Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sweet + Salty Sauce

We've been on a real Asian kick this week when it comes to cooking dinner. Sometime in the next few days, I'll post my Garlicky Korean Beef Noodles, which have become a weekly meal for the last 6 months. But today, we're going to talk about chicken lettuce wraps. Lettuce wraps are a must for me whenever we go out to a restaurant, so why not make my own version at home? This recipe is pretty easy when it comes to cooking other dishes on my food blog, although you will do a lot of chopping. But if you have another person helping you, y'all will be done in no time! I started off by making my go-to sweet + salty sauce (that also goes on the Korean Beef Noodles) and all you have to worry about is bring it to a boil, reducing it to a simmer, whisking continuously, and letting it cool. You'll repeat that cooking process 3-4 times until the sauce is smooth and has reduced slightly. After you have done that, just let the sauce cool in the small pot until you are ready to pour it over the chicken. Now, I have a pretty firm belief that everyone likes chicken, but if you are that one person who doesn't, then just trade out the ground chicken for ground pork and ground beef. Now let's talk about all the vegetables. We were recently eating out at one of our favorite thai restaurants and they have the most glorious chicken lettuce wraps. Something a little different that they include are red + green bell peppers. Both my husband and I enjoyed that addition so much, that I had to put some peppers into my chicken-vegetable mixture. It is important though, that you dice up the sweet onions and bell peppers to the same size, so that they will all cook for the same time. Once those vegetables have become slightly softened and somewhat translucent, throw in the minced fresh garlic, diced water chestnuts, minced green onions, fresh basil, minced dried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, and some red pepper flakes. Stir it all together and let it cook for a minute or two. Now, all that is left to do is to pour some of the sauce over the chicken mixture until everything is coated. I would suggest starting with half the sauce and working your way up because you don't want an overwhelmingly large amount drowning your chicken + veggies. The goal here is to add just the right amount of sauce to your liking, that way the chicken lettuce wraps taste light and delicious. All that there is left to do is to assemble them. Get a piece of butter lettuce, spoon in some of the sauced chicken mixture on top, drizzle with a little bit of extra sauce, and garnish with a pinch of minced, dried garlic, red pepper flakes, and toasted crushed peanuts. Voila, you have made yourself a real crowd pleasing recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 

For the Sweet + Salty Sauce:

1C Light Brown Sugar

½C Soy Sauce

¼C Hoisin Sauce

2T Toasted Sesame Oil + 2T Sriracha

1T Rice Wine Vinegar

1t Freshly Grated Ginger

1t Red Pepper Flakes (less or more to your preferred spiciness)

For the Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

Prepared Sweet + Salty Sauce

4T Vegetable Oil (separated)

2lbs Ground Chicken

2 Sweet Onions, Diced

1 Red Bell Pepper + 1 Green Pepper, Diced

1t Salt

8oz Sliced Water Chestnuts, Diced

8 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

2 Bunches of Green Onions, Minced

¼C Fresh Basil, Minced

2T Minced Dried Garlic (plus more for garnishing)

1T Toasted Sesame Seeds (plus more for garnishing)

Red Pepper Flakes (to your preferred spiciness)

1T Toasted Sesame Oil

1-2 Butter Head Lettuce

Toasted, Crushed Peanuts, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Sweet + Salty Sauce: In a small pot, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until it is well incorporated. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-low heat, making sure to continuously whisk. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes. Repeat this process of bringing it to a boil and simmering the sauce three more times. After you have done this, allow the sauce to cool while you make the chicken lettuce wraps.

2. Cooking the Chicken: Heat 2T oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the ground chicken and cook until just browned, about 5-7 minutes. Make sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks, so smaller pieces form. Drain the excess fat out of the pan and set aside the cooked chicken while you sauté the vegetables.

