizing, too.

#5. Salmon with Herb Sauce, an oven roasted salmon fillet, nestled on a flaky square of puff pastry and topped with a delicious herbed cream sauce.

First posted in 2008, my son, Chris, developed this recipe for the grill a couple of years ago. I prepare it in the oven, too, which is what this particular recipe calls for, but it is delicious both ways.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE.

#4. Ava's Stuffed Buns is a recipe that I posted back in February. Most people simply Googled "stuffed buns" and, in doing so, my post for these invariably came up in the list of links.

The buns are simple, cheesy and flavorful, and freeze really well.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE.

3. Beerocks. Originally posted in March 2008 under the title of "What Is a Beerock, And How Did It Get To Fresno? or How Did Fresno Cooks Corrupt the Bierock??", this recipe is Googled by folks all over the U.S. It amazes me because I didn't think anyone outside of Fresno, California ever heard of them.

These meat pies originated in Germany, but certainly not in the form my mother prepared when I was a kid. Just the same, if you like a peppery, savory filling, you will love these.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE.

2. Mexican Marinated Carrots was my first ever post back in July 2007.

I was surprised to find that this simple recipe was the second most visited on my blog. It is one that I copied from a restaurant we frequented in Oceanside, California when we lived there. I make these all summer long.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE.

#1. Timpano. I posted this entry back in March of 2008 and it is by far the most visited entry of my entire blog, with several links back to my post from other food blogs and forums. Timpano is a traditional Italian dish which consists of a pastry crust filled with pasta, meatballs, ragu, cheese, hard boiled eggs and salami, served with pasta sauce.

I am particularly proud of this post. Besides giving the recipe, I give step-by-step instructions, with photos, on how to prepare and assemble all of the ingredients. It is a big job. It takes Tom and me a couple of hours to assemble, but it's worth the trouble. It is a delicious meal for a crowd and a real show stopper.
I first saw this dish in a movie called "Big Night," with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shaloub, a real foodie's flick.

PRINT THE RECIPE HERE.

So, I wonder what recipes people will be Googling this year.

Chocolate Raspberry Panini

Although I peruse quite a few food blogs, I have my favorites because I know whatever those wonderful cooks share will be good.

Have you seen a recipe on a food blog and tried it and thought, How in the world could I have thought this would taste good AND why in the world did that blogger think it tasted good enough to share? I have. Too many times I've baked a cake or bread or main dish and wound up giving it away or throwing it away.

So I limit my tastings and testings to the few favorite tried and true bloggers I trust. Their most recent posts are on my sidebar and I encourage you to try any of the dishes they have to offer. You won't be disappointed.

Marie of Proud Italian Cook is absolutely one of my favorites and she has done it again! She made a Chocolate and Strawberry Panini and I couldn't wait to try it.

I have to admit, I didn't use the very best chocolate. I bought one large Hershey chocolate bar. And, of course, I couldn't find a pound cake ~ not in the bakery, not in the freezer ~ so I bought a box mix (yes, a box mix - so shoot me) and made my own. Instead of strawberries... because, of course, my market did not have any strawberries... I used fresh raspberries. Oh, and I don't have a panini maker either, but my sister, Karen, gave us a George Foreman grill for Christmas, so I used that.

Okay...I'm definitely not Marie!

So, I heated up the grill to about medium heat. I sliced the pound cake into about 1/2-inch slices. I placed the whole raspberries all over the surface of one slice of the pound cake, then placed three squares of the chocolate bar, evenly spaced, over the raspberries and topped it off with another slice of the pound cake.

I buttered both sides of the grill and placed the "sandwich" onto the grill and gently closed the lid and let it cook for about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes, until the pound cake was browned. I then removed the sandwich from the grill to a plate, cut it in half and sprinkled it with powdered sugar.



My thoughts ~

• I can't wait to make this for my grandkids. They would love it.
• I know why Marie used strawberries. They have more texture when they are briefly cooked or warmed. The raspberries I used sort of melted. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious, but just sort of mushy.
• When I do this again (and I WILL make this again), I will find some really good chocolate. It will be well worth the trouble, even if I have to go to Little Rock to find it.
• I would use more chocolate than I did this time. I was a little hesitant to use more because I didn't want it all to melt and leak outside the sandwich, but I should have used at least one more square.
• Tom had the idea of using peanut butter and chocolate. Ooooo baby, would that be like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?
• Or, I thought about trying sauteed apples and chocolate; or grilled pineapple, coconut and chocolate. The combinations are endless.

Try it and let me know what you think!

UPDATE: I tried this panini using sliced strawberries and Ghirardelli Espresso Chocolate bar! Oh...My...Gawd!! So yummy. And I love Alison's idea of using Nutella instead of chocolate. Or how about using bananas and coconut and Nutella? I am on a roll!

Ava's Stuffed Buns

In the late 1970's, my husband and I moved from the San Jose Bay Area to the north shore at Lake Tahoe in California. My husband worked for Placer County Sheriff's Department and our sons attended school at Kings Beach Elementary and North Tahoe Middle School. I worked at Truckee High School as the Registrar.

Truckee High School was small, about 500 or so students. I knew just about every student by name. The gathering place for breaks and lunch for students, teachers and staff alike was the school cafeteria, which was ruled with a jovial but iron hand by Ava Glenn.

When it came time to register for classes, "Kitchen Assistant" in Ava's kitchen was a coveted class, available to only a limited few juniors and seniors who would arrive to their "class" to clear tables, empty trash, wash industrial size pots, pans and trays and cut vegetables and meat and mix them with copious amounts of noodles and/or potatoes and sauces to create the casseroles that would be served as the day's lunches to anyone venturing into the cafeteria for nourishment.

Ava was everyone's Grandma. Her daily uniform was a house dress, apron and white nurse's shoes. She wore no makeup and her short, unruly hair was bright red with gray roots. She was always smiling. Ava called everyone by their given name and always added "honey," so my name was Terri Honey. Even our principal, Vince Honey, was subject to her familiarity, but he didn't seem to mind.

Ava was stronger than her stature would suggest. She easily slung huge pots of meat and gravy or trays piled high with sandwiches or vegetables from the stove or oven to the work-table, barking directions to her students, telling them what to do, how to do it and when to do it. And, even through the chaos of clanging dishes, silverware, pots and pans, and a cafeteria full of talking students, teachers and staff, every so often you would hear Ava break into a laugh, a high pitched bawdy cackle, and her laugh would pierce the noisy room as if she broke the sound barrier and the entire cafeteria would be eerily silent for a couple of seconds, then the noise would resume normally.

Ava's warmth and generosity extended beyond the school cafeteria. She would often prepare and donate her special Stuffed Buns for the Booster Club to sell at football and basketball games. I had one of the Stuffed Buns at a football game and I had to have the recipe. I've been making them ever since, although I have tweaked the recipe to some degree. I make at least a dozen or so at a time and what I don't use for dinner, I freeze for another time.

Ava's Stuffed Buns
adapted from Ava's recipe by Terri Powers for Terri's Table
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons pepper
3 to 4 cups cheddar cheese (I use nearly all of a 1 lb. bag of grated sharp cheddar)
14 to 16 large unsliced buns or rolls

In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef until it is cooked through. Add the onion and cook on medium heat until the onion is transparent. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and stir well over medium heat until combined well. Remove the meat mixture from the heat and allow cool slightly.

While meat mixture is cooling, prepare your aluminum foil sheets, one sheet to wrap each bun. The sheets should be about a 12-inch X 12-inch square.

Sprinkle the cheese over the meat mixture and stir well.

To fill the buns, cut each one almost all the way through, but leaving it still attached (like a hot dog bun). Spoon the mixture generously into the bun, pressing the mixture into the bun with the spoon.



Place the stuffed bun on a foil sheet and press down gently to close with your hand. If the meat starts to push out of the sides, use a spoon to hold it in place while you press.



Wrapped each stuffed bun tightly in foil.

