Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash

A three-day weekend with record-cold temperatures is a breeding ground for comfort foods full of stick-to-your-bones goodness.

That's exactly what I spent the weekend doing, starting with a Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash topped with a ramen-style egg care of one of my favorite new toys, the Joule sous vide machine.

Savory Oat Risotto with Bacon, Kale and Delicata Squash
1 small delicata squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 cups chicken broth
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 cups steel-cut oats
4 cups baby kale, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Roast squash until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Heat broth in a medium pot. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Saute shallot in remaining bacon grease until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add oats and stir until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Begin adding broth in increments, about 1/2 cup at a time until liquid is absorbed.

When all but about 1 cup of broth has been added to oats, stir in kale with second-to-last ladle of broth. Add bacon with final ladle; season with salt and pepper, then serve.

(So what was out stick-to-your-bones dinner, you ask? A delicious Porchetta-Spiced Pork Roast that I slogged through the snow for to gather fresh sage and rosemary. Well, technically, there was no slogging involved since the snow wasn't actually sticking, but I sure do like that image!)

Sprucing up the classic BLT

Forgive me for slacking off lately, but Bryan's the one who really needs to forgive me because I feel like my culinary skills have just been so boring lately!

Here's what we had for lunch today: Modified BLTs. Is that even a blogworthy subject?

I replaced the tomatoes in Bryan's with a fried egg, and both also had sliced avocado and American cheese to keep things from getting too boring. Served on toasted Dave's Killer Seed Bread, it was certainly a delicious lunch, but hardly an award-winning meal.

Perhaps if I had made a Mom-style BLT, which she always made with a tasty layer of peanut butter, it might not be so boring. Unfortunately, I haven't yet convinced Bryan that PB & B is a tasty combination, but it's really time for him to get on the bandwagon. Everybody else is eating such culinary delights as the Peanut Butter Bacon Burger from The Slip in neighboring Kirkland, and in just a slight variation, there's also the Smokey Bacon Maple Bar from Frost Doughnuts in Mill Creek.

Now that proves Mom's a woman a few decades ahead of her time, so far ahead that I think she may already have retired that calorie bomb and replaced it with tomorrow's more healthy culinary trend. The rest of us will catch up after the bacon catches up with us!