Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Hey you! Remember me? Of course you don't- I've been MIA for the last few months! But never fear- this week is the FINAL week of our Big. Move., and life is going to get a lot less hectic once the Big. Move. is complete.

So what have I been up to?

Learning how to outsmart farm cats.

Making sure the dog and chickens co-exist peacefully (good news, they do!)

Giving a rescue dog a place to stay.

Throwing one hell of a baby shower...

For this angel.

And taking care of our own babies at home!

And sometimes eating some good homemade food!

While I haven't had tons of time to cook these last few months (you guys, I am so sick of pre-made pizzas...) I did take the time to make an amazing mac 'n cheese recipe. I am so leary of homemade mac 'n cheese, because I've been burned way too many times. Drop a bunch of money on quality cheese and a couple of hours and NOT have it taste better than the blue box? Not cool. So I've been on the hunt for a gooey, comforting, sophisticated mac 'n cheese recipe I would be happy to share with company- and I think I found it!

Martha Stewart calls it perfect mac 'n cheese, and Martha's stamp of approval means a lot to me. She hasn't disappointed me often. I decided to give it a whirl, and I may have found my fall-back comfort dish. It's creamy and flavorful and has just enough kick from the cayenne pepper to keep you on your toes. I used 2% milk, though I usually drink skim, to get a nice thick white sauce going, and used good quality cheese (sharp white cheddar and Gruyere) that I grated by hand (this is an important step!) Don't cut corners and try to find pre-shredded cheese. It won't melt properly and you will be disappointed. Promise. Lastly, pour the heated milk sloooooowly into the flour-butter mixture, and whisk, whisk, whisk!

Enjoy!

Sorry for the iPhone photos. I'll bring the camera back, guys- promise!

Note: You can easily divide this recipe in half; use a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish if you do.

Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.
4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

Serves 12.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/271998/perfect-macaroni-and-cheese

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

Hi friends! It's been a busy month around here- we are moving out to the farm (eek! yay! so excited!) and so our house is a disaster zone. So although my cookware is packed tightly in boxes, don't think I'm going to stop cooking. Once those pots and pans are back in their homes, expect to see an explosion of food and farm photos. Until then, maybe I can satisfy you with these ham and cheese pretzel bites, which I made for the Argus Leader newspaper before the Super Bowl. Check out the article here, and enjoy!

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. packed brown sugar, divided
1/4 c. warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 c. warm milk (110-115 degrees)
2 1/2 to 3 c. flour
1/2 c. finely chopped ham (about 3 ounces)
1/2 c. freshly grated cheese of choice (I used cheddar)
6 c. water
4 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt

Directions
Combine yeast, 1 tsp. brown sugar and warm water in a large bowl. Set aside until foamy (about 5-8 minutes). In another bowl, stir together the remaining 2 Tbsp. brown sugar and warm milk until dissolved.

Add 2 1/2 c. flour and milk mixture to the yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Add remaining flour as needed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times, forming a smooth ball.

Brush the inside of a large, clean bowl with olive oil. Transfer dough to bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm, draft-free area for about two hours, until dough has doubled in size and bubbles appear on the surface.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the four sections into a 12-inch-by-4-inch rectangle. With the long side facing you, gently press 1/4 of the ham and cheese into bottom third of the dough and roll as tightly as possible, starting with the end that has the filling. Cut into 12 1-inch pieces and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining 3 portions of the dough.

Let rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the baking soda, and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Boil pretzels in batches, cooking about 20 seconds each, turning once. They should be slightly puffed. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them back to baking sheets.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Brush warm pretzel bites with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

Source: http://penniesonaplatter.com/2010/01/08/ham_cheese_pretzel_bites/

Angry Bird Cake Pops

Merry (belated) Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are recovering nicely from a weekend of food, family and fun. We spent Christmas Eve with Dan's family in Yankton, followed by Christmas Day with my side in Sioux City. SO MUCH FUN! I just love spending time with our families- we are so blessed that they live close by and we can get the whole family together!

Cwach cousins (and me!)

Love my Rydell family!

I can't believe I got them to do a funny picture...

For Christmas I brought a cranberry salsa that came from one of the "Gourmet Guys" at work. It was so fresh and flavorful- I couldn't get enough of it! I served with crackers and chips, but as I'm reading the reviews, I read that it's delicious over cream cheese -- and now I'm regretting that I didn't read that reviews earlier! Glad I have some leftovers at home to try this out on. I'm guessing it will be delish!