Preheat the oven to 325º. Place the buns on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. They should be hot all the way through and the cheese should be melted.



These babies freeze very well. I throw them in a large zip lock bag just to keep them from getting lost in the freezer. When we want them for lunch, dinner or snack, we just pop them frozen into a 325º oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

I think Ava would be proud.

What To Do With Leftover Ham?

When I was growing up, my mother rarely served ham, but when she did, it was usually one of those canned, boneless, jellied things. She'd doctor it up with a little brown sugar, stick some whole cloves in it and bake it in the oven. It was never my favorite meal, but I ate it because I was hungry. What else can you do?

I can only remember once or twice during my childhood that my mom served a "real" bone-in smoked ham. To stay within her budget, she bought the cheapest one available. All I can remember is salty, salty, salty.

It has only been the last 15 years or so that we have occasionally enjoyed a meal of ham and creamy scalloped potatoes, but the reason I don't fix it very often is because we have so much leftover. I wind up cutting the ham into pieces or slices, bagging it and freezing for later to make split pea soup, red beans and rice, or ham and potato soup. Not very creative.

This last time, I wanted something different, so I Googled and found these babies. They are supposed to be appetizers, but I served them as the main course of a meal with a little marinated white bean salad and some asparagus spears.

This is the original recipe which makes 24 mini-sandwiches, but I cut the recipe in half to make only a dozen. However, I inadvertently added the entire 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds instead on 1 tablespoon. They were still delicious. Next time I will make a full recipe and send some to my father-in-law. He will love them!

Marinated Ham & Swiss Buns
Adapted from the recipe by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com

For the Marinade:
1 cup (2 sticks butter)
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot or spicy mustard (I used horseradish mustard)
1/4 brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

For the Sandwiches:
24 (about 2 X 2-inches each) small dinner rolls
Horseradish mayonnaise (I used Kraft Horseradish Sauce)
24 thin slices of deli ham (I used leftover ham, sliced not too thin)
24 thin slices of Swiss cheese

Line two 9 X 13-inch baking sheets with non-stick foil or butter traditional pans (I sprayed my pan with non-stick spray).

To prepare marinade, saute the onion in the butter over low heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add the poppy seeds, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar is melted into the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Set the marinade aside.

Slice the buns in half. Spread the bottoms of the buns with a thin layer of horseradish mayonnaise.



Fold the ham slices to fit the bottom of each bun. (You can see, that I just used pieces of my leftover ham.)



Repeat with the Swiss cheese slices, folding to fit the buns. Replace bun tops and place ham and cheese buns into a the prepared baking pans.



Pour the marinade evenly over both pans of buns.



Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, preheat over to 350 degrees F. Baked the marinated buns, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.



Mmmm, mmmm, good!

What Is a Beerock, And How Did It Get To Fresno? or How Did Fresno Cooks Corrupt the Bierock??

I was born and raised in Fresno, California, the raisin capital of the world. I loved Fresno. I especially loved the summers. While most adults would spend countless hours inside their homes cooled by the swamp coolers, I spent my childhood summers outside playing and exploring, clad only in shorts and t-shirts and always...always... barefoot.

Many of my most cherished childhood food experiences were in Fresno. When I was in second grade, I ate my first loquats from a tree that grew between the apartment buildings where we lived. Later we moved to a house in a more rural neighborhood directly across a one-lane asphalt road from a large fig orchard. In late summer, after the figs had ripened and before the rancher harvested the trees, my mother would send me across the street to pick bags of figs and bring them back to the house where she would make homemade fig jam. I knew it was stealing and I was terrified of being caught, but we'd eat that wonderful fig jam on toast for weeks. My dad had a large garden in the backyard of that house and my mom would make sweet tomato preserves dotted with candied lemon peel from the tomatoes he grew there. At family gatherings, my aunt Sally taught me how to quickly peel a hard boiled egg. My maternal grandmother taught me to make the best potato salad I've ever eaten. And, for Thanksgiving and Christmas I would fill countless stalks of celery with softened cream cheese.

