Homemade Bacon & Liver Dog Treats

I like to bake treats for my dogs. Sometimes I'll cook for them using the guidelines found in Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats. Usually when I do bake treats for Muffin and Panda, I just throw a whole bunch of ingredients together until the dough is the texture I need it to be to roll it out for cookie cutting. Up until now, they've pretty much had vegetarian dog treats with the occasional chicken or beef broth for the liquid portion of the dough. Panda's birthday is coming up, so I thought this would be a nice treat for the two monsters.

I was browsing through my Bouchon Bakery cookbook that my mom got me for my birthday one year and stumbled upon a recipe for dog treats! It's definitely different from any other recipe I've used or even thought of. I've been a fan of Thomas Keller ever since discovering Bouchon Bakery (and the restaurant) in Las Vegas. It's a stop I always HAVE to make when I'm there. Not to mention that their prices are not outrageous like some others on the strip.

So on to the recipe. I made some changes because I do think it might be a little bit rich for Muffin and Panda and I don't like cleaning up messes when they overindulge. I also prefer not to feed them wheat and corn and used oats and flax for the flour mixture. I also changed up some other minor details.

Begin by sauteeing the cut 12 oz bacon over medium high heat. Watch out for splattering! I don't really buy bacon to cook at home, at least not pork bacon and it was not fun.

Once browned, remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. This was like a battlefield getting the bacon out of the pan and trying to avoid the oil from jumping up at my hand. Muffin and Panda better appreciate this.

So... it was my first time ever buying or dealing with chicken liver and I knew I was in for a not so nice surprise when I opened the container. Here's what it looked like:

I was a little grossed out and being dramatic so I quickly rinsed it and not really wanting to touch it anymore, forgot to cut it and instead plopped it onto the pan in whole pieces:

I ended up cutting it into smaller pieces with some kitchen shears and mashed it to a paste using my handy dandy potato masher. Muffin and Panda knew something was up at this point... first the aroma of bacon and now... liver. They were hanging around the kitchen and Muffin, the dog who never ever loves me, decided that he loved me a lot and was standing with his front paws on my leg, staring so pitifully at me. I gave the two suckers a little bacon, they're so cute, my two little angels.

After dumping the bacon and liver into my Vitamix and pureeing it to a paste (you can leave it a coarse crumbly texture as well), I scraped it all out into my electric mixer bowl. Yeah, maybe breaking it down to a paste wasn't the brightest idea because it wasn't fun getting it out of the Vitamix.

Mix the flour in until crumbly and then add the applesauce. You can use water too or broth if you'd like, but I had some applesauce leftover and I think Muffin and Panda like it; I always use it for their other treats.

When it starts coming together, dump it out onto the counter and knead until it becomes a smooth dough. Did I mention I hate kneading dough? I suppose you can try kneading it in your mixer, but I used oat flour which creates a crumbly dough.

Flatten it to a disk and cover with plastic wrap, then roll it out to desired thickness or about 1/4 inch. So much work! I was just ready to get it in the oven at this point and be done with it. But alas, I wanted cute dog bone shapes.

So I went ahead and made them. If your dough is to dry, you can add some more applesauce or water. I try to be efficient to get as many shapes as possible because rolling the dough out, cutting it, and then repeating gets so monotonous and boring. And Panda and Muffin looked so sad lying in the kitchen with their heads down wondering why I wasn't sharing. =(

The dough is pretty dry and I think you can just stick it straight on the nonstick sheet, but I always use a silpat. Silpat is the best invention ever. EVER. I've tested backing macarons on silpat vs parchment paper and the silpat creates the perfect feet. It's also so versatile for rolling out dough on the counter top.

Pop the treats into your preheated oven! So... just a warning, your home will smell like... liver and bacon. I think the liver smell was a lot stronger. Before starting the recipe, I made sure to put all clothing and my purse into another room and shut the doors to all the rooms and bathroom so that it didn't absorb any of the smells. I also cranked down the AC, turned on fans, and lit candles.

I think I got about 4 - 5 dozen treats out of this. For something that was that much work, it'd better yield a lot. Otherwise, I would just cut them smaller. They are kind of rich so using a smaller cutter wouldn't be a bad idea, but I've yet to find smaller bone shaped cookie cutters.

