Bacon Vinaigrette Candles

Rick Gresh, the chef over at David Burke's Primehouse at The James Hotel Chicago, has me floored with his edible Bacon Vinaigrette Candles! Pouring the candle on your dinner table over your salad? Ingenious.

Gresh says the delectable 2-inch votives leave lasting impressions on Primehouse's patrons. "We send [the candles] to the table and first, people think it's for ambiance. Then, when we drop the [spinach] salad, we pour the candle over it. You always hear a lot of screams," he laughs.

Not only can you try these at the restaurant but you can buy them for a measly $5 or since Rick was nice enough to share the recipe, make them for yourself at home.

For the bacon candles

1 cup red wine vinegar
2 gelatin sheets (or 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin)
3/4 pound bacon
2 teaspoons minced thyme
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon black pepper
Two 4-inch lengths of twine, dipped in vegetable oil
Two 2-ounce votive candle containers

For the spinach salad

1/2 pound spinach, washed, torn into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
1 egg, hard-boiled, peeled and coarsely chopped
Chipotle powder (optional)
2 ounces feta cheese, diced

1. Make the vinegar gelatin in a small pot, bring the vinegar to a boil and add the gelatin. Pour the gelatin into a small pan or bowl and chill until solid (about 2 hours). When set, chop the vinegar gelatin into small cubes.

2. Render the bacon: Cook the bacon over low heat until the fat is completely rendered (about 30 minutes). Pour the fat through a strainer, discard the solids, and chill. When fat is semi-solid (soft enough to stir easily but not too warm, or it will melt the gelatin), stir in the thyme, parsley and pepper.

3. Make the candles: Hold the twine in the candle container and spoon in a layer of the bacon fat. Top with a sprinkle of gelatin cubes, and repeat layers until the top of the container is reached. Repeat with the other candle. Chill until the fat is solid.

4. Make the salad: Toss the spinach with salt and pepper. Broil or grill the onion until soft. Dust the egg with chipotle powder, if using, and layer on a plate with onion, feta cheese and spinach. Light bacon candles, and after the fat melts (about 10 minutes), slowly pour over salads at the table.

Yum and yum.

MAPLE BACON SHAKE

I've been busier than a crack dealer on payday but I wanted to get on here for a moment to share with you this recipe I ran across today. Sounds yummy to me, plus easy to make. Someone should totally make this Maple Bacon Milkshake and bring me some.

2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into thin strips
6 tablespoons cold whole or low-fat milk (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade B (about 1 ounce)
Pinch of salt
8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 1 quart), softened until just melty at the edges.

1. Fry the bacon in a small skillet set over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rendered and crisp, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain, and nibble on it or reserve it for another use. Off the heat, briefly cool the fat in the skillet.

2. Place the milk, maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of cooled bacon fat, salt and ice cream in a blender and pulse several times to begin breaking up the ice cream.

3. With the blender motor off, use a flexible spatula to mash the mixture down onto the blender blades. Continue pulsing, stopping and mashing until the mixture is well blended, thick and moves easily in the blender jar, roughly 30 to 90 seconds. Pour into a chilled glass or glasses, and serve at once.

--From Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes: 100 Classic and Contemporary Recipes by Adam Ried

I'd probably use the bacon strips to spoon the milkshake into my mouth. That's just how I roll.

Bacon Explosion™ Shipped to Your Door!

If you're lazy like me, you have no time, patience or skill to actually cook, you just like to eat. Thank goodness the guys over at BBQ Addicts understand this. Now you can order a delicious, fully-cooked Bacon Explosion™ and have it shipped directly to your door! All you have to do is heat it up anyway you'd like and you’ll have a wonderful smoked Bacon Explosion™ ready to serve in about 30 minutes.

1/2 Bacon Explosion - $17.99 (serves 6)
Full Bacon Explosion - $29.99 (serves 12)
2 Full Bacon Explosions - $49.99 (serves me right)



This is the best news I've heard all week! All hail BBQ Addicts!