Fresno was where my mother first made and I first tasted Beerocks, wonderful individual beef and cabbage pies, seasoned with lots of black pepper and wrapped in a thin yeast dough. They are spicy and delicious, but a common version of the more complicated meat-filled pocket pastry that arrived in the 1870's with German-Russian settlers. Their pastries were made from braised beef that was coarsely ground and mixed with cabbage and onions and wrapped in a handmade yeast dough. My mother's version was made with hamburger and boxed hot roll mix.

This recipe makes 12 stuffed pockets.

Betty's Beerocks
by Terri Powers adapted from my mom's recipe

2-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 large head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 - 3 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix

Prepare the hot roll mix according to the directions on the box. While dough is rising to twice it's size, prepare the filling.


Put the ground beef in a large frying pan or pot and cook thoroughly on medium high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks into the consistency of the meat filling for tacos. Add the chopped onions and cook until the onions are almost transparent. Add the cabbage and cook until it is almost soft, but still retains a somewhat firm texture (you don't want it to be mushy), stirring frequently until the meat, onions and cabbage are well mixed. Add the salt, then begin adding the pepper. Taste the mixture after you have added 2 tablespoons. The mixture should have a distinctly peppery flavor. Add more pepper as needed. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle about 8 inches across.

For each pocket, pile several spoons full of the filling on one half of the dough circle.


Lift the remaining half of the dough over the filling and seal the dough all the way around the half circle.


Place the pockets on a large cookie sheet (you probably will need two cookie sheets) lightly dusted with corn meal. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

These freeze extremely well.

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” Doug Larson

Bacon is so bad for you, so, of course, I love it. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy a perfectly crisp piece of bacon.

I also love an avocado. I was raised in California. You can drive nearly any where in Southern California and see an avocado tree growing in someone's yard or a large grove growing on a hill. Although my family didn't own a tree, avocados were cheap and my mother bought them often. We used them chopped or sliced in salads or halved and pitted as a cup for tuna or chicken salad. But, our favorite way to eat them, besides guacamole, was to merely mash a couple of salted slices on a buttered piece of toast. My mom ate this regularly for breakfast.

Just before Tom and I moved from Southern California to Arkansas, we owned a home on an acre of land with a small grove of trees: avocado, orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit and apricot. We had a Shih Tzu named Gizmo and he loved runnng out under the trees through the leaves that covered the ground underneath. When we first moved into the house, we couldn't figure out why Gizmo was putting on weight and why his coat was suddenly so shiny. We weren't doing anything different - same dog food, same groomer, same dog shampoo. Then one day, I caught him. He was eating an avocado that had fallen from the tree, licking the avocado pit clean. I think Gizmo and the raccoons worked as a team. The raccoons would climb in the trees and eat the avocados from the branches, but as they moved from branch to branch, they'd knock avocados to the ground. Gizmo enjoyed supplementing his diet almost daily.

I miss that house. I miss being able to go outside and pick the fresh fruit year round. When I walk into the store today, I cringe when I have to pay 50 cents or more for a single orange or lemon, or as much as $1.50 for an avocado, and just hope when I get them home and cut them open that they are worth the price.

As for bacon, well, for the most part, we have switched to turkey bacon. While I can't use it successfully in dishes like chowder or beans, it crisps up nice for omelets, salads and sandwiches. That's what I used it for yesterday. I made a really nice avocado, bacon and tomato sandwich.

I mashed a half of an avocado and seasoned it with a little salt, pepper and onion powder. Then I toasted two slices of really nice low-fat, high fiber oat bread and spread about half of the mashed avocado on one slice. No mayo, no butter, just mashed avocado.



Next, I used two slices of turkey bacon that I cooked in the microwave for about 1-1/2 minutes at full power.



On top of the bacon went part of a roma tomato that I sliced lengthwise.



I added a leaf of romaine lettuce and Oila! A delicious, low-cholesterol, low-carb sandwich!

Oh, and that beautiful cutting board underneath that sandwich? My son, Mike, made that for me for Christmas last year. I absolutely love it and just had to brag! He is so talented. A real artisan, as you can see.