I didn't bring much else to the party because I was consumed making Angry Bird cake pops for my 6-year-old nephew Josiah's birthday (poor kid, he has to share his birthday with Christmas!) Even though his parents don't have smart phones, J is OBSESSED with Angry Birds! I've learned the best ways to gain my nephews' affections is to surrender my iPhone and give them chocolate. I'm totally not above that! 

To make the cake pops, I followed the basic cake pop recipe I shared with you this summer, with the exception that I made little cones instead of round balls for the yellow Angry Bird. I used green, red, white and yellow Wilton candy melts that I bought online at Amazon (you can also buy them on the Wilton website, or at a craft store like Michaels). I also bought Wilton candy eyes because it is way easier to buy them than to try to make them yourself (and they look better!) I used Starbursts for the combs and the beaks, and M'n'Ms for the pig's ears and snout. I used a black edible food pen for everything else.

For the red Angry Bird: 

• After dipping the cake pop into the melted red candy melts, I quickly added two eyes close together and stuck on the beak before the coating had dried (it dries quickly, so act fast!) For the beaks, I melted an orange Starburst candy for 8-10 seconds in the microwave, and formed a beak with my hands. I then snipped a "v" on the tip of the beak to look like an opening. Make sure you have your beaks made before you start decorating- this will save you a lot of time!
• After the red coating dried, I took a decorating brush and painted on a white belly using the melted white candy melts. Use a liberal amount of white chocolate on your brush since it will quickly melt the red coating and start mixing the colors. Don't get skimpy here! :)
• I melted a red Starburst and used my hands to shape it into a comb. I don't have great advice for this- just keep playing with it till it looks right! Dip a decorating brush into the red candy melts and brush a bit on the bottom of the comb to act as your glue.
• Finally, use your black edible food pen to draw on your angry eyebrows. The angrier the better! :)

For the green Angry Bird pig:

• Before the green coating dries, stick on two eyes (make plenty of room between these two eyes) and a green M'n'M for a snout (make sure the logo is on the back so it doesn't show). 
• Use a very sharp knife (I used my Santoku knife) to cut an M'n'M in half. I held the M'n'M down as I cut so it didn't splinter into a bunch of pieces. Use two halves to make the ears, again using the decorating brushes to paint on a bit of the green candy melts for glue.
• Use the black edible food pen to draw eyebrows, circles in the ears, two dots on the snout and a circle below the snout for an open mouth.

For the yellow Angry Bird:

• Follow same instructions as the red Angry Bird, except for the comb. Instead of a comb, I used an unmelted Starburst, colored it black with my edible food pen, and then cut it in thin strips with a very sharp knife. I then cut those strips in half again to make them shorter. I used the brush to paint on a bit of yellow candy melts to make them stick to the top of the head. Voila- finished!

These were just the ways I used to make my cake pops look like Angry Birds. I am sure there are a ton of different candies and methods to use. My advice is to have everything ready to go-- beaks, eyes, M'n'Ms (and M'n'M halves) and the combs. It will make your life much easier! I was still experimenting with mine - and let's face it, I'm not much of a planner - so I didn't have my assembly line set up till the end. 

A few other notes: 

• Make sure to let them dry in the air by using Styrofoam blocks or floral blocks. 
• Work in advance if you need to. I made the basic part of the cake pop Saturday, froze them, took them out Sunday and decorated them, wrapped them in cellophane and tied with ribbon, and then served them on Tuesday afternoon. They were perfect! 
• When you take them out of the freezer to decorate, let a few (not all of them) sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before decorating and keep the rest in the fridge. If they get too warm, they will fall off the stick, but if they are too cold they are likely to crack. Repeat with remaining cake pops. Once they are dry (and that doesn't take long), wrap them in cellophane and put back in the freezer. (You don't have to individually wrap each one. You can just stick them in a pan (not touching) and wrap the top with plastic wrap or tin foil.)
• If you plan to keep them in the freezer, make sure they are wrapped tightly or store in an airtight container so they don't absorb any odors. 

Having problems with your cake pops? Here is a great site with answers to common cake pops issues. Good luck- hope you enjoy!