3. Making the Asian Chicken: In a large pot, heat the other 2T of oil over medium-high heat. Add in the diced onions, diced red bell pepper, diced green pepper, and the salt. Sauté these vegetables for about 5-10 minutes, until they have cooked down and gave become translucent. Next, toss in the diced water chestnuts, minced garlic, and minced green onions. Stir everything so that it is all mixed together. Bring the heat up to high and let it cook on that temperature for a minute. Drizzle in half of the reduced sweet + salty sauce, stirring to make sure the lettuce wrap mixture is completely coated in the sauce. Lastly, finish off the dish by throwing in the fresh minced basil, minced dried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, as much or as little red pepper flakes that you like, and toasted sesame oil. Turn off the heat and taste the sauced, ground chicken-vegetable mixture. If you think the chicken needs more sauce, salt, or red pepper flakes, then add it to your liking.

4. Assembling the Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Pull off the individual leaves of butter lettuce and wash and dry them. Place the lettuce leaves onto a plate, and then spoon some of the chicken mixture into each leaf. Garnish the top of the chicken lettuce wraps with a drizzle of the sweet + salty sauce, dried minced garlic, pinch of red pepper flakes, and some toasted, crushed peanuts. Enjoy the lettuce wraps while they are still hot (but they are just as delicious if you serve them cold)!

#instagrub : Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad with Roasted Peanuts

Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad with Roasted Peanuts

2014 is gonna start off with a bang y'all!! We're moving on up to bigger + better things over here at PLC and it all begins with this Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad recipe... with roasted peanuts! We swoon over Thai food, I prefer it over any Asian-inspired cuisine, and this our go-to order. It starts off with a sweet, tangy, zesty, spicy, salty, well err everthing kinda vinaigrette/marinade. The mixture includes soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, lime, sesame oil, sugar, honey, and seasonings. Then, a'whole'bunch of veggies are added in, like... red onions, shallots, baby cucumber, garlic, ginger, green onion, and spicy jalapenos. Finally it's the vinaigrette is finished off with some fresh herbs and a big pile of medium rare seared filet. You let this "salad"marinate for 4-6 hours until the meat has absorbed the flavors and soaked up a bunch of juice. It stays nice n' plump n' moist for like ever... probably because it's extra-tender filet mignon, who can't get on board with that?! I'm in love with the entire dish, especially the contrast of temperature between the sweet & the heat, as well as the warmth of the roasted peanuts against the cold, crisp salad. Traditionally, it is served with a big pile of cabbage leaves, some sticky rice, more roasted peanuts, and some peanut sauce for drizzling. We like to turn them into killer lettuce wraps and just nosh on them all night! What's great about this recipe is that it's extremely versatile in that it can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish. You could also toss the Nam Tok Beef with some coleslaw or even lo mein to make an Asian chopped salad-- um yum!! Enjoy y'all :)

beginning of the vinaigrette

perfectly seared filet mignon

time to marinate... 

plumped up, garnished with roasted peanuts, & ready to eat!!

For the Nam Tok Beef:

2 8oz Filet Mignons, Cooked Medium-Rare + Thinly Sliced

Half of a Small Red Onion, Shaved

Half of a Shallot, Shaved

5 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced

3 Large Garlic Cloves, Minced

1T Fresh Ginger, Minced

¼C Soy Sauce + Honey

2T Fish Sauce + Sesame Oil

¼C Dark Brown Sugar

2T Sambal Oelek + Rice Wine Vinegar

1T Asian Spice Mix, Red Pepper Flakes, & Crushed Szechuan Peppercorns

1t Peanut Butter Powder

1 Fresh Chili or Jalapeno, Thinly Shaved

1 Small Cucumber, Thinly Sliced

¼C Pickled Shallots

2 Limes, Zested & Juiced

½C Cabbage, Thinly Shaved

A Small Handful of Fresh Cilantro + Fresh Mint, Finely Minced

¼C Chopped Roasted Peanuts (plus extra for topping)

Cabbage Leaves, For Serving (like lettuce wraps)

Directions:

1. For the Steaks: Season your filets with fleur de sel and fresh cracked pepper and heat a pan over high heat. Cook the steaks to the temperature to medium-rare. Let them rest. Thinly slice the steak and let them cool completely on the cutting board. Meanwhile prepare your marinade.

