Bacon, Pesto, Haloumi Bites
Ingredients:
8 Thin bacon strips (halved)
2 Tablespoons of basil pesto
16 Large fresh basil leaves & serving picks
225g haloumi, cut into 16 pieces
1tbs extra virgin olive oil
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with sides with baking paper.
Step 2: Place 1 piece of bacon on a board. Spread with a little pesto. Top 1 end of bacon with 1 basil leaf and 1 piece of haloumi. Roll up bacon to enclose cheese, securing with a toothpick. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining bacon, pesto, basil and haloumi. Drizzle with oil.
Step 3: Bake, brushing bacon with pan juices halfway through cooking, for 20 minutes or until bacon is golden and cheese is tender. Stand for 5 minutes. Serve with extra basil.
Berry Brioche Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
1 Brioche Bread Loaf
4 Eggs
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
1tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Nutmeg
¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups of Half and Half
1 cup Butterscotch chips
6 oz blueberries
6oz raspberries
Tbsp of Icing Sugar or powdered sugar
Optional Additions:
Peaches
Apples
Cherries
Peanut Butter Chips
Step 1: Prep your pudding: Spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray or coat it with butter. Slice the brioche bread into 1″ cubes and transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
Step 2: Marinate the brioche: Whisk the eggs with the sugar together first. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and whisk. Whisk in the half and half. Pour over the cubed brioche, cover with plastic wrap then chill for at least 20 minutes to overnight.
Step 3: Preheat the oven: To 375 F degrees.
Step 4: Bake the bread pudding: Remove the casserole dish from the fridge and fold in the berries and butterscotch chips. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the oven up to 425F, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 5: Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before sprinkling with powdered sugar. Serve warm.
Ingredients:
5 eggs
½ chopped red bell pepper
½ chopped green bell pepper
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
5 slices of fried bacon
8 oz crescent rolls (1 pillsburry crescents can)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 egg (for egg wash/ optional)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees.
Step 2: In a bowl beat the eggs with the chopped peppers, salt and pepper. Cook the eggs in a skillet so that they’re scrambled. You can use the same skillet you used to fry the bacon, just drain the fat first.
Step 3: Lay out the crescent rolls on a parchment pepper, like a star
Step 4: On each crescent roll lay a piece of bacon. Add half of the cheese around the ring. Add the scrambled eggs around the ring and top with the remainder of the cheese.
Step 5: Fold the crescents over. You may brush with the egg wash if you prefer, I did because it gives the ring a nice golden color.
Step 6: Bake for 20 mins or until the crescents are cooked and golden brown
Sweet Chicken Bacon Bites
Ingredients:
chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper 12 slices bacon thin cut, cut into halves or thirds
¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
1 tbsp parsley for garnish
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
Step 2: Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, this will save you from having to scrub your baking sheet. Place a cookie rack on top of the baking sheet. I used a cookie rack here. Place the sugar in a shallow plate.
Step 3: Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Step 4: depending on your bacon how thin or thick it is, cut each slice in either half or 3 pieces. I cut mine into 3. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon. There is no need for toothpicks, the bacon will stick to the chicken. Roll the wrapped chicken into the brown sugar and make sure each piece is nicely coated in the brown sugar.
Step 5: Place chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet and season again with more salt and pepper.
Step 6: Bake for about 45 minutes or until bacon is nice and crisp.
Step 7: Garnish with parsley, so that it looks pretty.
DIY Eggnog
Ingredients:
½ cup sugar granulated
6 eggs separated
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp ginger
1 cup bourbon (optional)
Step 1: Set aside 1 tbsp of the granulated sugar.
Step 2: Add the egg yolks to the bowl of your mixer and beat until they lighten in color. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the bowl and beat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Step 3: In a medium saucepan add the milk, heavy cream, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat.
Step 4: Add a ladle of the milk mixture at a time to the egg mixture and stir. This is called tempering. Add a few ladles, about 4 or 5 of the milk mixture and stir. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 160 F degrees.
Step 5: Remove from the saucepan from heat and stir in the bourbon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
Step 6: Add the egg whites to a medium bowl and beat until soft peaks. Add the tbsp of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Step 7: Whisk the egg whites into the chilled eggnog. Serve cold.
The Salesian Spectator 