A Note on Bacon

Tuesday Menu: Lunch: Pepperoni and Cheese Calzones with Marinara and Fruit Salad Dinner: Jerk Chicken Alfredo, Salad and Garlic Toast

Ahh Tuesday, I like Tuesdays. It seems to be the most laid back day of the week. There is almost no chance of the boys having a party Monday nights so I’m less likely to find vomit in the drinking fountain, and less likely to be missing the 5 pounds of shredded mozzarella I need for today’s lunch. Also, today I’m making one of my favorite recipes. It’s my version of a dish I had once in a restaurant near my alma mater. I’ve made it before for the boys and they love it; it has bacon in it.

A note on bacon: It is an undeniable fact of nature that you can put bacon on just about anything and a frat boy will eat it… because it has bacon. I’ve tried this out on several different occasions. One week I sliced a pound of bacon into the green beans for dinner and they were the first to go. The next week, just out of curiosity, I made the green beans without bacon, and most of them ended up in the trash. Now whenever I want them to try something new or get them to eat their veggies, I just sprinkle on a little bacon.

Jerk Chicken Alfredo
Serves 50

½ cup Jerk Seasoning Blend
½ cup Italian Seasoning Blend
1 cup Vegetable Oil
13 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 lbs Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 5/8 quart Butter
5 lbs Cream Cheese, room temperature
2 heads Garlic, Minced
3 quarts Half and Half
2 quarts Milk
4 lbs Grated Parmesan
6 ¼ lbs Penne Pasta, cooked
2 quarts Frozen Peas
Optional ¼ cup Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a large baking pan. Coat chicken lightly with oil and then sprinkle generously with jerk seasoning, Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper (optional). Put in pan and cover with foil, bake until chicken is cooked completely through (approx 20-30 minutes in a convection oven, approx 45 in a regular oven) Let cool and dice into large chunks.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic and whisk until smooth. Mix together milk and half and half. Add milk mixture to cream cheese a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in parmesan cheese. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. If needed, thin with milk. Toss sauce with hot pasta, stir in chicken and frozen peas and top with crumbled bacon.