Again, sorry I only used my iPhone to take photos- we were so busy getting ready for Christmas that pretty photography wasn't a priority! Instagram was the best I could do :)

Had to fix the snout for my second pig... details matter to 6-year-olds!

Lemon Drop Jello Shots

Hey friends! Can you believe it's almost CHRISTMAS?! I'm so excited for several days of relaxation with my sisters. After that, it's just a few short weeks until Holly and I go to Sonoma for a full week of R&R. I know, I know, I lead such a tough life! :)

To put ourselves in the holiday spirit, Dan and I threw our second annual Cwach ugly sweater party and made some pretty fantastic food, if I do say so myself. I couldn't find a festive holiday sweater I loved, so I found this jazzy number at Target. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know who actually bought this when it was full-price. The fact that I was buying it for an ugly sweater party did not speak highly of it (apologies if you own it!). To make it more festive, I pinned some neon ornaments to the bottom of the sweater.

Me, Humps and Carrie for the Cwach Ugly Sweater party.

Now, I have to confess a love for jello shots (hey, I'm still young!). They're tasty and fun and remind me of my crazy college days at USD. But at 26, I'm beginning to feel just a little old for them. So this year, I decided to try a recipe that combines my predilection for lemon drop martinis and jello shots - and offers a very pretty presentation as well!

These lemon drop jello shots are delicious and do not taste of vodka (a must for me!) They were fairly easy to make, but removing the pulp was a bit time-consuming and messy. I used a sharp paring knife around the inside edge of the lemon, and then used a spoon to scoop out as much of the pulp as I could. Don't give up- it gets easier as you get more practice. The rest of the recipe is a snap. Apologies for the poor Instagram photo- I was in a rush before my guests arrived so I didn't get to take any pretty pictures!

Next time, I might try a lime with strawberry jello for a two-toned effect. These would be perfect for a summer BBQ (but trust me, they are just as tasty in the winter!) I actually think these might be kind of fun for children (sans alcohol, of course!) Is that weird? I don't have kids yet, so it's hard to know! :)

Hope you enjoy these at your next party! Happy holidays!

Lemon Drop Jello Shots
Ingredients
8 large lemons
2 pkg. lemon Jello (3 oz. each)
1 c. boiling water
1 c. citrus vodka
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. ice cold water
Sugar (optional)

Directions
Cut the lemons in half lengthwise. Squeeze the lemon juice out into a separate container and set aside. Use a spoon to scoop out all of the insides and pulp. You can use a paring knife to help separate the inside, but be sure not to cut through the lemon peel. Once you have them all completely juiced and cleaned out, place each of the halves into a muffin tin, with the open sides up.

Prepare the Jello mixture by mixing 1 cup of boiling water with two packages of lemon Jello. Stir until the Jello has completely dissolved. Then, add 1 cup citrus vodka, 1/2 cup of strained lemon juice that you got from the lemons, and 1/2 cup ice water. Stir until cooled.

Pour the Jello mixture into each lemon half so that they are completely full. If desired, sprinkle lightly with sugar. Carefully move the muffin tin to the fridge and chill for at least four hours, until hardened.

Once the Jello is firm and you're ready to serve, cut each half into three slices. Turn the lemon halves over on a cutting board and make each slice in one fluid motion using a very sharp, warm, non-serrated knife. Share with friends and enjoy!

This recipe can also be modified to use with any other citrus fruit like oranges or limes. 

Source: Slightly adapted from http://newlywedmcgees.blogspot.com/2010/10/lemon-drop-jello-shots.html, originally from http://www.savoryreviews.com/2010/06/02/lemon-drop-jello-shots/ 

Wanda's Hot Buttered Rum

Hi friends! I hope you are enjoying the busy holiday season as much as I am! My Christmas presents are all wrapped and under the tree, holiday tunes are playing on repeat on my computer and my kitchen has seen some serious cooking and baking action. Of course, my blog has been a bit neglected of late ... but my New Year's resolution is to post twice a week again! It's so hard to find the time, between work and traveling and time spent in the kitchen!

I definitely didn't want to miss posting this recipe before Christmas, despite the craziness of the holidays. This was a recipe given to me by my boss's mother, who was in town visiting a few weeks back. I actually used this recipe in my monthly food column in the Argus Leader, so I'll let the article speak for itself!

When it comes to frigid South Dakota winters, nothing quite warms you up like sitting in your flannel pajamas and sipping on something warm by the fireplace (or, if you’re a poor recent college grad like me, sweats and a space heater).

