My Life With Bacon

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week just a few days before Christmas. My older son Sam is thankfully home. What do you think he wanted to eat after nearly six months (college semester abroad) in India?  Steak and brussels sprouts with BACON!  I was happy to oblige.  Very Christmas-y, Holiday-ish dish. I used the Consumer Reports #1 rated bacon in making this dish (review below): Kirkland smoked bacon.  Great stuff at a terrific price. The recipe for this is simple .  Steam the sprouts until bright green (~5 minutes).  Crumble cooked bacon. Drain the sprouts and cut them in half.  Heat some bacon fat in a pan, then throw in the sprouts and bacon.  Add minced garlic during the last minute or two (stronger garlic flavor happens with the shortest cooking time, so make sure to add the minced garlic late in the cooking cycle), then salt and pepper to taste.   A key to this is to heat the pan and keep it hot, so the sprouts get crisp...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues with an abbreviated version this week. BREAKFAST on Friday at Walker Brothers restaurant in Highland Park, IL was a treat.  Their omelettes are excellent - I had the "meat lovers" and a side of bacon.  The bacon they serve is from Jones Dairy Farm in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin . The bacon was outstanding, and I'll be ordering some up for home cooking.  Great texture, some succulence, but excellent flavor. Didn't have much opportunity for bacon cooking here in Philadelphia for the Army/Navy football rivalry.  Navy cooked Army's bacon again - very disappointing. See you next week!

MY LIFE WITH BACON CONTINUES with a short post this week.  New news that bacon actually has live extension qualities (for those of you who are concerned for my health).  And I review a highly recommended web purveyor of bacon from New Hampshire and a pedestrian bacon from Jewel supermarkets. BACON IN THE NEWS .  The only note worthy of mention this week is a news article that bacon is healthy and can extend your life.  I can't find the link right now, but trust me on this. AUTHENTICO in Lake Forest is a relatively new Mexican restaurant here in Lake Forest.  A cool place that makes excellent Margaritas. They have a bacon wrapped shrimp dish that is awesome.  The guacamole sauce is a little bit sweet, but the smokiness of the bacon combined with perfectly cooked shrimp is always an excellent combination.  From their menu: Camarones Envueltos en Tocino:  Four grilled shrimp wrapped in jalapeño bacon, avocado salsa, roasted pobla...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues with a Thanksgiving smorgasbord of bacon, including some Turkey silliness, and a great Bacon Drink at the Signature Room.   BACON IN THE NEWS for Thanksgiving was rather quiet.  There were plenty of stories about bacon and turkey; the silliest was this: Bacon-wrapped Turkey .  Now, I'm certainly a lover of bacon, but it's just plain silly.  Watch the video and decide for yourself.  While I wouldn't make it for the family, I might just try it with a turkey breast... APPLES ON HORSEBACK from Food & Wine magazine was a highlight of our Thanksgiving.  The recipe is pretty straightforward: Pink Lady apples, thin slices of pancetta ('Italian bacon' from Mariano's Supermarket ), Manchego cheese, and rosemary sprigs.   See the recipe here .  GREAT tasting and an absolute re-do.  Picture above. ON SATURDAY , Debbie's family tradition of a family reunion / Thanksgiving redux had us hosting a full day includi...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week with a trip to Lester's Bison Farm in Wisconsin, a little bacon news, and dinner at Jillian's house. BACON IN THE NEWS .  Just a few headlines Kevin Bacon's Daughter Sosie Named Miss Golden Globe 2014 - worth a quick read.   Bacon Fest Sacramento III coming in January - continuing the city-by-city adoption of a bacon fest.  In a bit of disappointing news related to the first story, " ...the popular “Kevin Bacon Tribute Night” at Old Ironsides featuring bacon snacks and local bands playing songs from Kevin Bacon movies will not happen this year"  Time Magazine comes out with their " Complete History of How Bacon Took over the World ".  Instead of refuting each claim of a news story, as I did last week, I will instead sum it up with this: If you are new to the world of bacon, read the article.  Some great stats.  One of the last sections is entitled "Bacon Will Never Die", which is true....