Thanks to DAVELOG v3 for the link!

Sweet & Salty Pigs in a Blanket

Today I was perusing an article about the latest Candy Expo in Chicago where apparently bacon was featured more then ever before. No big surprise there really. However, they mentioned that the Sugardale Foods Booth were serving bacon-wrapped donut holes and I can't figure out why I haven't thought of this perfect-sized finger food before. Sure, we've all see the bacon-topped donuts by now but not wrapped holes. Perfect for hors d'oeuvres!

So I went to the Sugardale Foods site since I hadn't heard of them before and that's where I found this recipe (modified by me slightly). So simple yet so yummy sounding.

Ingredients:
2 pkgs. Hotdogs
2 pkgs. Bacon (they suggest ready-made but I say Nay to that so I would suggest cooking until they are almost done but still pliable)
2 cups Pancake syrup

Directions
1.Cut each hotdog into 4 bite-size pieces.
2.Cut each slice of bacon in half.
3.Wrap a piece of bacon around each bite-size weiner piece and secure with a toothpick.
4.Place all of the wrapped piece in a slow cooker and cover with the syrup.
5.Heat until warm (about an hour).
6.Stir occasionally and serve warm.

You know I don't post recipes much because I am not the best cook but this looks easy and sounds great for a holiday weekend get-together. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Cooking.com is looking for Bacon Recipes!

I found this on the Forum at Cooking.com:

We are in search of some good bacon recipes for a newsletter we're doing in a couple of weeks. We would love for you to submit your most decadent, quirky, or just plain comfort-filled bacon recipes to our site:

Submit your Bacon Recipe!

We would love these ASAP -- just give it a good intro as to what's so wonderful about the recipe and the bacon, and we just might feature you and your recipe.

Good Luck and let me know if you send them your recipe!

"Bake-In" (Bacon) Oozy Bread

Whether or not you're a fan of Rachel Ray's, this recipe looks fantastic and easy. "Bake-In" Oozy Bread has only 4 ingredients:

* 1 package bacon, chopped
* 1 8-ounce jar maple syrup
* 1 stick butter
* 1 package (8 biscuits) home-style buttermilk biscuits
(Pillsbury preferred)

Go to Rachel Ray's website for the full recipe and video where you can see the fresh-out-of-the-oven bread glisten with butter, syrup and bacon. I'm not ashamed to admit that I just drooled a little as I was typing that.

~Found via DAVELOG v3

The Goddamn Bacon Explosion

Ok people, I am putting up a link to the BBQ Bacon Explosion because every one and their mothers have been sending me the link, posting it on Facebook and Reddit, it's EVERYWHERE. I guess that's what happens when the esteemed New York Times decides to dip a toe into Bacon Territory. BBQ Addicts created this massive bacon and sausage rollup prompted by a request for recipes from the guys over at BaconToday.com. For better insight into this bacon monstrosity, check Royal Bacon Society for a history of concoctions spawned by the Bacon Mat.

Anyhow, since Superbowl is coming up soon, I thought I'd share this insanity with you:

The Greatest Snack Food Stadium Ever Built


Yes, there's a pound of Bacon, 58 twinkies, Vienna Sausages, Slim Jims and various dips and chips involved. Go over to Holy Taco and read more about it. I'm not sure one pound of bacon was enough, but other than that, color me super impressed.

Maple and Bacon Roasted Almonds

I always have Good Day NY (Fox5) on in the morning while I'm getting ready for work and yesterday I heard the word BACON mentioned and had take to take precious minutes out of my daily routine to see what was going on. The chefs from Buttermilk Channel, a new restaurant in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, were whipping up a batch of Maple and Bacon Roasted Almonds and they looked YUMMY. Not only that but pretty damn easy to make. Here's the recipe:

Maple and Bacon Roasted Almonds

Ingredients:
1 pound almonds
1/2 pound slab bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbs. mustard powder
Salt

Directions:

1. Cut bacon into large dice, about the size of a whole almond. Cook bacon until it's crispy. Toss bacon, bacon fat, almonds and mustard powder until almonds are well coated.

