Restaurant review - Brian's Backyard BBQ

Craig and I had dinner tonight at Brian's Backyard BBQ in Montgomery. I had the wings with sticky bourbon sauce as an appetizer, and Craig had the smoked potato skins. Both were excellent. The potato skins were stuffed with pulled pork, cheese, and bacon.
For dinner, Craig had pork chops with horseradish, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. I had the half chicken with collard greens and honey glazed sweet potatoes.
The meats were good; the pork chop was moist and perfectly done. Craig said he would have liked more horseradish flavor, though. The chicken was moist and tasty, but the real stand-outs were the sides. The collards were prepared with cider vinegar, smoked pork, and a little sugar. The mashed potatoes had an onion-garlic-herb seasoning that was absolutely amazing. The sweet potatoes were great, not swimming in too many extra ingredients. The mac & cheese was smooth, creamy, and flavorful.
The Dogfish head beer on tap was a plus, too. The only downside is that there was a band playing and it was kind of loud. I didn't mind, but Craig did.
All in all, I would recommend it. We'll be going back because I really want to try the brisket.

Lunch

Every Sunday I try to make a salad that will last me for the week. PAsta salad, grain salad, couscous. Something that I can just stick a big bowl of in the fridge and use all week. Its economical and healthy. Here is this week's recipe:

Bulgur Salad with Almonds and Raisins

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup bulgur wheat

1/8 cup Black raisins

1/8 cup White raisins

1/8 cup Cranberries

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup Almonds

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup Scallions

1. Bring water to a boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; add bulgur wheat, raisins, cranberries, salt, cumin, cinnamon, saffron and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Fluff bulgur with fork; place in medium bowl.

3. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until cool. Stir in oil until blended. Gently stir in parsley, almonds, scallions and basil.

vegetarian shepherd's pie

2 lb. vegetarian meatballs (I used a portobello version)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 sixteen-ounce package mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, beans - sometimes called soup mix)
Idahoan instant mashed potatoes (prepare 4 cups according to package)

Crumble meatballs. Mix with vegetable broth and thawed mixed vegetables. Pour into 9" by 12" (ish) baking dish.
Prepare instant mashed potatoes according to package directions. Top meatball/vegetable mixture. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

candied bacon

Okay, this one is long overdue.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bacon (about a pound)
Sugar (I use Domino's Organic Sugar or Demerara sugar)
a baking rack
cookie sheets

Separate bacon into strips. Dredge each strip, both sides, in sugar, shaking off excess. Place sugared bacon on rack over cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F until almost done (about 15 minutes). Remove and allow to cool.
Ovens vary widely. Do not leave bacon unattended. Remove it from the oven before you think it's done, because the residual heat will continue to cook it. Once you know exactly how your own oven cooks, you can adjust times accordingly. You will save yourself a lot of cleanup work if you line the cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper.