International Bacon Day: Add chocolate

September 5 is International Bacon Day. In the past year or so, bacon has been popping up in so many recipes and restaurants. It's added to absolutely everything. There's bacon ice-cream, bacon cupcakes, bacon cookies, and what goes best with it? You guessed it: Chocolate. Together they've got that sweet/salty thing going on.

So I thought I'd do a round-up of some of the bacon recipes I've blogged about here on DyingforChocolate and link to a few more.

Overall introduction to chocolate and bacon including chocolate covered strips of bacon and more.
Bacon Brownies
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bacon Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes
Simplified Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar

No time to bake? Check out your local chocolatier today for Bacon + Chocolate:
Socola has a beer and bacon truffle set.
Vosges has its great Mo's Bacon Bar
And there are many others.

I've also had several chocolate panini recipes over the last few months. Vosges has a lot of wonderful recipes, but this one is perfect for today's holiday, especially because it uses their Mo's Bacon Bar (I would use the dark).

Mo’s Milk or Dark Bacon Bar Panini from Katrina Markoff's Peace and Love Blog (Vosges)
Yields One Sandwich

Equipment needed: Panini press or waffle iron

2 Italian country bread slices about 4-5 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick
2 tbsp Sea salted butter, French brand, Isigny Ste Mere or make your own by mixing 1/2 tsp Maldon salt and 2 tbsp of a fabulous butter
Pinch Maldon salt
2 squares Vosges‘ Mo’s Milk or Dark Bacon Bar
2 strips of crispy bacon (this is optional, but I think you should put it in)

Spread butter on all sides of the bread. Place bacon bar squares on one piece of bread, followed by strips of bacon if you are using them and a sprinkle of salt. Place other piece of buttered bread on top and press with Panini press until golden brown.

Tips:
Make sure your bread doesn’t have many gaping holes or your fillings may seep through and burn.

If you don’t have a Panini press substitute with a waffle iron.

Make sure the bread you use isn’t overly crusty or it may cut your mouth a bit when pressed. At the same time don’t choose a overly soft bread not a good quality sign either and it won’t have the rigidity. Try a crusty ciabatta or italian peasant bread.

Have a great International Bacon Day!

Chocolate Pizza

I love pizza. Who doesn't? I'm lucky to live in a city with all kinds of pizza places: deepdish, Chicago Style, Thin Crust, New York, California, you name it--and toppings of every variety. I know it's simple to make pizza, but I usually prefer to order out! However, when it comes to Chocolate Pizza, that's something else! The following recipe is fast and easy, and friends will be impressed. Another possibility is just have it for breakfast, after all, chocolate is good for you!

Giada De Laurentiis's recipe for Chocolate Pizza is the best! It's posted on the Food Network website and Epicurious. The first recipe calls for a 9" pizza and the other 11" but that's the difference between thin crust and thick, I guess! It's simple to prepare, and you always have the choice of making your own pizza dough or purchasing it. I've blogged about bread and chocolate before, but add this one to that list.

Ingredients:

1 pound homemade pizza dough or purchased pizza dough
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips (broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons white chocolate chips (broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Position the oven rack on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough to a 9-inch-diameter round.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.
Using your fingers, make indentations all over the dough.
Brush the dough with melted butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Immediately spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips over.
Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute.
Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts over the pizza.
Cut into wedges and serve.

And, if you want to make your own dough, go here for Giada's pizza dough recipe.

Pain au Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

What could be better than Cinnamon Rolls in the morning? Pain au Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Crème Fraîche Icing and Walnuts!

I spend a lot of time at Serious Eats, and lucky for me and now you, they featured the following recipe for Pain au Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls from French Revolution. So not only did I find a great recipe, but I have a new Blog to follow. You'll want to do that, too. Kerry at The French Revolution kindly permitted me to re-blog her recipe. I can't thank her enough. This is so great!

This is a great and easy recipe, especially because you can use store-bought pastry.

Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls with Crème Fraîche Icing and Walnuts
Makes one dozen

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 sheets bought frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, cooled
6 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I use broken up dark organic fair trade chocolate)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 tablespoon half and half

Kerry's Note on Some Ingredients:

Think ahead when using bought puff pastry. The best way to do so is by tossing the pastry from the freezer to the fridge before you go to sleep. It will be perfect in the morning.

