Bacon is sweet!

If you don’t know already, I love bacon. I may become a bacon lady one day…in the same way that there are cat ladies. That might scare some people, but I’m pretty sure you’d still come over to visit. The other day I found this fantastic little gem on the internet: The Baconcyclopedia. Did you know that bacon is one of the oldest meats in history? I wonder if I could make my own bacon salt? I need to meet this woman. We could be BFFs!

More importantly did you know that tomorrow, Saturday, Sept 3 is International Bacon Day? In honor of this INTERNATIONAL Holiday I bring you this post on bacon.

My unnatural lust for bacon has developed, in recent months, into a fascination of trying out new ways to cook with bacon. My interest specifically lies in mixing salty deliciousness of bacon with chocolate or something sweet. I can’t remember exactly when this new obsession started. I think it was inspired by the milk chocolate + bacon bar by Vosges. Chocolate and bacon! Brilliant! Why hadn’t I thought of that before? So here are a few of my recent, very tasty endeavors with bacon—all of which, I highly recommend.

Bacon Jam

If you follow this blog, you know that Bacon Jam marks my most recent expedition into a whole new level of bacon worship. I commonly refer to it as awesomesauce:

(From the Urban Dictionary: Awesomesauce is prepared by mixing equal parts of awesome, amazing and breathtaking. The awesomeness is slowly cooked and small parts of uncanny, extraordinary and magnificent are added. When no one expects it, the awesomesauce should asplode in huge fireworks, sonic booms, gorgeous girls, american flags and monster-trucks.)

I see making lots of this for Christmas gifts this year!

Brown butter, bacon, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a whirl a few months ago. They were very good!

Chocolatey, bacony, cookie goodness!

Here are my adjustments (I never fully follow the directions):

FYI you pretty much have to fry a whole pack of bacon to get a cup worth of chopped bacon

I used 1/4 cup of semi sweet choc chips. I figured I had already chopped bacon, I'm not chopping chocolate too.

And I used milk choc chips. I am sure the grated chocolate is nice, but again...I chopped up bacon. I'm not chopping/shaving/grating anything else. One chopped item per recipe

Bourbon Bacon Bites

This is a Paula Deen recipe and is really easy to make. You can eat it straight or, if it makes you feel better about yourself, sprinkle on a  salad. The recipe is in The Deen Family Cookbook and I can't seem to find a link to it online. 

My method is very similar to this one which they call Pig Candy. PERFECT!

This is what you do:

Brush slices of bacon with bourbon.

Rub brown sugar on both sides of the bacon (you could also add a little cayenne pepper if you want it spicy too).

Put the bacon on a cookie sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 until the bacon is done (a nice maple color). I think because of the sugar and bourbon, it has a tendency to burn quickly so just keep an eye on it. 

Bacon Pancake Bites

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time! Using inspiration from this post , I cooked about half a pack of bacon and then crumbled it into pieces after it cooled. Then I whipped up some pancake batter (I used one straight out of the box...and if you can find it, sweet potato pancake mix would be AWESOME--I find it at Fresh Market), added the bacon to the batter, and baked in a mini muffin pan. When they're done, pop them out, and serve with maple syrup to dip them in! Sadly, I don't think I have a photo of these but trust me when I tell you that they're the best weekend breakfast you'll ever make. 

Bacon Jam

You wanna know what's awesomesauce? Bacon Jam, that's what. Literally. I've been meaning to post about this incredible recipe and then Young House Love posted a Pinterest challenge for Tuesday. Of course, they do this the weekend I'm going to be out of town, so I can't even submit a cool crafty project. However, I believe Bacon Jam will more than suffice. It is possibly the most awesome thing I've ever cooked. Ever. So here is my project for the Pinterest challenge.

From Young House Love

I found the recipe on Pinterest a week or so ago. If you know me, you know my love of bacon. I've made candied bacon. I've made chocolate chip cookies with bacon (will post that soon). I've made pancake muffins with bacon in them that you dip in maple syrup. My love knows no bounds. I started thinking about possible food gifts that I could give this year for Christmas gifts and came across this recipe. I gave it a whirl and brought it into work for my guinea pigs to test. It has been an outstanding success. I created an office of addicts. Seriously. I've made three batches of it, with the batch last night being a double.

