Me and my radio co-host, Steve Garner, broadcasting from the finals of the Bacon Recipe Contest for The Good Food Hour

Earlier this month my radio co-host, Steve Garner, and I hosted a Bacon Recipe Contest on our radio show, The Good Food Hour on KSRO in Sonoma County. We had some great entries, and did the difficult work of narrowing them down to four finalists. The contest was held November 3rd at G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa, and one delicious winner emerged.

Bob Cronbach created two recipes that can be served separately, but served together, they earned him the Grand Prize! As a child, Bob was once crowned the “Junior Pancake King”, and says these recipes were

Bob Cronbach and me interacting during the Bacon Recipe Contest finals

inspired by his early cooking experiences and experiments. The Apple Bacon Fritter is versatile since it could be served plain as a snack, or dusted with powdered sugar or served with maple syrup and fruit, it could be served for breakfast. Serve it with his Maple Bacon Pecan Ice Cream, and you have a dessert that will really impress your holiday guests! There were a total of four winners chosen, and you can find all of their recipes on KSRO’s website.

All of the Bacon Recipe Contest Finalists with hosts- Laurie Figone, me, Marna Hill, Bob Cronbach, Steve Garner, and Olarn Tonverapongsiri

This was our 26th Recipe Cooking Contest and we’ve always had a great time with these.  I am sad to say this will be the last cooking contest we will host on KSRO, as the station recently cut our radio show and has replaced it with syndicated programming. I feel that local media programming is just as important as buying local produce and supporting local businesses. The Good Food Hour may re-emerge in another form, but in the meantime, you can always keep in touch with me here and on my Facebook page.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

The winning dish!

Bacon Apple Fritter

Ingredients
4-5 Thick cut slices of Applewood Smoked Bacon
3 medium sized, firm apples
1 cup of Bisquick
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
4 cups of oil, preferably peanut or corn

In a deep fryer or deep sauce pan, heat oil to 350 degrees

Method
Dice the bacon and cook over medium heat to crispy lardons. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Set aside to cool.

Peel, core and dice apples, approximately 1/3 inch. You should have about 4 cups.

Combine and mix all dry ingredients.

Whisk together the wet ingredients, then combine with dry ingredients. Stir bacon and apples into the batter. You want a thick batter, and you may need to add more Bisquick or milk as needed.

When oil is at right temperature, drop batter into the oil, 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not crowd. Brown one side, then turn. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon to drain. Between batches, monitor oil temperature and adjust flame as needed.

Maple Bacon Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 cup grade B maple syrup
4 cups half & half
2 tablespoons strong, cold coffee or espresso
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
5 egg yolks
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices)
¾ cup Pecans

Special equipment: candy thermometer, ice cream maker

Method
In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, reduce the maple syrup to 1/2 cup. Set aside.
Over moderate heat in a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half and coffee with 1/2 cup sugar until hot and just bubbling around the edges.

In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with 1/2 cup sugar, then add 1 cup hot half-and-half mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour the whole egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon and registers 170 degrees F on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil!

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl and whisk in the maple syrup. Cover with parchment paper letting the paper touch the surface of the mixture, to prevent a skin from forming. Chill the mixture until very cold, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a rimmed sheet pan with heavy foil. Place a baking rack over the lined sheet pan and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other. Bake until crispy, about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, finely chop.

On the 2nd rimmed sheet pan, spread out pecans and bake with Bacon 6-10 minutes. Check at 5 minutes and shake pan to prevent burning and to get an even roast. When roasted, let cool, chop, and set aside.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, 20 to 30 minutes and at the last minute, add the pecans and bacon and let churn until just combined. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze.

Photo from GoodNCrazy

For more than 26 years I have been co-hosting a Saturday morning show called “The Good Food Hour” on KSRO, a local Sonoma County radio station. Each year, my co-host, Steve Garner and I, host a cooking contest and this year we’ve decided to feature an ingredient that’s near and dear to most of our hearts: Bacon!

The minute you hear it sizzle in the hot pan, or take in its intoxicating smell while it’s cooking, bacon invokes passion in many of us. It is truly nature’s perfect food, and you will find it in a four-star restaurant, to a Sunday morning breakfast at a local diner or even at home. In addition, the versatility of bacon is unmatched. From appetizers (remember rumaki?), soups, salads, breads and spreads, breakfast and main dishes, vegetables, even desserts, something with bacon always gets my attention.