To toast nuts, scatter the nuts on a baking sheet and place them in an oven between 300 and 350°F for 10 minutes. You can also toast them in a dry pan. When you can smell them and they begin to get golden cheeks, they’re ready.

If you're using chocolate chips, make sure they are a great quality dark chocolate chips. You’ll notice the difference. They are the star of the show. (I use broken up chocolate pieces, but then there's always extra chocolate around-Janet)

You can make your own crème fraîche cheaply at home, simply stir together equal parts heavy cream and sour cream, and let stand in the fridge overnight.

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 sugars and the cinnamon.

3. Roll out both sheets of puff pastry slightly, into two identical squares. Brush the pastry all over with the cooled melted butter.

4. Scatter half the cinnamon sugar all over one puff pastry square, and the other half all over the other. Do the same with the walnuts, and the chocolate chips or pieces.

5. Roll the sweetened puff pastry squares up into logs, as if you were making a jelly roll. Using a serrated knife, trim just the edges off the sides of the logs. Then cut each log into 6 identical Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls.

6. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Into each muffin cup, place one cinnamon roll, swirl-side up. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check them at 25 minutes, and they should be golden and puffed. If not, allow them to go for a few more minutes, but you want to pull them before golden turns to brown.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, crème fraîche, and half and half until the glaze has a smooth, even consistency. Set aside.

8. When the cinnamon rolls are done in the oven, transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool slightly. When they are still warm, but no longer hot, drizzle the crème fraîche icing all over the tops of the Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls. Allow the glaze to set for about 5 minutes, and serve still warm.

Is this not divine? I'm just dying for them now!

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the The Secret Ingredient series for Serious Eats.
This recipe above appeared on Serious Eats and on the original site French Revolution (French Food for the Au Courant Kitchen) here. Reprinted with permission.

Photo copyright French Revolution

"Hubby Hubby" celebrates Gay & Lesbian Marriage

Ben & Jerry’s Renames Legendary Flavor to Celebrate Freedom to Marry:
“Chubby Hubby” will be “Hubby Hubby,” for the Month of September to Celebrate Gay and Lesbian Couples Getting Married in Vermont!

BURLINGTON, Vt. Ben & Jerry’s, known for its euphoric ice cream flavors and dedication to social justice, celebrates the beginning of the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont with the symbolic renaming of its well-known ice cream flavor “Chubby Hubby” to “Hubby Hubby.” In partnership with Freedom to Marry, Ben & Jerry’s aims to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality and, to show its support, will serve “Hubby Hubby” sundaes in Vermont Scoop Shops throughout the month of September.

Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of commitment to social justice, including gay rights. Its partnership with Freedom to Marry, a national leader in the movement for marriage equality, aims to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality and to encourage other states to follow the blazing trails of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Maine. Freedom to Marry promotes the national conversation about why marriage equality matters and brings together partner organizations into a larger whole – a shared civil rights campaign.

To kick off the celebration, Ben & Jerry’s and Freedom to Marry will be publicly supporting the first marriages of gay and lesbian couples in Vermont and raising awareness for marriage equality and how to take action by driving consumers to freedomtomarry.org. By logging onto the site, people can show their support, sign a Marriage Resolution Petition, have conversations about why marriage matters and learn more about how they can support the cause.

For more information on why marriage equality matters and to take action in your state, please log on to freedomtomarry.org. To find your local Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop or learn more about Ben & Jerry’s social mission, log onto www.Facebook.com/benjerry.

Hubby Hubby is a union of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, Fudge and Pretzels.

Chocolate Mint Geranium: Chocolate Scented Garden

About a month ago, I had a blog entry devoted to the Chocolate Scented Garden.

Today I found a great Geranium Blog and specifically found a good account of Chocolate Mint (Mentha piperita) throughout its growth cycle. This beautiful fuzzy leafed geranium has a strong chocolate-y mint scent. It also has a lovely leaf that varigates during the cooler weather. The flowers are tiny and pink. It can be hung in baskets or put in large containers since it tends to cascade.

I live in a temperate climate, so it can be put directly into the soil of my garden, along with the other 'chocolate' plants.

I did mention this plant in my blog, but I love these photos. O.K. smelling chocolate is not the same as eating chocolate, but it's still fun!