2. For the Salad: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, sesame oil, sambal Oelek, rice wine vinegar, spices, peanut butter powder, and lime zest. Add in the shaved red onion and shallot, green onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, cucumber, and pickled shallots. Mix together all of the ingredients and toss to combine and coat. Next, add in the room temperature sliced steak. Marinate for at least 4-6 hours in order for the flavoring to permeate the meat.

3. For Serving: Right before serving, add in fresh squeezed lime juice of the two zested limes, shaved cabbage, minced cilantro and mint, and chopped roasted peanuts. Serve the Nam Tok Beef Salad with cabbage leaves to eat like lettuce wraps. 

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle + Brown Butter Ice Cream

This is pretty much a glorified candy bar pie. With a twist of pecan pie on the side. And add in a large soda + a scoop of ice cream to boot. For all I care, you could just sub out the Goo Goo Cluster chunks with another candy treat. Do as you please, my friends. Y'all ever had a Goo Goo Cluster? Well, if you haven't, I sure feel bad for you. It comes from the South (Nashville to be exact) and contains caramel, roasted peanuts, marshmallow, and milk chocolate. Like a Snickers, but only way better. It starts off with my favorite peanut butter shortbread cookie crust. What's not to love about that? Candy. Cookies. Pie. Ice Cream. All in one bite? Whambamthankyama'am. Then, it's studded with fried, salted peanuts and candy pieces before it's filled to the brim with bourbon-flavored custard (similar to a pecan pie). After it's all said + done, and by that, I mean baking & chilling, you must drizzle the top of a slice with the homemade Coca Cola reduction... ya'know, to make it extra-southern. This pie is insane by itself, but make sure to make it super indulgent by adding a scoop of homemade ice cream. It was perfection with brown butter, but vanilla bean or bourbon would be amazing as well. It's the ultimate sweet treat indeed!! Enjoy :)

For the Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust:

1C Peanuts, Unsalted & Dry-Roasted

½C AP Flour

¼t Salt

¼t Baking Soda

¼C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

¼C Sugar

2T Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 Large Egg Yolk

¼t Vanilla

For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie:

2 8oz boxes of Goo Goo Clusters or Cream-Nuts, Chopped into Chunks

3 Eggs

1C sugar + 2T Light Brown Sugar

½C Light Corn Syrup

2T Bourbon

1t Vanilla

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

½t Salt

2C Fried Salted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped (roasted peanuts may be substituted)

Prepared Goo Goo Cluster Chunks

For the Coca Cola Reduction:

2C Coca Cola (or any other soda substitute: Cheerwine would be my second choice)

Directions:

1. Spray a pie pan with Baking Pam and set it aside.

2. For Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the peanuts into the food processor and blend until a peanut butter forms, about 2 minutes (add a little oil or honey to loosen it up if it is too thick). In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Using an electric mixer, beat together both sugars, peanut butter, and butter until well combined and mixture resembles wet sand, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well blended, about 3 minutes (the mixture will be clumpy). Gradually add in the dry ingredients with your hands and beat until just combined (it will be crumbly, but do not over-mix). Gather dough with your hands, place into the prepared pan, and press evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Set this aside to let it cool completely before adding the filling.

3. For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie: In the bowl of a standing mixer, add in the butter and both sugars and beat until light & fluffy, about 1 minute. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, bourbon, vanilla, and salt until smooth and incorporated. Add this wet mixture into the bowl of the butter mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until you have a smooth filling, and then add in your chopped peanuts and mix until just incorporated evenly throughout. Set your filling aside and place the Goo Goo Cluster chunks evenly into the bottom of your cooled, pre-baked peanut butter crust. Slowly pour the filling over the clusters until the whole pie has been filled to the rim. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel. Place the pie onto a baking dish, so that it will catch any drippings or filling that has flooded over. Bake this pie at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Lightly cover the pie with some tin foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the pie has set around the edges, but slightly jiggles in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack to room temperature.

4. Place the cooled pie into the freezer (you might want to cover with tin foil) and let it sit, undisturbed, overnight. The pie filling should be super gooey and runny, this is a good thing, don’t worry.