Four finalists will assemble at G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa on Saturday November 3rd at 11 a.m. where their dishes will be tasted live during The Good Food Hour broadcast. The panel of judges will include me, Steve Garner, and a panel of celebrity judges. Winners will be selected during The Good Food Hour, from 11am to 12 noon. Prizes include gift certificates, cookbooks, wine, and cooking classes!

Your original and creative bacon must be received by Wednesday October 31, 2012 at 5 p.m. You may email, mail, or fax your recipe entries to:
KSRO Recipe Contest
P.O. Box 2158, Santa Rosa, CA 95405
Fax: 707- 571-1097
Email: steve@ksro.com

I host a Saturday morning radio show in Sonoma County called “The Good Food Hour” on KSRO  in Santa Rosa, CA.  We are hosting our 25th Annual Good Food Hour Cooking Contest this month for listeners, and we’ve decided chicken is the perfect ingredient for a fall cooking competition.  I’m inviting anyone who can be in Santa Rosa for the finals on Saturday, November 12th to participate!

We will choose four finalists to come to G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa on that date to cook their dishes, and a panel of celebrity judges will determine the winner.  The event will be broadcast live with me and my co-host, Steve Garner.  For those outside of the area who would like to listen to the show- there are podcasts available.

First prize is $250 cash for the first place winner, courtesy of Petaluma Poultry.  Other prizes include gift certificates, cookbooks, wine, and cooking classes.  Also, one of the winning recipes will be included in my upcoming Culinary Birds cookbook.

If you’d like to enter, and you can be in Santa Rosa on November 12th for the finals, you may email  your original recipe to my Good Food Hour co-host, Steve Garner.

Deadline for entry is Wednesday, November 9th,  2011 at 5pm.

Good luck!

Photo from isante_magazine

I’m sharing Tom Simoneau’s “Best Wines of 2010″, which I think you’ll find interesting.  Tom is “The Wine Guy” on KSRO radio where I have my show, “The Good Food Hour”, broadcast every Saturday morning at 11 AM Pacific.  You can hear it live on the net or check out archived shows at www.ksro.com.  If you are in Sonoma County you can hear the show at 1350 AM.

Be sure to share your thoughts on these wines after you’ve tried them.  I’d love to hear what you think!

Tom Simoneau’s Wines of the Year 2010

Best Whites:
•    Sparkling Wine : J Vineyards and Winery, 2001 Vintage Brut, $50. Always among the top California Sparklers. Owner Judy Jordan and wine maker George Bursick make up a dynamic duo in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley.  250 million bubbles in each bottle. It has just been discovered that Champagne bubbles contain up to thirty times more flavor than the wine itself. The bubbles act like a flavor escalator.

•    Chardonnay: Saintsbury, 2008 Carneros , $19. From the original cool region appellation, lots of talk about the Russian River, but don’t forget Carneros. Multi-clone, 100%ML, unfiltered, and lees stirred – a classic. And it’s screw capped.

•    Sauvignon Blanc: Lake Sonoma Winery, 2009 Dry Creek Valley, $14. Lean and lightly grassy, delicious. Lake Sonoma Winery – part of Heck Estates which also includes Korbel, Kenwood, and Valley of the Moon.

•    Alternative White:  Hess Collection, Gruner Veltliner 2009 Small Block Series Mount Veeder, $36. This hard to find varietal with Austrian roots is worth a search. Hess is not afraid to stretch the envelope and I applaud them. Melon, granny smith apple, and snap peas.

•    Off Dry White:  Mill Creek Vineyards and Winery, 2009 Gewurztraminer, Dry Creek Valley, $19. How does that song go? “We are family.” Local boy and girl make good owners. Bill and Yvonne Kreck both attended Healdsburg High. Bill’s dad planted their Cab in 1965. Their son Jeremy is the winemaker while his brother Brian runs the web. Can you say locavore?

•    Rosé:  Boeschen Vineyards, 2009 Katie Rosé Merlot, St Helena, $20. I first discovered Boeschen through the Napa Valley Vintners and St. Helena Star Tasting Group. Every time I taste them, Boeschen is in my top three. This year’s discovery – a father, son, and son-in-law team.

