We’re just five days away from our Southwestern fiesta with friends, Cinco de Mayo! Searching for some salsas? This Roasted Eggplant Salsa was rescued out of my own recipe box—the one I’ve had for years stuffed with recipe clippings, potluck favorites and scribbles on scratch paper. It’s perfect for a Cinco celebration if you’re looking to add something a little different to your salsa spread this year. I’ve also included one of my favorite recipes for stand-out Salsa Fresca. It uses ingredients found in many diced tomato-based salsas, but you can heat it up or tone it down anyway you like. Then grab a chip and dive right in!
red wine vinegar
Bacon Jam
Bacon. It’s my favorite five letter word! In fact, when I was doing a lot of catering, bacon was my secret weapon. If it was a breakfast catering, I would make three times the amount requested, and it was never enough. For a lunch or dinner catering, I would make beer candied bacon as an appetizer and just pile it on a giant platter. Again, every crumb gobbled up. Never enough. Don’t know what to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Just add bacon somewhere in the dish, and you can bet it’ll be a hit. Here’s another idea that’ll get your taste buds sizzling—Bacon Jam. Just seeing those two words together, I knew it was going to be delicious, and I was not disappointed. Bacon Jam can be used in so many ways! It’s fantastic on a charcuterie board with lots of different cheeses, crackers and crustini. Bacon Jam also makes a wonderful condiment for a turkey burger! I cooked up a large ground turkey pattie, (beef is just as tasty) loaded it up with sliced tomato, lettuce, avocado, blue cheese dressing and then I slathered the pattie with bacon jam. YUM! It turned a very ordinary turkey burger into a super burger! A few things have to go right to get the perfect bacon jam. Cook the pieces of bacon until they are crispy. When the bacon foams up (that’s the bacon fat talking) that is a good indication that the bacon is just about done! Also, make sure to use sweet yellow onions, which add the natural sweetness to the salty bacon! Perfect combination! So, if bacon is your jam, Bacon Jam may be just the recipe to spread around!
Watch my How To Video for Bacon Jam here!
Bacon Jam
Burgers and Shakes
Cowboy Caviar
Cowboy Caviar
Call it Cowboy Caviar, Texas Caviar, even Redneck Caviar. You can bellow about Beluga all you want, but here in the Southwest, we love our caviar made with black beans, black eyed peas, roasted corn on the cob and a bunch of colorful and crunchy diced vegetables that make up the perfect salad, appetizer, dip or side dish! Cowboy Caviar is the perfect picnic or potluck recipe and you can spice it up as much as you want with more jalapenos and hot sauce! You can make it up the night before and let the tangy dressing settle into the veggies and spices! There are two additions to this Cowboy Caviar that give is a smooth, unique twist; diced avocado and sliced red seedless grapes. That burst of sweetness does a happy dance in the bowl with the spicy ingredients and vinaigrette dressing so your taste buds just want more and more. Grab a big bag of your favorite tortilla chips for dipping and dive right in!
