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Louisville Recipe of the Month: Bourbon Bacon Jam

bourbon bacon jam recipe
By an act of Congress in 2007, September was declared National Bourbon Heritage Month, but for us Kentuckians, this is a celebration practiced year round. To pay our respects to our state’s coveted spirit, we asked Crushed Ice Catering‘s executive chef, Laurence Agnew, to serve up a creative bourbon inspired recipe. Much to our delight, his solution was a sweet and savory creation that will most certainly earn a place in your arsenal of culinary staples Bourbon Bacon Jam.
This Bourbon Bacon Jam recipe is a perfect addition to keep in the fridge. It makes for a flavorful addition to morning waffles, gives a tasteful twist to the classic grilled cheese, and makes as a great topping for beef, chicken, or pork!

Bourbon Bacon Jam

Ingredients
  • 3/4 pound bacon cut into inch slices then cut in half
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 4 Tablespoon Kentucky Sorghum
  • 1/2 cup bourbon 
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt depending on your bacon
Instructions
  1. In a medium skillet, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until done and on the verge of crispy, approximately 10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Add garlic and shallot directly to the same skillet with rendered bacon fat. Soften for approximately 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium sauce pan. Add drained bacon and remaining ingredients, stir well. Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Liquids should evaporate leaving you with a sticky bacon jam fit for any dish.

Give your taste buds my best,

Morgan Blake

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Employee Spotlight: William Szenay

Employee Spotlight for Crushed Ice Catering is our incredibly talented Sous Chef William Szenay. William has been with us since December 2017 and has continued to prove just how truly gifted he is as a chef. We take a beat to sit down with Chef William to learn what his daily motivation is, why he chose this career and what inspires him to give his best in the kitchen.

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Sous Chef William Szenay creating a masterpiece.
Q: Lets get to it. What inspired you to become a Chef?
A: My Swedish grandma, she lived with us when I was a child growing up. Her life, actions, and words had a deep impact on me and stay with me even today.
Q: What do you love most about being a Chef?
A:  You are part of a lot of people’s favorite memories. Whether it be a wedding, Birthday or memorable celebration, you were a part of creating something memorable.
Q: What are your favorite dishes to create?
A: Ones that everyone can enjoy, of course!
Q: Where are you from?
A:  St.Paul, Minnesota.
Q: How did you get started in this industry?
A: I worked part-time at a Vietnamese restaurant in high school washing dishes.
Q: If you could choose anywhere in the world to be a Chef where would it be? And why?
A:  Australia.. good surfing and great local product to work with.
Q: Describe your cooking philosophy in 3 words.
A: Keep it simple.
Q: What would you say to other aspiring Chef’s?
A: Take care of both your physical and mental health. Both are crucial to maintain in order to bring your very best to the kitchen each day.
Q: Do you have any culinary hero’s?
A: Ferran Adrià. He ran the best restaurant in the world for several years.
Q: Do you have foods that take you back to your childhood?
A: I definitely have several and most of them are Swedish baked goods. Like , Toscakaka an almond and Carmel cake. Butterkaka, which is like cinnamon buns stuffed with almond paste and baked in vanilla custard.
Q: What’s playing on your kitchen soundtrack?
A: My recently played list top five is as follows. The best of all time. No contest.
  • J.S. Bach
  • Old Crow medicine show
  • Taj Mahal
  • Frozen soundtrack
  • Warren Zevon

 

Regardless of the career you choose, everyone needs a motivation that gets them out of bed in the morning and inspires them to pursue excellence in their career field. If you are an aspiring Chef, take his words of wisdom and let them fuel your culinary dreams. For those pursuing other dreams, remember to maintain physical and mental health, be ready to take inspiration from anywhere, and to turn up the soundtrack of your day.

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Why You Should Shop Local and Organic

If you’re anything like us then you like to shop local for not only your clothes but also your food. However some people struggle with the “Why?”. Why should I shop local and organic? For us, there is just something about eating a meal that you know has been made with fresh and local foods!  Because let’s face it, strolling through Kroger is just not the same as strolling through a farmers market or fresh produce stand.

With Crushed Ice Catering we go above and beyond to insure that our meals are made with as many fresh, local, and organic products because not only do we find it important, but our head Chef also believes in this. As we have written on our website this is what our head Chef, Laurence Agnew, has to say about buying local and eating organic.

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Pictured: Sample platter of the delicious local and organic items we serve here at Crushed Ice Catering!

“As a chef, I’m happy to use organic whenever possible. Organic catering is important to me because in the simplest of terms “It just tastes better!” and there is a reason for this. . not only is locally sourced organic food fresher, local foods produce something known as terroir – which means the food tastes like the area from where it is cultivated. Organic to me also means removing harmful GMOs, irradiation practices and dangerous pesticides and fertilizers. Organic farming in itself is friendlier to wildlife and helps the local economy and farmers to thrive and what they are talented at doing. Lastly organic foods have a lot more important nutrients that are lost in the modern day farming practices.”

However with shopping local and organic, people worry about the cost, accessibility, and if the benefits are really worth it. You can now stop your fretting because we are here to save the day! To keep your meals fresh and clean we have created a list of some of our favorite places we like to use here at Crushed Ice Catering to stay true to our motto of cooking with organic and local products.

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Meet Rachel Martin – Summer Intern

Hello friends and followers of Crushed Ice Catering! My name is Rachel Martin and for my summer catering internship I will be working for the Ice House and Crushed Ice Catering. Here’s a little bit about me:

I am from Ashland, Kentucky, and I will be graduating from Eastern Kentucky University this December, GO COLONELS! I will graduate with a Bachelors in Communication Studies and a minor in Public Relations. So far I love my time working here Crushed Ice Catering and the Ice House. I am hoping to pursue a full time job here when I graduate;)

In my spare time I enjoy swimming, going to concerts, and playing with as many dogs as possible. In high school I was able to dip my toe into the event planning world and since then I have been obsessed! I have joined as many groups and organizations possible in college to help give me the experience and skills I need for this job. The best part about working for Crushed Ice Catering for my summer catering internship is getting to do both event planning and work in the food industry!

I will be taking over our blogs and social media for the summer. Be sure to check-in and see what I have in store for you!

 

Here’s what’s coming up:

I’m not going to give away all of my secrets so just stay tuned, to insure you don’t miss out on the all of the fun we have planned!