5. For the Coca Cola Reduction: Pour the coke into a pot and cook over low (just barely medium heat) until it reduces into thick soda syrup. This process took a long time for me almost an hour.

6. Serving the Pie: The next day, remove from the freezer and cut into slices. Place onto a plate and let it warm for 5-10 minutes. This gives the pie time to defrost and makes the caramel-y filling begin to ooze out. Drizzle the top of the pie with some of the Coca Cola Reduction and enjoy the gooey goodness. We added a scoop of ice cream on top of ours, and it was perfection (we had three homemade ice creams in our freezer: brown butter-bourbon, southern buttermilk, + malted vanilla bean).

"Peanuts in my Coke" Floats with Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream

"Peanuts in my Coke" Floats with Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream

When I was a little girl, growing up in Atlanta, every year I looked forward to going to the Braves games with my family. At the time, we had season tickets and it was always the best part of the week when I got to invite a friend and we spent the night cheerin' for the home team while munching on ballpark food classics like funnel cakes, hot dogs, & nachos. But surprisingly enough, my favorite treat came before the game. And that was when we would pick up hot boiled peanuts from local vendors while making the trek to the ballgame gates. Not only did they sell boiled peanuts, but bags of Cracker Jack, salted peanuts, and ice cold Coca Cola's. And then, I discovered the most delicious treat that will ever-remind me of the good ole' days. Growing up in the deep South, my father shared with me one of his favorite treats... dropping in salted peanuts into a coke bottle. Now this might sound just so odd to you, but it really is a Southern delicacy. The peanuts added this wonderful saltiness to the overly sweet soda, and it made the most delightful popping and sizzling noise that would cheer up any kid. Now looking back on it, it makes perfect sense because now I crave those salty + sweet desserts I constantly create. So, for a while now, I was racking my mind for a dessert that could bring back those wonderful summer memories. Well why not make a coke float? I've been on such an ice cream float kick lately! I don't know what's wrong with me honestly. Maybe it's because they are just that good. So, I made an uber creamy peanut butter ice cream, with just the slightest hint of salt. Well, the rest of the work is just up to y'all... just scoop some of the ice cream into a tall cup, pour over some coke, and watch it bubble up to the top. I garnished mine with some honey roasted peanuts for a little crunch, and it was absolutely perfect! Oh and by the way, did y'all know it is National Peanut Butter Day? What a perfect treat to celebrate a day of Peanut Butter!! Enjoy :)

The Coke has been poured over the top...

And the bubbling has begun...

Top with some honey roasted nuts to garnish...

And there's the luscious Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream that seals the deal!

For the Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream:

2 ½C Heavy Cream

½C Whole Milk

6 Egg Yolks

1C Sugar

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Melted & Cooled Slightly

½t Salt

1 ½C Smooth Peanut Butter

1t Vanilla

2T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or any kind of infused booze that is clear)

1C Roasted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped

Fleur de Sel, For Garnishing

For the Floats:

Homemade Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Coca Cola, For Pouring

Fleur de Sel, For Garnishing

Whipped Cream, For Topping

Directions:

1.  For the Homemade Salty Peanut Butter Ice Cream: In a saucepan, bring the cream and milk to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until fluffy. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Once combined, gradually and slowly into the simmering milk. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon). Remove from the heat and stir in ¾C of the smooth peanut butter. Strain the custard into a bowl that is placed into an ice bath. Stir in the vanilla bean infused rum and vanilla. Cool the custard base until completely chilled. Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding 1⁄2 cup of the chopped nuts to the ice cream 30 seconds before it has finished churning. As you remove the ice cream to a freezer-safe container, drop dollops of the melted peanut butter over each layer of ice cream. Once all of the ice cream and peanut butter has been placed in the container, use a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture. Store the ice cream in the freezer. Cover and freeze until hard, about 4 hours.

