Warm Roast Potato Salad with Black Forest Bacon

Potato salads make the perfect accompaniment to many meat dishes or a delicious and hearty meal on their own. I personally prefer the roasted potatoes instead of usual boiled one for my potato salads as it intensifies the flavour. If you can't find the smoky black forest bacon, use regular bacon.

• 800 g Small potatoes, cut into 2-3 chunks
  
• 2 tbsp Rosemary infused olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• 5 slice Black forest bacon, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Fresh rosemary leaves
  
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
  
• 2 tbsp Homemade mayonnaise
  
• 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tbsp Capers, drained and chopped
  
• 1/2 tbsp Fresh basil leaves, chopped
  

1. Heat oven to 210C/420F. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan, then rub with rosemary infused olive oil, rosemary leaves and a sprinkling of salt. Roast for 30 mins until the potatoes have turned a deep golden brown. Leave to cool slightly.
   
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Dry-fry the chopped bacon until crisp. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and the basil in a large bowl. Add in roasted potatoes and crispy bacon. Toss to coat and serve.

I want to thank Elisabeth at foodandthriftfinds for passing the "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award" to me and Raven at Ravienomnoms sharing her "Stylish Blogger Award" with me. Thank You, ladies!

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Pancetta

I know there are plenty of Brussels sprouts haters out there, but seriously this veggie deserves one more chance. Not to mention their fantastic health benefits, like cholesterol-lowering ability, anti-inflammatory support, cancer-protective substances, etc., they don't taste bad. Ok, I agree that they don't taste heavenly like chocolate, but they are great just like many other vegetables.
Don't overcook them or they will smell stinky and taste bitter. It's better to serve them while they are still slightly crunchy.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

• 400 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  
• 120 g Pancetta, diced
  
• 200 g Cooked chestnuts, broken into large pieces
  
• 1 tbsp Sugar
  
• 200 ml Vegetable stock
  

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the Brussels sprouts for 3 minutes until they are starting to soften slightly. Remove and drain.
   
2. Heat a frying pan and fry the pancetta until crisp, then remove and set aside. Add the chestnuts and sugar, tossing in the pan, then pour in the vegetable stock and reduce by half.
   
3. Add in Brussels sprouts and pancetta back to the pan. Stir to combine. Transfer to a plate and serve warm.

Bacon Pistachio Cookies

Bacon and cookies...the combination might sound odd to you, but they are so freaking good with salty, nutty, and crunchy texture. Highly addictive!

• 50 g Bacon
  
• 120 g Butter, cut into small pieces
  
• 60 g Caster sugar
  
• 50 g Egg white
  
• 200 g Pastry flour
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
  
• 50 g Pistachio, roughly chopped
  

1. Cook the bacon until crisp. Dry them in a paper towel and roughly chop. Line two baking trays with paper. Set aside.
   
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg whites until combined. Add in the pastry flour, dried thyme, and chopped pistachio. Work the mixture until it comes together. Fold the cling film so that the dough is completely covered. Lightly roll it until you get a log, about 5 cm in diameter. Chill them at least 2 hours or overnight until thoroughly firm.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Line two baking trays with paper. Remove from the fridge, and slice the log into cookies, about 5 mm thick. Place the cookies on the prepared trays and bake 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on wire racks. Stir them in an airtight container for at least a week.

Baked Carnival Squash with Smoked Bacon and Rosemary

Carnival Squash - Cream colored with orange spots or pale green with dark green spots in vertical stripes. Carnival Squash have hard, thick skins and only the flesh is eaten. It is sometimes labeled as a type of acorn squash.

The delicious yellow meat is reminiscent of sweet potatoes and butternut squash and can be baked or steamed then combined with butter and fresh herbs. Also great in soups. Source: What's Cooking America

Recipe Source: Kürbis aus dem Ofen-Essen und Trinken

• 1 Carnival squash (acorn or hokkaido)
  
  
• Salt and black pepper to taste
  
  
• 100 g Smoked bacon, diced
  
  
• 50 g Olive oil
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
  
  
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  
  
• 1/5 tsp Nutmeg
  
  
• 1 tsp Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut carnival squash into halves, scoop out seeds and fibers, and cut each half into two chunks. Place them cut-side up on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper.
   
   
2. Dice the bacon and combine with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl. Divide the mixture among the carnival chunks. Bake in the middle of the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.

Ginger Sherry Braised Pork Trotters

These pork trotters are really succulent, and truly a delicious combination of sweet, sour, and piquant flavours. Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea as they are high in cholesterol, but I do enjoy them once in a while, you know, in moderation.

1 kg Pork trotters, cut into smaller pieces 1 large chunk Ginger root, peeled and shredded 5 Dried chillies 6 clove Garlic, smashed 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns©angiesrecipes 80 ml Rice vinegar 12 slices Dried Chinese haw

60 ml Maggi seasoning©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Caramel colour©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Oyster sauce 2 stalk Spring onions 60 ml Sherry, medium-dry 450 ml Chicken stock or water

1. Blanch the pork trotters in a pot of boiling water. Remove and rinse with cold water. Drain and place them in the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker.
   
   
2. Add in shredded ginger, dried chillies, smashed garlic cloves, peppercorns, rice Vinegar, dried haws, Maggi, sugar, caramel colour if used, oyster sauce, chopped spring onion and sherry. Pour in the chicken stock to cover the trotters.
   
   
3. Cover and secure with the lid. Plug in the pressure cooker and turn the knob to pork cooking cycle. Once it is done and cools down, then open the lid and transfer the pork trotters into a baking dish. Strain the soup into the baking dish. Bake at 180C/350F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the top with some spring onion and garnish with a tomato rose if desired.