Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles

A week ago or so I made up a batch of these lovlies for breakfast and have been craving them ever since. Sweet and savory Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles are kind of a mashup of a hearty German potato pancake and a sweet apple pancake baked on a waffle iron for extra crispiness and crunch. A little bacon is thrown in for a salty, smoky contrast to the sweet apple and for balance.

Why I waited to make them again is a puzzle to me, because they're so easy to put together...especially if you use precooked real bacon bits. Making dinner (or breakfast if you're more of a traditionalist) is simpler still when you start with frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes and just a little Bisquick. Who doesn't like a quick and easy breakfast-for-dinner recipe in their arsenal?!

Ready to make an easy "brinner" for the fam? Gentlemen (and ladies), start your waffle irons!

Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles

Makes 8 waffles

• 4 C frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes, thawed
• 8 slices bacon, cut into dice, fried crisp (or 1/2-2/3 C REAL bacon bits
• 2 apples, peeled and cored, cut into 1/4" dice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 6 T Bisquick (I use gluten-free Bisquick to make these GF)
• 6 T milk
• 1 t salt and extra for sprinkling on the finished waffles to really make the flavor pop!

Preheat your waffle iron while you toss the batter together.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes and sprinkle with Bisquick. Add bacon, apples, egg, milk and salt. Mix all together well.

My waffle iron uses no oil; if yours needs to be oiled, prepare your iron as needed.

Use half the batter for the first batch of waffles, if your waffle iron makes 4 at a time like mine. I like to press down firmly on the waffle iron handle for 30 seconds or so to get good initial contact on both sides of the waffle - I think it produces a crisper waffle in the end.

Carefully remove the first batch of waffles and do the second. 

Serve with real maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt. Yes, I said salt. It makes a BIG difference!

NOTE: Leftover waffles? Put thinly sliced cheddar between two waffles and grill on both sides in a buttered skillet until the cheese is melted and the waffles crisp. Delish!

NOTE 2: Although I haven't tried it, I can't help but think these would make a kickass base for sausage gravy! Hmmmmmm......

Angry Orchard Beef, Pumpkin & Apple Stew

Giant orange orbs are appearing everywhere these crisp, chilly and windy days, whether they're scattered across the hills and fields of our beloved local farms or piled high in grocery store bins. Pumpkins are everywhere! Even in my CSA box.

That big ol' sugar pumpkin presented a few possibilities. Should I just plunk it out on the porch with my other warty pumpkins, gourds and rusty mums? That would be the easy way out. I did briefly consider roasting pumpkin chunks and making a roasted pumpkin and cinnamon syrup for fall cocktails, but decided on a hearty and warming stew instead.

I just happened to have a nice chuck roast in the freezer, so I pulled that out and after it was thawed, cut it into nice sized cubes, browned them and started building the base for the stew. The hardest part of the stew? Cutting and peeling the pumpkin! Ugh. Maybe the porch sitting pumpkin idea was better after all. But no, I soldiered on and peeled that sucker! 

After browning the beef in batches and then putting just a little caramelization on the pumpkin pieces, I simply added peeled potatoes (also from my Dillner Farms CSA box), lots of onion, a nice big peeled and cubed apple (yep, CSA, too!), poured a bottle of Angry Orchard hard cider over all, put on the lid and simmered the mixture away for a few hours. Oh, it smelled wonderful all throughout the house!

Best of all, the pumpkin-y, apple-y, onion-y and richly beefy conglomeration of flavor was worth every bit of the pumpkin peeling process. Here's a little hint...don't feel like peeling a pumpkin? Try subbing in peeled butternut squash in those plastic containers from the grocery store instead. It works!

Angry Orchard Beef, Pumpkin & Apple Stew 

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into stew-sized cubes
• Salt and pepper to taste - use to season the meat liberally before browning
• 4 C fresh pumpkin, cut open, seeds removed, cut into strips and the rind peeled, cut into cubes (or buy pre-peeled butternut squash at the grocery store - perfectly acceptable substitution!)
• 2 large onions, approx 2 C,cubed 
• 1 1/2 t fresh garlic, minced finely or pressed
• 4 C peeled and cubed red or Yukon Gold potatoes - don't use Russet potatoes as they have a tendency to fall apart
• 1 bottle (12 oz.) Angry Orchard Cinful Apple hard cider - or another variety, but I like the subtle cinnamon hint it infuses the stew with
• 1 1/2 C apple - peeled, cored, cut into cubes
• 2 t Beef soup base - I like Better Than Bullion, it's gluten free!

In a heavy bottomed enameled cast iron Dutch oven, melt the butter and oil together and bring it to high temp. Add the salt and peppered beef chunks - in 3 batches - and brown well on all sides. Remove each batch to a bowl as each is done.

When all the beef is browned, add the pumpkin pieces to the oil and brown, giving a nice caramelization to the edges. Then add the onions and garlic and stir well until the onions and garlic are softened. 

Add the beef back into the pot along with the potatoes, pour the bottle of Angry Orchard over all, stir everything up from the bottom, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it go for about an hour, then add the apple and the soup base. Stir well again, cover and let it simmer for another 2 hours or so until the beef is tender.

Delicious!

Red stag Reindeers - A Winter's Take On A Moscow Mule

It's winter! It's the holiday season, too. Wouldn't one of my favorite cocktails, the Moscow Mule, instead be more fittingly named a "Reindeer" at this time of year? Especially when made with Red Stag bourbon by Jim Beam? In my opinion, that would be a resounding YES!

Actually, you're going to find two variations on a Moscow Mule theme here...one cinnamon spiced, the other hard(core) cider. Warm winter spices kiss the Cinnamon Reindeer, while apple cider notes sweeten the Hardcore Cider Reindeer. 

Both cocktails were created with a subtle, Christmas-y hint of rosemary. I think that gentle piney-ness brings idyllic images of friends around blazing logs in the center of tall firs, sharing laughs and old stories while snowflakes swirl about. Okay, maybe hot cocoa would be warmer...but humor me. Merry Christmas!

Red Stag Cinnamon Reindeer 

•  2 oz. Red Stag by Jim Beam Spiced With Cinnamon bourbon
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• about 10 fresh rosemary leaves
• 6.8 oz. bottle Fever Tree ginger beer (or other GOOD brand)
• a fresh rosemary sprig and a tall cinnamon stick for garnish 

In a tin, muddle whiskey, lime juice and rosemary leaves gently. Add ice 3/4 of the way up the tin. Shake until the tin is frosted then double strain into a copper mug (or glass). Add fresh ice nearly to the top and fill with ginger beer. Stir gently and garnish with rosemary and a cinnamon stick.

Red Stag Hardcore Cider Reindeer 

•  2 oz. Red Stag by Jim Beam Hardcore Cider bourbon
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• about 10 fresh rosemary leaves
• 6.8 oz. bottle Fever Tree ginger beer (or other GOOD brand)
• a fresh rosemary sprig and an apple slice for garnish (be sure to rub some lime juice on the cut surface of the apple to keep it from browning!) 

In a tin, muddle whiskey, lime juice and rosemary leaves gently. Add ice 3/4 of the way up the tin. Shake until the tin is frosted then double strain into a copper mug (or glass). Add fresh ice nearly to the top and fill with ginger beer. Stir gently and garnish with rosemary and an apple slice.