We just finished up a weekend with our nephew, Cole.
Sadly, Uncle Thomas does not have children of his own. As a result, he’s not always certain what to do with them (other than lock them in the closet…but that seems frowned upon). So I tried to get creative, and get a little slave labor in the process.
“Cole,” I said. “You know what I’m doing these days.”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Well, I want you to get a taste of what my job is. So I’m going to have YOU cook dinner for 10 on Monday. You have to choose the appetizer, main course and dessert.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “I want a peanut butter bacon pie.”
Hmmm.
We thought on it a couple of days, and the following is what we came up with. As to whether it tasted good, I’ll just let the comments of one of the guests speak to that: “I’m going to need a little privacy and a cigarette,” he said.
Chocolate, Peanut, Bacon Pie
What You Need
Bacon (10-12 strips) I mixed hickory and maple
1 cup (about) salted peanuts, chopped
Frangipane
- 3.5 oz. almond paste
- 4 oz. sugar
- 2 oz. butter
- 1 oz. all purpose flour
- 1 egg
Ganache
- 8 oz. semi sweet chocolate
- 4 oz. cream
What To Do with It
Make a bacon weave, and put it in a pie pan. Place that in an oven at about 375 degrees. Cook until the bacon crisps on the edges (the bottom won’t crisp up entirely). Drain the grease.
Mix the frangipane ingredients in a mixer until smooth. Place in the bacon “shell” and cook another 20 minutes or so at 350. Remove and let cool.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Stir in the cream. Pour on top of the frangipane. Sprinkle on the peanuts and place in the refrigerator for an hour or so (or the freezer, if you’re pressed for time).
We also made portabella mushroom caps stuffed with a mushroom, chicken and tarragon mousseline (to accommodate the request for mushrooms stuffed with mushrooms), as well as poached scallops over pureed cauliflower with roasted asparagus, because we made the mistake of feeding him scallops once, and now he wants that every visit! 
