I am good enough at following a recipe, but I’m not especially knowledgeable or creative when it comes to food, and so sometimes I have to rely on the kindness of dopers for new ideas.
This time, I am looking for a hot dish that is all Yum without much regard for any other consideration. Something that might make a disinterested observer think, “this guy is Trying to get fat!” This thread will be a success if my gf hoovers down the dish, then pushes away from the table and says, “in the interest of self-respect, please don’t make stuff like that anymore.”
It has to be a hot dish, temp-wise. Probably an entree, but the right dessert will be fine. I’m kind of vaguely envisioning a meat and cheese type of thing, though my ESP is not strong.
I have been reasonably good this year. Won’t you help me stuff my face?
Some version of this, Shrimp and Grits. It meets your ingredient challenge and is crazy good. You could skinny it down OR you could invite more people over and spread the love.
I used the juice from the jar, but apparently from the post above it’s also a “thing”…
I read a couple recipes and some insisted on Polish dills, which from what I gather are perhaps saltier. I used Polish dills for the chunks but the juice from a jar of burger dill chips I had in the fridge.
I was coming in to say exactly this. “Bacon and cream” screams “carbonara” to me. Though I notice the recipe Chefguy links to doesn’t actually include any cream…but this one does.
I use this recipe, which cooks the grits in a mix of milk and water, and also has some Cajun salt, smoked paprika, and diced red peppers added to the shrimp part (but, otherwise, pretty much the same recipe as yours.) It is unbelievably addictive. The first time I read the recipe I said, you want me to add how much cheese to the grits? (I actually do skinny it down, adding maybe a half cup of cheese at the very most, not the 1-2 cups suggested. It’s already unbelievably rich with the milk and butter, along with the butter and bacon grease the shrimp are cooked in.)
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham. Works best with leftover Christmas ham but since there is never, ever any leftover baked ham, canned ham will have to do.
I have made this exactly 3 times because it frightens me how quickly the family scarfs it up and begs for more. It is chock full of cardiac death! Especially if you add a little extra shredded cheese in the layers.
So far, I think I want to try every recipe Can’t start until the New Year though, so plenty of time for more ideas.
I know I said ‘bacon’ in the title, but would I like pancetta more? I have never worked/played with either pancetta or pork belly. If that is truly the way to go, I want to know (and it helps if you tell me exactly why. And how!).
I make and eat dill pickle soup several times a year. It’s been a standard in our family since I was a child (both my parents are from Poland). As far as my opinion as what some commentators mean by insisting upon using Polish dills is not so much the flavoring of the pickles themselves, but using brined pickles vs vinegared pickles. Traditional Polish dills are made by brining the cucumbers and fermenting them (just like New York sours and half sours). If you have access to these types of pickles that do not have vinegar in them, use those.
While I think vinegered pickles might work, since I’m familiar with the taste of Polish pickle soup, it would taste all wrong to me. The brined/fermented pickles have a milder, sweeter/fruitier acidity than the vinegar ones. It’s a distinct difference in flavor between lactic acid and acetic acid. That, for me, is the primary flavor difference, not so much the amount of garlic or spices used.
I should also add, the pickle soup we make and I’ve always had had never been particularly decadent. That recipe with the stick of butter is far richer than usual.
Several have mentioned spaghetti carbonara (one of my favorite dishes, and one that I’ve been cooking for almost 20 years). Here’s my recipe (a lot more bacon than most other recipes, and you can use as much cream as you want):
Boil spaghetti (1 lb) and saute chopped bacon (1 lb) and garlic (I also like chopped onions and sometimes even green peas and mushrooms). In a bowl mix 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, a dash of cream, some parmesan, black pepper, and seasonings (I like an Italian herb mix). I like hot sauce too, but that’s up to you.
When the pasta is cooked, very quickly drain it and then put it back in the pot along with the bacon mix, then pour over and stir in the egg mix. The heat from the noodles and the pot should cook the eggs enough.
Then serve. It’s one of my very favorite dishes, and I’m going to make it tomorrow night.
Can’t start until the New Year though, so plenty of time for more ideas.