Homemade Bacon Dog Treats (adapted from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook)

• 12 ounces sliced bacon, cut into smaller pieces
• 1 pound chicken liver, cut into smaller pieces
• 8 ounces applesauce
• 3 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook until golden brown and drain on a paper towel. reserving about tablespoon of bacon grease, add the liver to the pan. Smash the liver to cook to a paste. Add the bacon and liver to a food processor and mix to a fine paste or if preferred, to a coarse texture. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the flour and flax seed and mix to combine. Add in the chicken/liver mixture and mix at low speed until the texture is crumbly. With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add in the applesauce and mix until well combined. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a couple minutes until dough is smooth.

At this point, you can divide the dough to make it easier to work with; if you are using only portions of the dough at a time, keep the unused dough covered to prevent drying. Flatten the dough to a disk and lay it on top of parchment paper or a silpat mat. Place a large cut of plastic wrap over the dough and roll it out; remove the plastic wrap and cut the dough into desired shapes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat. The dough does dry a little faster than usual, so make sure to work with it quickly. Bake the treats in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the treats in the oven overnight or for about 2 - 3 hours. This will dehydrate the treats to a crisp biscuit. Store in an airtight container.

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Houston: Local Foods Review (Upper Kirby Location)

Just looking at that salad is making me hungry. I haven't craved a salad this much for a long time. Until I tried Local Foods. It's been on my radar and on my "to try" list for awhile now. Local Foods is fairly new and looks to be owned by Benjy's. The Upper Kirby location is new with the original in Rice Village. To be honest, I hadn't gone until now because I hate driving and parking in the Rice Village area, especially during peak hours for dining. It's just not fun.

I had a pedicure day over at Isle Pedi Spa with my mom and sister and we walked across the street to get dinner afterwards. The restaurant is so cute and inhabits what used to be Taco Milagro. We came early around 5:45 pm so there was  no wait. It's a big location with a nice and airy feeling and they even have an outdoor patio area with fake grass and umbrellas at some of the dining tables. Once it's cooler, I will definitely choose the outdoor dining area.

You order at the counter and seat yourself - in addition to various options of long and round tables for bigger parties, there are booths for more privacy. Upon walking in, there is a menu stand at the front on individual clipboards. They do change their menu regularly with different options at each of their two locations. Even the sides are slightly different between the two restaurants. The Upper Kirby location has a non-sandwich dinner menu that's limited but a good option for those who do not want a salad or sandwich.

The specials are listed on a big white board near the front ordering area. I was tempted to order the Fig Cream Cheese Empanadas - don't they sound amazing? I don't know what Dublin Red Sorbet is, but it sounded interesting.

When we got to the register, the cashier noticed there was a toddler with us and immediately told us they offer a PB&J or a Grilled Cheese Sandwich for toddlers and comes with one side. Well, my poor little niece is unfortunately allergic to nuts so we opted for the grilled cheese sandwich. It's not listed on the menu and I think the price was pretty cheap, maybe $4 or $5.

My sister got her a side of watermelon. The sandwich was served on their pretzel bun and cut into four quadrants. I wanted to eat a corner, but I can't steal food from a kid. My niece finished the whole thing and she doesn't usually eat this well at restaurants or finish. It was clearly a winner for the little monster.

I ordered the Panzanella Salad with dressing on the side. I believe that is french dressing which was the perfect amount of tang and sweet. The chicken is shredded white meat atop kale and topped with pepperoncini peppers, pickled red onion, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, and a generous garnish of basil. Oh yeah, can't forget the croutons, it was a mixture of the different breads they use for their sandwiches.

Look at how fresh the ingredients are! The kalamata olives really boosted the salad and the basil was something different for salad in a really good way. I actually ordered the salad because of the basil since I've been on a basil kick lately. The dressing was not oily and didn't leave a film in my mouth like some dressings do. The kale was hearty and filling and did not contain any tough parts - they really give you the quality parts of kale and no stems were anywhere to be found. Oh and the croutons were amazing! Really so simple but their bread is great. I will definitely try a sandwich next time.