•    Best Value White: Chateau St. Jean, 2008 Chardonnay Sonoma County, $14. Solid, best value, available everywhere, often discounted. Food friendly sipper that is a can’t miss, if you like Chardonnay, you’ll like this wine.

•    Dessert Wine: Merry Edwards, 2008 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley, $39 for the 375ml. Miss Russian River Valley known for her stunning Pinot Noirs scores big with this sweet nectar from the wine gods. Fruit drops, cane cut, bird netted, picked on Halloween, cold soaked, then finally barrel fermented producing a wine begging for fois gras, if you are so inclined, or dessert in the form of a white peach gallette.

Best Reds:
•    Cabernet Sauvignon:   Rodney Strong Vineyards, 2007 Reserve Alexander Valley, $45. Rodney Strong was a pioneer of Sonoma County’s modern wine industry. The Klein family purchased the winery in 1989. Every bottle of wine produced under their ownership has Sonoma County on the label. Their commitment to Sonoma is second to none. And this reserve is a great example.

•    Zinfandel: Wilson Winery, 2008 Sawyer Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, $34. In the Dry Creek Valley the name Wilson is synonymous with Zinfandel. Fruit forward and perfectly balanced. An electrifying, yum, yum of a wine.

•    Rhone Style: Bella, 2007 Syrah Lily Hill Estate Dry Creek Valley, $40. Bella Vineyards is a family owned red wine house located deep in the heart of Dry Creek Valley. Bella, Italian for beauty, was named after owners Scott and Lynn Adam’s daughter, Julia Belle.

•    Blended Red: Lancaster Estate, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, $65. A blend of all five of the Bordeaux varietals from their Alexander Valley hillside estate. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 9% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Could be the best yet from Lancaster.

•    Luxury Red: Opus One, 2006 Oakville, Napa Valley, $160. The head of the class. Opus One, the original cult wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine with all 5 Bordeaux Varietals, 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec.

•    Alternative Red: Kent Rasmussen, Esoterica, 2007 Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, $40. Originally intended for use as a blending component in their Cabernet Sauvignon, their Cab Franc was so good they bottled it separately and with one taste you’ll be glad they did.

•    Best Value Red: Columbia Crest, 2007 Grand Estates Syrah, Columbia Valley, $12. Washington State ranks second only to California in total U.S. wine production. Land cost and grape prices are the reason Washington State equals big wine value. And Columbia Crest is big on value and taste.

•    Most Fun Wine:  Parducci, True Grit 2007 Petite Sirah, Mendocino County, $29. So good they named a movie after the wine… or was the wine named after the movie? The latter is correct and let’s just say this is a John Wayne of a wine. True Grit the movie, the wine, the sequel.

•    Alternative Packaging: Black Box Wines, 2008 Malbec Argentina, $24.99 for 3 liters. The wine business is global and a wise wine consumer can find value if he or she is not afraid of innovation. Wine in cans, in plastic, and in boxes. Big on value and on the environment.

•    Pinot Noir:  Goldeneye, 2007 Anderson Valley, $55. Dan and Margaret Duckhorn of Duckhorn Vineyards established Goldeneye with the goal of creating a Pinot Noir house of equal stature to their Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot. They chose Anderson Valley and the wine defines the flavor of this Mendocino Appellation.

Merlot:  Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Napa Valley, $52. Duckhorn Vineyards was one of the first North American wineries to champion the idea of producing exceptional quality Merlot as a stand-alone varietal. Duckhorn played a big part in creating Merlot popularity. This ’07 is outstanding.

Winery of the Year: Duckhorn Vineyards. Since Duckhorn Vineyards was founded in 1976 they have grown slowly and thoughtfully through the years. Today the brands include not only Duckhorn, but Paraduxx, Decoy, and Goldeneye. Are you detecting a theme here? Hint – waterfowl. New Zealand born Bill Nancarrow is the executive winemaker.

We had an amazing guest lineup including Kate MacMurray, daughter of actor Fred and host for this event at MacMurray Ranch in the Russian River AVA.  This is one of the best wine and food events that I’ve ever been a part of and if you haven’t had a chance to go in the past, put it on your calendar for Labor Day weekend 2010!