Over the last two years, Christmas-flavored bacon has been the Red Ryder BB gun to my Ralph Parker. Unlike the hero in A Christmas Story, though, there’s no chance of me shooting my eye out or getting my tongue stuck to a frozen pole along the way. TBS also hasn’t opted to run 24 Hours of Mark Chases Christmas Bacon. This year, however, I think I finally got it right: Christmas Candied Bacon.
Candied Yams in Kahlua and Chocolate
Candied yams being a regular cast member of holiday dinner, I like to play around with them each year. Not like some creepy herbophile, just so we’re clear. I like to change them up when I cook ’em. We did Thanksgiving in a Southwestern theme so I had to find a way to make them fit. The solution: Kahlua, baker’s chocolate, and ground red pepper to set off all of that sweetness. And, coincidentally, keep the little kids from eating them all before the grown up kids had a chance to grab a bite.
Holiday Heat: Give the Gift of SaucePack
Ah, Christmas shopping. It’s the MMA part of the holiday season, from the first Black Friday fisticuff to the last battle for mall parking on Christmas Eve. Someday, when I’ve completely sold out, I may produce “Pay-Per-View Holiday Shopping Extreme: Christmas Smackdown.” Until that time, I’ll stick to avoiding holiday headache with gifts like SaucePack, here.
Kicked-Up Cranberry Sauce: Cranberry, Apple, and Jalapeño United
If you’re like me, you probably get tired of the regular boring cranberry sauce that most people serve at holiday dinners. You know the stuff that I’m referring to — that gelatinous, mushy cranberry mold that your grandmother plated up every year for as long as you can remember. The flavor isn’t terribly bad, but I don’t understand why something that is as easy to make as homemade cranberry sauce is so often purchased off a grocery store shelf. When the canned version is served alongside a delicious spread of Thanksgiving goodies, I’m the first to overlook it and move on to the next offering. So this year I decided to try something new: since I’m a fan of spicy foods, I thought I’d add jalapeños to my otherwise fairly sweet homemade sauce and the results were delicious. If you prefer another type of pepper, feel free to use that one. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Fiery Foods Show: Black Friday and Cyber Monday Booth Specials
For the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, March 6-8, 2015: Black Friday to Cyber Monday, November 28 through December 1st. If you buy a booth and pay in full you will receive a free 1/4 page ad in the show program, production included, a $250 value.
Barbecue Thanksgiving Part 2: Potatoes Mashed, Potatoes Sweet
You know your Thanksgiving taters are yummy when they vanish before you get to eat them. I’m assuming they were tasty, since the pan was whistle-clean when I went for my first helping, only to be greeted by the fading fumes of molasses as a small child helped themselves for thirds, and, not coincidentally, lasts.
Barbecue Thanksgiving Part 1: Pulled Pork Stuffing and Gravy
A few years back, some of our favorite food writers collaborated on a barbecued Thanksgiving on our mother site, the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Super Site. Drawing inspiration from that idea, me and mine cooked up our own take on that awesome theme. Here’s the first part of that big adventure: Dr. BBQ’s pulled pork stuffing and a pulled pork gravy.