That’s why I was thrilled when I spoke to Wanda, my boss’s mother, who told me about hot buttered rum, a traditional holiday drink that she makes every year for her family. The tradition started decades ago, when she lived on the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. As a recent transplant from California, she certainly wasn’t used to the bitter northern cold (which explains the convertible they brought with them!) and made hot buttered rum for her husband and his fellow officers after they came back from missions over the Arctic Circle during the Cold War.

I changed Wanda’s recipe slightly based on my personal experience (read: failure). Instead of creaming together very soft butter and ice cream, and then adding the sugars and spices, I melted the butter, whisked in the sugars and spices and added the ice cream to form the batter. If you try to make it by Wanda’s tried-and-true method of creaming together the butter and ice cream, make sure the butter has been sitting in a warm house for at least a couple of hours until it is so soft that it you can squish it easily with your thumb and forefinger. To speed up this process, you can cut butter into tablespoons. On my first attempt, I started mixing the ice cream and butter before the butter was truly softened, and I ended up with lumps of butter in my batter, which was not at all appetizing!

In addition to the fact that hot buttered rum is incredibly decadent — in fact, its richness means it could easily replace a dessert — this cozy drink is perfect for the holidays because it is a no-fuss, individually prepared drink and can be made with or without alcohol. Even better, the batter can sit in the freezer for up to three months, which is ideal for unexpected visits from family and friends. Simply scoop batter into a clear coffee mug (more batter means a creamier drink), add a shot or two of rum and top with boiling water. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkle of nutmeg and a cinnamon stick for extra wow factor. If you don’t want rum in your drink, try using just boiling water or hot apple cider.

-Argus Leader, Dec. 8, 2012

Hot Buttered Rum
Ingredients
1 qt. French vanilla ice cream, softened
1 lb. butter (4 sticks)
1 lb. brown sugar
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Rum
Cinnamon sticks

Directions
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Blend in brown sugar, then sift in confectioners' sugar and stir until combined. Remove from heat, and whisk in ice cream, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour mixture into a plastic container, seal and freeze.

In a small clear coffee mug, fill 1/3 (approximately 2-4 tablespoons) of mug with Hot Buttered Rum Batter, then add 1 fluid ounce of rum. Fill remainder of cup with boiling water. Stir, and sprinkle top of drink with cinnamon or nutmeg. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Source: Wanda Davidson

Pampered Chef Pecan Tassies

Hey all! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted. Bad, bad Michelle. And because clearly I'm not busy enough (and slightly crazy!), I've decided to sell Pampered Chef in my spare time. Don't worry, I won't try to sell you products (I have a very real fear of aggressive salespeople!), but when I use a Pampered Chef recipe (like today), I may mention a product or two that may affect the outcome of the recipe.

For example, these lovely pecan tassies. Someone asked me to make these in preparation for a party they are hosting, and they are yummmm-y. It's like a perfect little bite of pecan pie. They're super easy to pull together, and look pretty too. I do have to put in a plug for the mini tart shaper, however. That baby made these tarts a snap. Just shape the dough into a ball, press down with the tart shaper and bam- perfect, uniform tarts. I'm sure you could make the tarts by shaping them with your hands or possibly using a tool, but as this was my first time making my own tart shells, I can't give any personal advice on that. Does anyone else have another preferred method of making tart shells from scratch?

I would highly recommend sprinkling with powdered sugar to finish it off- not only does it elevate the look but it makes it taste better as well. Don't overfill the tarts or they will look sloppy. My last and final plug for Pampered Chef is that I did really like the mini muffin pan I used because it was nonstick and I had no trouble getting the tarts out. Make sure you use a nonstick muffin pan or grease and flour your pan well. Nothing would be worse than having these adorable little tartlets stuck in the pan!

Hope you all are getting excited for Thanksgiving and having fun dreaming up recipes. Who knows what they are making yet? Post in the comments below!

Pecan Tassies
Ingredients
Tart Shells
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. all-purpose flour

Filling
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. pecan halves, finely chopped
Powered sugar (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For tart shells, beat butter and cream cheese until well-blended. Add flour; mix until a soft dough forms.

Using a small scoop, shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls of dough into ungreased cups of mini muffin pan. Dip Pampered Chef Mini Tart Shaper in flour; press into dough with even pressure until dough rises slightly above rim of pan (if you don't have the mini tart shaper, try shaping tarts with your fingers).