My mom loves seafood and I ordered her the Gulf Shrimp and Blue Crab sandwich and chose the quinoa and the beets for her sides, which are included. This sandwich is served on ciabatta bread with green goddess dressing, picked red onion, tomato and lettuce. I did my research on Yelp and found that this is one of their popular sandwiches and I can see why.

They are not cheap about filling the sandwich with the crab and shrimp salad and don't overdo the mayo/dressing. The seafood flavor shined through and wasn't overpowered by the dressing. It paired well with the ciabatta but my mom liked the pretzel bread that was served with the Truffled Egg Salad sandwich my sister ordered (scroll down). I like to go with whatever the chef creates because... well the chef is trained and probably already ran a couple experiments on what pairs best with what. Then after first tasting do I attempt to customize it, which sometimes bombs. But you can never go wrong with bread right?

The sides were a pretty generous serving and very fresh. The beets are raw and not heavily marinated. That being said, you might want to like beets to order this - I know some people absolutely hate beets. The other side was the quinoa and it was so refreshing! I don't know how else to describe it except bright. It was seasoned with a slight tang and sweetness to highlight all the different herbs and vegetables in the salad. My mom was pretty happy with both sides.

My sister ordered the Truffled Egg Salad sandwich on a pretzel bun with sides of quinoa and potato salad. Okay, so their pretzel bread is amazing. I mean absolutely amazing! I liked the ciabatta bread on the Gulf Shrimp and Blue Crab sandwich, but the pretzel bread had such a great aroma of, well, pretzels and the crust was a satisfying thin combination of crunchy and chewy while the inside was still soft but not too airy.

My sister and my mom split each other's sandwich to get a taste of everything. I also tried some and the egg salad was really good. It's simple but tasty with a light truffle flavor to it. The egg salad was not heavily drenched in mayo and allowed the yolk to lend to the creamy profile of the filling. Local Foods definitely knows how to balance fats with their meals. Nothing was overly creamy or oily here.

The potato salad... was not the star of the show. I personally liked it because it's heavy on the dill and heavier on the mustard, but my sister likes the southern style potato salad. This was a little salty though. If they just cut back the salt a little, it would be another winner for those who like a tangier potato salad and love dill.

I can't wait to go back to Local Foods and try everything else here. The flavors are bright and fresh, atmosphere relaxed and clean, and just overall a fun place to eat lunch or dinner and catch up. They have vegan items as well for those interested.

Local Foods

Upper Kirby
Open every day 10 am – 9 pm
713-255-4440
2555 Kirby Drive
Houston, Texas 77019

Rice Village
Open everyday 10 am – 8:30 pm
713-521-7800
2424 Dunstan Road
Houston, Texas 77005

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Ben & Jerry's That's My Jam Core Review

It's been so hot in Houston... and humid - like a sauna you can't run away from. I've gotta admit though that summer this year hasn't been nearly as bad as other years. It only started getting really hot in August instead of the typical all summer long heat that occurs. I am trying to enjoy it though after the never-ending winter this past year.

So to cool down, I got some ice cream! Ben & Jerry's apparently has a new line of ice creams out - "core." Normally, I would go for anything nutty, like peanut butter, but this for some reason caught my eye since I was craving chocolate chips. I grabbed the That's My Jam flavor which has chocolate and raspberry ice cream (with chocolate chips in the raspberry half) and a raspberry jam core.

That is raspberry jam with seeds. I know a lot of people who hate the seeds but I love them. I don't know how people will feel with seeds in their ice cream though. It didn't bother me much. The so-called raspberry ice cream didn't really taste anything like raspberry, probably because the chocolate chips overpowered the flavor. But I tried it without the chocolate chips and I would say the raspberry flavor is very very light, almost non-existent. It didn't bother me though because the raspberry core does all the work.

