Cheese is the best trap for mousetraps.I don't have mice in my house, (other than that one that snuck in during the night and ate the last scoop of Schwanz malted milk ice cream) but having lived in the country most of my life, I've learned they can be a nuisance.
Dad used to set mousetraps under the kitchen sink. One day, I heard the SNAAP and went and peeked under the cabinet. There, flat, grey and squished was some poor thing. I was just a kid and was upset about the mouse, so I asked Dad to remove it. He did. . . laughing. It was a BRILLO pad, the box apparently had been knocked over. Mr. Mouse is probably still living there and let's just say my brothers give me no end of grief about it to this day.
But sometimes you do need to set traps. The common misconception is that mice love cheese and that's the perfect thing to use as bait. Cheese actually, despite all the cartoons, is NOT on their "favorites" list though they will eat it if nothing is available. Plus, it hardens, and hardens quickly, making it easy for them to steal it without setting off the trap. The actual best bait is -
Peanut butter and bacon. (Or if you want to keep the bacon to yourself - peanut butter and bacon grease). Mice can't resist the taste of peanut butter and bacon.
Neither can most people I know.
Then, my friends, you can go make a peanut butter and candied bacon pie. (recipe in comments). With a dark chocolate wafer cookie crust, a creamy peanut butter filling and candied bacon (lightly cooked and then caramelized with sugar and cinnamon), it is easy to make, though it takes a bit of time. Better yet, it is insanely delicious. Try it. You never know who you might catch.
26 comments:
Recipe and bacon styling adapted from Gourmet Magazine.
The bacon might seem like overkill but it adds a sweet, smoky edge to this already luscious pie.
7 bacon slices (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground Penzey's cinnamon or brand of your choice
2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs finely ground in a blender or food processor (3 dozen cookies)
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup milk (not skim)
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not the "natural" that does not blend as well)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chilled heavy cream
1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
You will need:
a 10-inch pie plate
Cook bacon (in 2 batches if necessary) in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning once, until lightly browned on edges but still flexible, 5 to 6 minutes total per batch, no more. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Pour off fat from skillet and arrange bacon in skillet in 1 layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon over bacon and cook over low heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until sugar has dissolved and then caramelized (sugar melts very slowly and burns easily; reduce heat if necessary after sugar begins to caramelize) and coats bacon, 8 to 10 minutes. (Bacon will be dark and look lacquered.)
Transfer bacon with tongs to a cutting board to cool (You realize now you should have made extra slices).
When bacon is cool, finely chop 5 slices, leaving remaining 2 slices whole.
Stir together wafer crumbs and butter, then press onto bottom and up side of pie plate. Chill pie shell.
Heat remaining 1/2 cup sugar and milk in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly only until sugar has dissolved and remove from heat. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla until combined well, then transfer to a bowl. Put bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cool completely, stirring occassionally (you can use the fridge instead of the ice bath but have have to remember to get it REALLY cold and stir it).
Beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then fold into peanut butter mixture with peanuts and chopped bacon gently but thoroughly. Transfer filling to pie shell, smoothing top.
Cut remaining 2 bacon slices into 2-inch-long pieces and arrange in a decorative starburst shape in center of pie. Freeze pie, uncovered, until frozen hard, about 5 hours. Let pie soften slightly in refrigerator before serving, about 30 minutes.
Oh wow...boggles the imagination. I'd never heard of "candied bacon", but you can be sure I'll be trying that...TODAY! Thanks for making me hungry. My low sodium oatmeal just doesn't look that appealing all of a sudden.
Cheers from MD's Eastern Shore!
My heart hurts just reading the recipe, but that doesn't mean I'm not tempted to try it!
Jim
Last time I tried peanut butter and bacon for bait, I kept getting smacked by the mouse trap. I guess I'll have to make the pie first and leave the mouse trap to the mice. ;o)
Torn about this recipe. I think it's my British tastes - I sort of think it's sounds appalling and also delicious all at the same time. Will have to try....
We have used the peanut butter scented sticky traps around here - I don't recommend sticky traps period...they're gross and impossible to clean up when you get a fat mouse that drags it across your floor or countertop, turns it upside down and is still struggling to free itself when you wake up for morning coffee...not pleasurable. I love how your food posts totally catch me off guard Brigid...candied bacon...amazing.
I was going to try it, but then I realized I had eated all the bacon with breakfast. Dang!
Now that is the epitome of evil--peanut butter and bacon! Simply sinful.
But, it caused a flashback to a favorite we used to do years ago in my house, the candied bacon. The only difference was we used brown sugar rather than white.
Bottom line is "it's all good"!
With bait like that just call me mister rodent.
See Ya
Younger daughter's weekend plans just got a little busier ... you may just have outdone yourself (or so says my sudden burst of appetite).
Another vote for peanut butter. Mice can't resist it. They work hard to get the last bit of it off the trap. BUT if you set it right (which may satisfy your inner daredevil) all the mouse has to do is breathe on the trap and BAM!
The successful mouse trapper will take time to set the trap on hair trigger. Yeah, this means the occasional finger will get snapped but it's worth the pain to get another mouse pelt on the wall.
Someday I may relate the story of how we got oversized half brown and half white mice in the old farm house I grew up in. :)
(speechless)!
I must try this one, Brigid!
I think this dessert has the little exploding heart symbol on it next to it on the menu.
Shannon - you've got some serious mice. Mine, just took one WHACK and went quietly into the void. Glad you liked this one, it was a surprise hit.
Sounds like a delish recipe for people like me who love all-things bacon.
I would fear pairing it with the homemade Super Bowl Lobster Mac and Cheese (1 lb. of lobster meat and half a pound of bacon ...) that I made for myself on Super Bowl Sunday. Recipe was adapted from a restaurant in Northeast Ohio and printed in my newspaper.
Madame,
My being back in the hospital on a liquid diet, your posting elevated you to a first class rat. -grin-
Dang it, I burned it... Have to try it again..!
Dang it, I burned it... Have to try it again..!
My initial reaction was much like Freyalyn's but now I think you need to work on building a much bigger trap if you're using that pie for bait. :-)
My doctor thanks you for posting this recipe, I bet I finance his next vacation because of it.
It may be the most amazing dish I've ever read about. Normally my tastes runs from steak to steak but this sounds worthy of inclusion.
Sounds fantastic! I know better than to make it, though. My willpower isn't good enough to resist eating too much of it at once!
:(
I'm trying to decide if I should be mad at you - or go make this pie. I've been plotting all night on how to lose the last several pounds of baby weight - and then I read this post. I want this pie like a mad woman right now. Thanks, Brigid. :)
1 carrot and an apple.
My fourth grade teacher used to ask if so and so jumped over a cliff, would I.....
Is Brigid's cooking anywhere near said cliff?
Poor Mr Weaver, I jumped from perfectly good airplanes. With a good chute, I'd jump a cliff.
Had a go last night - wow! Just as well it lives in the freezer, it's so rich it will take a long time to eat. I only made half quantities too - there's only two of us. But it works. Yum.
How could you go wrong with a recipe that has both peanut butter and bacon? Sounds like a win-win situation to me!
No wonder I gain weight every time I come over here!
Thanks for sharing this one...!
I try for a reasonable diet on a daily-average sort of basis, but judging by your silhouette in the window, the weekly-average thing is working for you.*
Jim
*My entry for the understatement olympics.
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