2. For the Floats: In a tall glass, drop about 2-3 scoops of the salty peanut butter ice cream into the bottom of the caramel drizzled glass. Pour some Coca Cola over the top of the glass very slowly because the mixture will begin to bubble and can expand over the rim of the glass. Garnish the top of the drink with some whipped cream and some of the remaining roasted peanuts. If you’re like me and enjoy a salty dessert, then sprinkle a little more fleur de sel on top of the whipped cream. Enjoy before the ice cream begins to melt too much!

Retro Chocolate-Bacon-Peanut Butter Pie with Bacon-Peanut-Shortbread Cookie Crust, Peanut Butter Mousse Filling, & Chocolate Ganache Topping Garnished with Crushed Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble & Bourbon-Maple Whoop

Retro Chocolate-Bacon-Peanut Butter Pie with Bacon-Peanut-Shortbread Cookie Crust,
Peanut Butter Mousse Filling, & Chocolate Ganache Topping Garnished with
Crushed Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble, & Bourbon-Maple Whoop

The title is a mouth-full isn't it? Well, trust me, your mouth will absolutely be full when you take a bite of this over-the-top pie. I have always loved peanut butter pie and it's kind of a retro, diner classic that my taste buds drifted towards as a child. When I ate it in the past, it was almost always made with an Oreo cookie crust and a simple dollop of whipped cream, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and make a bad-ass peanut butter pie... with BACON y'all. Lots and lots and lots of bacon. I mean there's even bacon bits in the crust. And by the way, the Bacon-Peanut-Shortbread cookie crust is the best part. It's peanut buttery and studded with crispy bits o' bacon that just makes my heart melt. It just has the best texture. I love the crust so much that I divide & conquer this pie into thirds, starting with the crust first. Oh yeah baby, this is what dreams are made of. The peanut butter filling is nothin' special, but so simplistic & delicious. It's creamy and silky, and sticks to the roof of your mouth like you're just eatin' a spoon of peanut butter out of the jar at midnight. Yes, I know we all do it. And what's better than peanut butter & chocolate? Nothin' y'all. So I knew that I had to add a thick layer of chocolate ganache to finish the pie, making it taste like a huge Reese's Cup. But that wasn't enough for me was it? Apparently not, since I made a ridiculous Roasted Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble to shove into that chocolate ganache topping. I know that y'all can feel your chests start to tighten, but don't turn away now folks, it's just gettin' good. Finally, you hav'ta top your slice of pie with a big ole' dollop of homemade Bourbon-Maple Whoop (or whipped cream as some people call it). And you can taste that Bourbon mixed in there, and that's the only way it should be. I mean I think it's a state law in Georgia that you have to add in booze and bacon into any & every recipe that you can, and I'm totally on board because this pie is to. die. for. But, don't get me wrong, it's as rich as can be, so cut you a small slice, ya'hear? Glad I cleared that up. You can serve this just refrigerated, where the peanut butter is ooey-gooey, or you can do what we do, and freeze it, so it tastes like ice cream pie. Yum yum yummmm!! Enjoy :)

Isn't this pie just gorgeous?

Look at the Roasted Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble Topping

You gotta have the whoop, y'all!

For the Bacon-Peanut-Shortbread Crust:

1C Peanuts, Unsalted & Dry-Roasted

½C AP Flour

¼t Salt

¼t Baking Soda

¼C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

¼C Sugar

2T Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 Large Egg Yolk

¼t Vanilla

6 Slices of Applewood Smoked Bacon, Cooked until Extra Crispy

For the Peanut Butter Mouse Filling:

1C Heavy Cream

8oz Cream Cheese

1C Creamy Peanut Butter

1C Confectioners’ Sugar

14oz Can of Sweetened, Condensed Milk

1t Vanilla

1t Fresh Lemon Juice

For the Chocolate Ganache Topping:

1C Dark Chocolate Chunks

½C Heavy Cream

For the Crushed Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble:

½C Roasted Peanuts, Crushed

½C Candied Bacon

1t Rendered Bacon Fat

For the Bourbon-Maple Whoop:

1C Heavy Cream

¼C Grade B Maple Syrup

2-3T Bourbon

Directions:

1. Spray a pie pan with Baking Pam and set it aside. 

2. For Bacon-Peanut-Shortbread Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse extra crispy bacon in a food processor until there are very fine pieces. Remove the bacon into a small bowl, and then peanuts into the same food processor and blend until a peanut butter forms, about 2 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Using an electric mixer, beat together both sugars, peanut butter, small bacon pieces, and butter until well combined and mixture resembles wet sand, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well blended, about 3 minutes (the mixture will be clumpy). Gradually add in the dry ingredients with your hands and beat until just combined (it will be crumbly, but do not over-mix). Gather dough with your hands, place into the prepared pan, and press evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Set this aside to let it cool completely before adding the peanut butter mousse filling.

3. For the Peanut Butter Mousse Filling: Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use.  Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth. Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the piecrust. Refrigerate for a couple or until the peanut butter filling has hardened enough to spread on the chocolate ganache.

4. For the Chocolate Ganache Topping: In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth. Pour or spoon the ganache over the top of the chilled (or hardened) peanut butter pie filling. Smooth the top with a spoon. While the ganache is still melted, sprinkle the crushed peanut-candied bacon crumble over the top. Refrigerate the pie for at least 3 hours or overnight.

5. For the Crushed Peanut-Candied Bacon Crumble: In a small bowl, toss together the crushed peanuts, candied bacon pieces, and bacon fat until thoroughly incorporated. Sprinkle this over the top of the chocolate ganache topping.

6. For the Bourbon-Maple Whoop: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and maple syrup together on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Whisk in the whiskey 1T at a time. With the mixer on high speed, continue whipping until medium-stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

7. Cut a slice of the peanut butter pie (refrigerated or frozen) and serve with a dollop of the Bourbon-Maple Whoop on top. Enjoy!

source: peanut butter pie for mikey.

"Porker Jack" a.k.a. Popcorn Pig Candy

Here's another one of our snacks from our tailgate at the Carolina Cup this past weekend. I knew I wanted something that people could easily grab and munch on all day, and I instantly thought of caramel corn. But I knew that I wanted to make it slightly better and super unique. I did this by adding lots of crispy bacon and roasted peanuts. Then to top it all off, I added in some cayenne and red pepper flakes for that signature kick. It was delicious. I mean any popcorn that is popped in bacon fat is a winner in my book. It tasted almost exactly like my bacon peanut brittle that I was raving about a couple weeks ago. The popcorn was smoky, sweet, spicy, and crunchy... and we just loved it!! Enjoy :)

"Porker Jack" or Popcorn Pig Candy

If you look up close, you ca see the pieces of bacon and peanuts hiding in the caramel

For the Popcorn Pig Candy:

Nonstick Cooking Spray

10 Strips of Thick Cut, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Cut into Pieces & Fried until Crispy

3T Reserved Bacon Fat

½C Popcorn Kernels

2C Unsalted Peanuts, Roasted

1 ½t Baking Soda

¼t Cayenne & Cinnamon

½t Red Pepper Flakes

3C Sugar

3T Unsalted Butter

Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Lightly coat two large, heatproof rubber spatulas, a very large mixing bowl and two large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or a thin slick of oil.
2. In a sauté pan, fry the bacon pieces until cooked and very crispy. Strain from the fat onto a paper towel and set it aside. Use 3T of the leftover bacon fat for the popcorn kernels.
3. In a large saucepan or pot with a lid, heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels, cover and keep the saucepan moving until all of the kernels have popped, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the prepared bowl, removing any un-popped kernels.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda, cayenne, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes.
5. Have the two large baking sheets ready. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt and ½C of water. Cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light golden-yellow caramel, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the baking soda mixture (the mixture will bubble up). Add in the crispy bacon pieces and roasted peanuts and stir quickly to combine.
6. Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and don’t fuss if it doesn’t all come out of the pot — you’ll have plenty. Working quickly and carefully, use the prepared spatulas to toss the caramel and popcorn together, as if you were tossing a salad, until the popcorn is well coated. Spread the popcorn onto the baking sheets and quickly separate them into small pieces while still warm, and then sprinkle the surface with sea salt to taste. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

source: spicy caramel corn.