2. Combine with maple syrup and toss again till well coated. Cook, stirring constantly, until maple syrup is just coating the almonds. Pour onto a paper lined sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt. Let cool.

4. Should resemble brittle when done.

I think I can do this!

Buttermilk Channel seems to cure their own bacon which is available grilled as an appetizer. Two other bacon related dishes on the menu are Roasted Cauliflower & Apple Soup with Crispy Bacon & Croutons and Bacon-Wrapped Brook Trout with Jonnycakes and Leek Confit.
That soup sounds really interesting!

Bacon going strong in 2009!!!

The Bacon Grease Jar

After some research it seems that keeping your bacon grease for later use is something that has gone out with the times. Most of the information on the web is about how grandmother's from all over kept a grease jar in their fridge and used it for a variety of things, like frying up potatoes, cornbread, green beans, gravy and vintage recipes such as bacon grease cookies and wilted lettuce.

I keep my bacon grease in a old coffee can but the only time I've ever reused bacon grease was to make bacon popcorn, usually I just throw it out. Lately I've been thinking I'd like to have a real grease jar, the kind with the strainer, to keep in my fridge. A search on Google brings up lots of vintage & collectible grease jars for sale, and there are quite a lot of interesting ones, especially on ebay. I was able to track down one place that still sells them, Cooking.comhas one called the Grease Keeper. The stainless steel pitcher holds up to 4 cups and features a fine mesh strainer on top and spout so you pour out only just the right amount of desired grease for frying. You can even reheat solidified contents right on your stove.

While this is a pretty cool one, it's hard to believe that this practice is so out of style that ONE store still sells them new. Are old coffee cans the preferred way to do it?

Before I buy this. I'm gonna check out the vintage ones to see if I find something that catches my eye. In the meantime, leave a comment and let me know if you (or your grandma!) save your bacon grease and if so, how you use it. The wilted lettuce recipe is intriguing...

Smithfield Recipe Contest!

News you can use! Smithfield is one of the supermarket bacons that I buy a lot. While I was looking up some bacon recipes, an ad caught my eye.

Smithfield.com is offering $30,000 for your best recipe! If you've got a great recipe that uses a Smithfield product and has 10 ingredients or less, they want to see it. They'll choose their favorite ten recipes from your submissions, announce the finalists in November and post the recipes on their website.

All finalists will compete for the grand prize of $30,000 cash and a chance to meet Paula Deen. They're also asking all website visitors to vote for their favorite recipe. The "People's Choice" winner will receive $5,000! The remaining eight finalist will get a Paula Deen Signature 12 piece steel and cookware set.

Now I'm not very original when it comes to recipes but I know a lot of the bacon lovers out there are. This seems like a great opportunity to let bacon shine in the spotlight like it should. Spread the word!

Deep Fried Mac & Cheese w/ Bacon

I haven't done many recipes on this blog because there are other bacon blogs that already do an awesome job of that. However, I apparently feel asleep watching the Food Network last night because when I woke up this morning, this is what greeted me from the tv...

Paula Deen's Lady's Fried Mac

Paula Deen, the queen of food that's bad for your body but good for your soul, woke me up with this delectible looking bacon wrapped deep fried Mac & Cheese and now I'm considering running out to the store for the ingredients.

1 recipe "The Lady's Cheesy Mac" prepared, chilled in the refrigerator overnight, and cut into 15 squares, recipe follows
1 pound bacon
Flour
2 eggs, beaten
Plain bread crumbs
Peanut oil, for frying

Heat peanut oil to 350 degrees F.

Wrap each square of cheesy mac with 1 strip of bacon, and fasten with toothpick. Dredge each square in flour then egg and then bread crumbs to coat. Fry for about 3 minutes until golden brown.

Yum. Thanks Paula Deen!