Life update yay! I just mailed off my completed cookbook manuscript to go through one last round of edits—boy those days I thought college was hard, try writing a cookbook! Is the book perfect? Probably not, because hey I am only human and far from perfect.  But this book was made with endless love, dedication, perseverance and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears…quite literally, yes knives are sharp! I could not be more proud of All American Paleo Table and can’t wait to share it with you all! So you should celebrate by pre-ordering, yay and yay, and I am going to celebrate by eating all the charcuterie and cheesy dip…now onto this fabulous farmer’s market inspired recipe!

So for those of you who don’t already know this about me, I absolutely love cheese and yes, probably eat way too much of it every day, no thats not possible right!? I happen to do fine (and quite thankfully too) with grass-fed and raw cheeses in my diet and let’s be real, it just makes food that much better! Since I don’t eat sugar all that often, dessert for me is often splurging on some fun, tasty cheeses at the market.

I have been loving the farmer’s market these past few weeks and came home with a huge pile of leeks, not knowing what to do at all with them.  Leeks are apart of the onion and garlic family, also two of my favorite food ingredients, so I thought about caramelizing them just like regular onions.  Leeks are a bit tougher than green onions so the caramelizing process them turns them into the most fabulous texture!

This is a great dish to bring to your summer parties, or to enjoy on the patio while you are grilling up some of your favorite meats!  The creamy mascarpone pairs fabulously with the salty, smoky bacon and I may or may not have eaten it by the spoonful, just saying! Mascarpone is an Italian style cream cheese that I absolutely love to cook with as it adds the creamiest taste and texture.

Usually cheese style dips are filled with highly processed cheeses and ingredients so instead, I have provided you with a grain free, gluten free and real food cheesy bacon dip!  You can grab a bag of root vegetable chips or your favorite sweet potato chips, or if your getting fancy you could toast a slice of my grain-free sandwich bread or make these grain-free fluffy white rolls to serve with.  Enjoy!

Mascarpone, Caramelized Leek and Bacon Dip

Ingredients

• 1 lb bacon
• 2 large or 3 medium leeks
• 3 large gloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• few dashes cayenne pepper
• 8 oz mascarpone
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

• Warm a 8 inch skillet to medium heat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Set the mascarpone on the counter to soften.
• Slice the bacon into small chunks and thinly slice the leeks.  Add the bacon to the warm skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is mostly cooked.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, place in a mixing bowl and set aside.  Drain all but 1 tbsp of bacon grease from the pan.
• Reduce the heat to low.  Add the leeks to the pan and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After 15 minutes, add the garlic, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper stirring together to mix.
• Add the caramelized leeks, mascarpone and sour cream to the bowl with the bacon.  Stir to mix.
• Add the dip back into the 8 inch skillet and cover the top with the shredded cheddar.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
• Cool for 10 minutes before serving with root vegetable chips.