Bacon Drippings

Bacon is a wonderful ingredient. I use it in several recipes, especially soups! Recently, I made a homemade split pea soup and bacon was my first ingredient. However, when I cook bacon sometimes there is too much fat rendered to leave in the soup. I wouldn't want greasy peas! Whenever this happens I pour the excess fat into my Cuisinart and use it for a salad dressing. I also add a garlic clove, some Dijon mustard, some mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey and a little pepper. This dressing is fantastic on lettuce and spinach. It also tastes great with a wilted, warm spinach salad or my warm cabbage salad. Maybe it is fattening, but the flavor is amazing and I am not wasting lovely bacon drippings!

Steak for my birthday

I went to the local Amish Market to inquire about where their beef and pork came from. After seeing Food Inc. I am a little more careful about buying meat. The woman at the counter assured me that they were selling grass-fed animals from Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. So, I bought a few things including some nice looking New York Strip Steaks.

I made a nice marinade a couple of hours before cooking them. It included red wine, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, pepper and thyme. When I cooked the steaks I let the marinade cook in a separate sauce pan to reduce by half. I removed it from the heat when the steaks were done and added a couple of pats of butter. It was flavorful and delicious! As were the steaks.