The jam is soft straight out of the freezer and pairs nicely with the chocolate notes here. Chocolate and raspberry is such a great combination - just thinking about it is making me crave a chocolate cake with raspberry filling. This is the ice cream version of it and I've yet to see this combination offered by any brands. The core idea is brilliant, it's like a real sundae in a pint. Sure, there are banana split flavors, sundae flavors, etc. offered by many brands, but everything is all swirled together and just becomes a pint of mish-mash. I like tasting the components individually instead of having everything mixed together. Texturally, this ice cream is pretty firm - it's not soft out of the freezer like Blue Bell. Growing up on Blue Bell, I'm used to a fluffier texture and Ben & Jerry's is pretty dense. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm impatient when it comes to eating ice cream and having to wait for it to thaw a little is painful.

I always have a habit of looking at the nutritional label of all packaged foods I buy. Not like it matters here for ice cream, but I do like to see what kind of ingredients are used - this helps me when I try to re-create recipes or adjust recipes to my liking.

Anyhow, I checked on the Ben & Jerry's website and found that currently have a total of four core flavors: Hazed and Confused - chocolate and hazelnut ice creams with fudge chips and a hazelnut fudge core (I am dying to try this one!), Peanut Butter Fudge - chocolate and peanut butter ice creams with mini peanut butter cups and a peanut butter fudge core (yeah, I wanna try this one too, but after the hazelnut one), Salted Caramel - sweet cream ice cream with blonde brownies and a salted caramel core (this didn't look interesting to me until I saw the blonde brownies component), and of course That's My Jam.

If you haven't tried their new core line, you're missing out on this new creation of packaged ice creams. It's really genius and takes the mess out of making a sundae. I found this at my local H-E-B, although they didn't have all varieties available. You won't regret it!

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Houston: Common Bond Bakery Review

Doesn't that look absolutely luscious? Well it tasted that way too. Common Bond Bakery opened up not too long ago in my area. I would have to say it's the first of its kind in Houston. A true French bakery? Now, I've never been to France, but I have had the privilege of getting a taste of what the French get to indulge in by experiencing the patisseries in Las Vegas by French chefs. Common Bond can definitely go head-to-head with those bakeries in Vegas (Bouchon, Jean Philippe, Payard). I had hoped to try their croissants, but I didn't get to the bakery until 4 pm on Saturday afternoon and they were all sold out =(. But I snagged some pastries and a baguette so I was still a happy gal.

I ended up ordering the raspberry pistachio tart (I love pistachio in any dessert), peanut butter chocolate cupcake, kugelhopf, and a baguette. It was tempting to order everything on display, but Common Bond Bakery is here to stay - try it and you'll agree - so I needn't worry about hoarding all the desserts like it's the end of the world. I was in a hurry so I couldn't get any pictures of the cute cafe, but it's right in the heart of the city and the cafe is fun. I'll get some pictures next time of the cafe as well as the flat white I tried.

Where to begin? Let's start with the baguette. The baguette is beautiful - nice crust that's not too thin or too thick with just the perfect crunch to break into the chewy dough awaiting inside. The aroma is lightly yeasty and tastes freshly baked. I can eat this bread every day; paired with some Truffle Fromager d'Affinois, jam, butter, or plain and on its own, this baguette hits all the notes.

The pistachio raspberry tart took me by surprise. I had expected a stronger pistachio flavor - one that I am accustomed to with hints of bitter almond oil which is so often added to pistachio paste. This pistachio tart however was purely pistachio. The shortbread crust was so buttery and not too sweet. Then there was a layer of what was like a pistachio version of marzipan or probably pistachio paste, then a beautifully piped pistachio custard all around, topped with fresh raspberries and some more pistachios. I do wish it had a stronger flavor since pistachios do not have that strong of a taste, but this tart was still good and I would order it again. That crust.... should be the crust of my apple pie for the holidays. Hmmm... then that would be an apple tart, duh.

So I absolutely love peanut butter. Peanut butter in everything. I've eaten peanut butter so many ways, but nothing beats a big chunk of peanut butter frosting. Sprinkled with cocoa nibs, I think there may be a little sprinkling of fleur de sel as well.