For filling, microwave butter on high 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Finely chop pecans; add to bowl and mix well. 

Using a small scoop, fill each tart shell with level scoop of filling (do not overfill). Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool in pan 3 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack; cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Yield: 24 tarts

Nutrition (per tart): 130 calories, 10 g. total fat, 4 g. saturated fat, 25 g. cholesterol, 11 g. carbohydrate, 2 g. protein, 65 mg. sodium.

Source: http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/recipesearch/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=9673

BBQ Bacon Chicken Kabobs

Time has been escaping me. Which means I've been a bad blogger lately. Trust me, it doesn't mean I've stopped cooking- but I have been terrible about taking photos and blogging about them. So a quick recap in recipes- brussel sprouts with apple and bacon (loved!), scallops provencal (loved!), BBQ chicken quinoa salad (again, loved!), chicken enchiladas (disliked), Martha's roast chicken with broiled vegetables and bread salad (loved without eggplant next time) salted caramel cupcakes (delicious and will blog soon!), salted caramel sauce (loved and will appear in the Argus Leader newspaper next weekend), Fat Tire pizza crust (pretty good), roasted garlic beer dip (meh, OK), pumpkin cream cheese truffles (mmm!) and Halloween-layered fudge (not for me, but some liked it).

I feel absolved. Oofta. See, I told you I was cooking!

But I promise to get better at taking photos of the good food. November should be much less hectic than October (but I've been saying that all year, so we'll see!) At the very least, harvest is over for Dan, so the early mornings/late nights should be slowing down.

Now, I hope you read this while the weather is still nice. This is actually from August, but I forgot to post it. It's from Cook's Illustrated and let me tell you, I was a little nervous about making a bacon puree. And I must say, it looked about as terrible as I thought it would. But although perfectly disgusting, it works beautifully for keeping the meat moist and adding a smoky bacon flavor. If you don't like working with meat, this isn't the recipe for you. But if you can handle touching plenty of raw meat, you won't regret slapping these kabobs onto your grill. And please use the BBQ sauce recipe included below.You won't want to go back to store-bought BBQ sauce again. Trust me. And it is a HUGE recipe, so you can freeze it and use it whenever you want (like for the BBQ chicken quinoa salad I mentioned above!)

Hope you enjoy! :)

Yep, that's bacon puree. Yum, right?

Homemade BBQ sauce!

On the grill.

Basting with that delicious BBQ sauce!

Dan: "Girl, quit taking my picture."

Saucy and tasty!

The tasters. The verdict? Success!

Perfect for the last days of grilling!

BBQ Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes*
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 12-inch metal skewers or 6 wooden skewers, soaked in water for an hour
1 cup BBQ sauce (I used this awesome homemade recipe)

*Note: Chicken thigh or breast meat can be used on these kebabs. Whichever you choose, don’t mix white and dark meat on the same skewer since they cook at different rates. Also, these are gas-grill instructions. Adapt accordingly for a charcoal grill.

Directions
In a large bowl, toss the chicken and salt together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Turn all grill burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).

While the grill heats, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the sweet paprika, sugar, and smoked paprika. Process bacon in a food processor until a smooth paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl twice during processing. Add the bacon paste and spice mixture to the chicken; mix with hands or rubber spatula until the ingredients are thoroughly blended and the chicken is completely coated. It is ok to have small pieces of bacon intermixed with the chicken.

Thread the chicken meat onto the skewers, rolling or folding meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes. The chicken pieces should be just touching each other. If the bacon puree didn’t completely coat the chicken (i.e. you have clumps of bacon mixture) just grab little bits of it and smash it in between the chicken on the skewers.

Place the chicken kebabs over the primary burner and grill, covered, turning one-quarter turn every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until well browned and slightly charred, 8 minutes for breasts or 10 minutes for thighs. Brush the top surface of kebabs with BBQ sauce; flip and cook until sauce is brown in spots, about 1 minute. Brush second side with remaining ¼ cup sauce; flip and continue to cook until brown in spots about 1 minute longer and until the chicken is cooked completely through. Remove the kebabs from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve, passing additional BBQ sauce, if desired.

Makes 4-6 kebabs
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, originally adapted from Cook’s Illustrated