MY LIFE WITH BACON CONTINUES with some great stuffed jalapeños (with bacon), a mostly-wrong news article, and a review of two popular local bacons. BACON IN THE NEWS . Huffington Post reports on 9 Unfortunate Truths About Juicy, Scrumptious Bacon , an article that is MOSTLY WRONG .  Here is what it says along with my comments: 1.  "Bad news: Bacon has a lot of fat -- the bad kind."  Not true.  If you are a follower of generally lower-carb diets, or follow the blog of Dr. Michael Eades , as I do, FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY.  Watch his current video to get a different perspective on cholesterol and fat.  2.  "Good news: Bacon and eggs is probably one of the best combinations ever."  Uh. Duh. Obviously. 3.  "Bad news: Bacon, like other processed meats, could contribute to heart disease and some cancers."  The jury is still out on this one.  This article calls the exaggerated bacon-cancer link storeie "scaremongering". 4. ...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week with a review of newsworthy bacon stories and insightful analysis, followed by a review of two commercially available bacons. BUT FIRST, IN HONOR OF VETERAN'S DAY tomorrow, above is a picture of a panel in which I had the honor of participating yesterday, helping Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10, at far right) select candidates for our nation's Military Academies.  I'm in the front row, bracketed by my two female colleagues (if you don't know me) and the gentleman on the far left of the picture is Captain Jim Lovell (USN, Retired).  Yes, that Captain Lovell. One of the candidates we interviewed (numbering about 16 for a full day) had the guts to ask hm "are you the Captain Lovell".  Rest assured that our nation will be in good hands with the outstanding young men and women we interviewed yesterday. BACON IN THE NEWS - a couple of interesting stories. BACON DEODORANT - A STEP TOO FAR.   Hey, like many of you, ...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week with two short news stories, followed by a review of The Fresh Market 's All-Natural Dry Rubbed Uncured Bacon.  Sorry about the picture; it's really difficult to get the glare out, unless you're a professional organization like my friends at itemMaster .   BACON IN THE NEWS this week - I'll cover two stories: BURGLAR BREAKS INTO HOME, COOKS BACON .  Yep, you read that right.  Guy breaks into someone's house, takes beer, cooks bacon, leaves.  He took a shortcut: bacon was cooked in the microwave.  Bad form.  I wonder if he cleaned up?  The newspaper headline was "Bacon, beer consumed in Bismark Burglary" - lot's of b's in there.  Huff Po reports that: Last year, a Missouri man was sentenced to seven years in prison after breaking into a stranger's home and frying bacon in her kitchen , according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And in 2011, three teens broke into a store freezer in Indiana a...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues with a visit to a great neighborhood restaurant, and testing Hormel Natural Choice bacon. FIRST, BACON IN THE NEWS. This one falls into the category of "why didn't I think of that?"  Someone has come up with an app, including hardware,: that makes your smartphone send out a puff of bacon scent as a notification (such as when your loved one texts you).  This is amazing, and incredibly silly.  Apparently, there are actual business uses for this accessory - samples of scents for perfume, or cooking samples.  Go here to read the engadget article plus a video!  Remember " smell-o-vision "??  This was a technology that released smells during a movie!  It was a cool idea, obviously well before its time.  Smell-O-Vision had its one and only public use for a movie appropriately called "The Scent of Mystery," in 1960.  Read the article and also learn that a competitive technology, called "AromaRama" appeared around the...

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues with a review of a famous Chicago butcher's in-store cured bacon, and some Bacon In The News. THE NEWS THIS WEEK was pretty cool:  Hormel sponsored a video contest - who can produce the best short video on the subject of bacon?  They call it the 2013 International Bacon Film Festival, and the YouTube playlist can be found here .  The winner shouldn't have won, in my opinion. A young man with a banjo sings a hokey song about bacon, and waxes thickly about his bacon fantasies.  Make up your own mind, however.  BBDO did the work for Hormel, and they said it was a very efficient way to grab attention, declining to say how much the campaign cost.  A very cool banner image. AN INTERESTING SITE CALLED FOODSPIN reports on a scientific study that concludes: bacon improves everything except pasta and desert.  They call it the "Ultimate Ingredient". The study can be found here , but it's one of those "I knew that" kinds ...