I certainly had a hell of a time peeling off the thick liner that encircled the cupcake. It's perfect if you're going to eat out of the liner, but I wanted to see the actual cupcake for pictures. The frosting is most likely an italian meringue buttercream whipped to an airy perfection with just the right amount of peanut butter. I prefer italian meringue buttercream because it's not so gritty and never too sweet. I'm over the cupcake craze but this was the best cupcake I've ever had. The chocolate cupcake was so moist and paired with the peanut butter frosting, it practically melted together in my mouth. I don't think I can ever go back to any other cupcakery, ever. Now I'm curious about the cupcakes at Jean Philippe and Bouchon Bakery - as many times as I've gone, I've never ordered cupcakes there. I shall next year and report back when I do.

It seems in recent years that yeast-based pastries have become ever so popular and I've yet to try a kouign amman, but I did grab this cute little kugelhopf. I think my taste buds have changed and I actually liked this the most out of the three pastries. I chose this over frosting and custard? I can't believe it myself. But I think I've gotten over the heavy feeling after eating globs of butter and cream and prefer something a little drier.

After cutting the kugelhopf in half, I found some yellow raisins! Yeah, I really need to catch up on these yeast-based pastries that seem to always have dried fruit of some sort. I'm not that surprised how much I really liked this considering I'm obsessed with stollen and panettone... especially stollen. If you like either of those, I'm pretty sure you'll like kugelhopf. This little pastry is crusted with sugar and has hints of citrus and vanilla. It was moist but not overly so like a cupcake. I also like that it wasn't overloaded with raisins and it's a nice accompaniment to a coffee break or "light" breakfast. I really liked the contrasting textures of the sugar-coated crust and spongy crumb inside. Oh I need to get another one of these soon!

If you've not been to Common Bond Bakery, hurry on over there and try their coffee and pastries. Hopefully you'll be luckier than I was and get to try their famous croissants!

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Fromager d'Affinois Truffles Review

My first love has always been cheese before it was sweets. When I started running a lot, it seems I altered my body's chemistry and I started craving sweets more and more. I've found that since I've taken a break from excessive cardio and running completely, my true taste buds are starting to return.

First cheese love before being introduced to gourmet cheeses? Cheddar, of course. But one day I heard about brie cheese and how creamy it is, especially triple creme. I went on a brie frenzy and tried all sorts of brands.

Then not too long ago, I was browsing the Murray's Cheese section of my local Kroger and stumbled upon Fromger d'Affinois. It's brie's creamier, more buttery cousin and not as pungent. I had been eating brie lately and was on my weekly grocery shopping trip at Central Market when this truffle version caught my eye. I mean, truffles go great with anything savory. I love it on fries, I love truffle infused oil on my baked potato, I like it in my mustard, it's just such a great flavor. To mix it in with creamy buttery cheese? That's a guaranteed winner.

This was not cheap. That little wedge cost about $10 and I can eat that pretty darn fast. But I won't. Because I've learned to savor food. And also because my bank account is not made of gold.

You can see how creamy and soft this cheese is. It's definitely softer than a lot of brie cheeses, similar to a triple creme brie. For some reason, I noticed it is a little more "oily" as it didn't stick to my dish as much as brie does. Doesn't matter to me, if you're eating cheese, are you really watching what's oily and what's not?

This cheese is pretty soft so you don't need to let it come to room temperature like you do for some brie varieties. My first taste of this was euphoric. The rich butter flavor and super creamy texture of Fromager d'Affinois with a hint of truffle. It's not as pungent a truffle flavor as a lot of the oils, but it tasted fresher somehow, bordering on shiitake mushrooms. It doesn't overwhelm the cheese where you lose the cheese flavor but it complements each other. I usually go for the original flavored cheeses since additional flavors sometimes mask the true flavor of the cheese, but this was soooooo good. The rind is not as pungent like that of brie and I think contributes to the flavor profile.

If you like truffles and you like cheese, this is like a dream combination. Fromager d'Affinois is made with microbial rennet so it's suitable for vegetarians. When I was vegetarian, I had the most difficult time finding french cheeses that did not use animal rennet. This was my go to when I couldn't find a vegetarian brie. You might like this even better than brie.

I've been seeing Fromager d'Affinois at more and more grocery stores, but this Truffles variety was only available at the Central Market near me. If you have not tried the original flavor and can't find the Truffles variety, try that instead, although this one is pretty darn special. I'm sure Whole Foods would be willing to order it for you if your local one doesn't already carry it.

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