Here is the recipe I linked to above, with my notes:

Bacon Jam (this is the recipe for one batch...I usually just go ahead and make a double batch, which means just doubling everything below)

1 1/2 pounds bacon, sliced--two packs of bacon

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)--since I'm going to pulverize it later in the food processor, I save myself some time and just buy the frozen, pre-chopped onion in the grocery store.

3 medium cloves roasted garlic--here again, I try to save myself time, and I buy the Dorot brand frozen cubes of garlic at Trader Joe's. 

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

6 tablespoons brewed coffee or postum

6 tablespoons bourbon

Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a cold oven. Turn oven on to 400°F and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, until bacon is golden brown. I just fry my bacon in a pan on the stove top. My oven is finicky and I'm more likely to burn the bacon in the oven than on the stovetop.

Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve one tablespoon of fat, pouring into a skillet, and adding onions, sugar and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and translucent, about five minutes. Add vinegar, maple syrup, coffee or postum, and bourbon. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes.

Transfer mixture and cooked bacon to a six-quart slow-cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly and bacon is a deep burnished brown, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. I usually stir it a few times while it's cooking. With the lid off, the bacon on top of the pile gets dry quickly so I stir it occasionally to keep the liquid distributed.

Transfer mixture to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then transfer to airtight jars. Store in refrigerator for up to one month. I've read, and experienced, that it keeps just fine in the fridge longer than that. I'd say at least three months, maybe longer.

It's certainly not the most inexpensive thing I've ever made. Bacon, especially 4 packs (for the double batch) isn't exactly cheap (hello $20 in bacon!!) but it's insanely good. It's smoky and sweet. Salty and a little tangy. It's perfection. And there are a thousand things to do with it, if you find you're not content with just eating it straight out of the jar. I think I found a winner!!

I made some cute little labels to play around with packaging. I still need to work on the lid cover. I like the parchment but it was kind of a pain to work with.

Tastee

Just a few quick recommendations for things I've tried recently that could be classified as amazeballs.

This candy bar is the best candy bar you'll ever have in your life. I could write more, but that would be a waste of text.

The Haute Dog Carte in Baltimore, on Falls Road at Lake Avenue (next to Bonjour Bakery) is a great place to stop on the weekend for fantastic fare. I'm not a big meat eater. I'm not even a huge fan of hot dogs, but if it looks pretty and smells delicious I'm willing to give it a try. We stopped on a Sunday afternoon after spending a few hours in the heat chasing Henry around the nature playground at Irvine Nature Center.

I had the HD Signature and it was great. I love their method of putting the dog down in the bread and the bacon/onion relish was very tasty (you know how I luurve me some bacon!). We wrangled up the toddler in the back of the truck and had a fun little parking lot picnic.

An afternoon in DC

We live close enough to Washington, DC that we can drive down for an afternoon visit. That's a good thing, because with a toddler an afternoon trip anywhere is really about all you can withstand. I want to continue to expose Henry to urban places, even though it's a little bit harder to do with all the stuff I have to lug around, keeping him in the stroller (not jumping off the sidewalk into traffic), and finding places that you can get a stroller into whether it is shopping, dining, or going to something like a museum. We took Henry to NYC last Spring, but he wasn't really mobile yet. I'm hoping to get back to NYC with him sometime this Fall (dare to dream!!!!!!).

We had a great time, despite the insane heat, in Georgetown. I needed to run in Paper Source and we had a little snack at Le Pain Quotidien, which is a very child-friendly place. The staff were very nice and helpful when we needed it, and they have Henry's favorite food: bread. We also discovered that he prefers to eat their insanely delicious Brunette spread straight up and off his fingers.

Georgetown is also good for small kids because there are little neighborhood parks where you can stop with the little one for insane-apoolza. Henry had fun at little this little playground near Olive Street and ran out the rest of his energy before he took a little afternoon nap in the truck as we drove over toward the National Mall.

I love Hill Country BBQ in NYC (I'm probably the only person who goes to NYC and looks forward to eating bbq) and their spin off, Hill Country Chicken. I have been very excited to try out Hill Country BBQ DC (Penn Quarter, just a few blocks north of the National Mall). It's also a fantastic place to go (either location) if you have a kid in a stroller. It didn't disappoint. The food is insane! The pork ribs (and I don't even really eat that much meat) taste like BACON. And the sides. Dear lordy, don't even get me started on the sides.

But it's the dessert that got me this time....specifically their sweet potato bread pudding. Don't worry internets, I've already started pinning some recipes. It's going to happen. VERY soon.

After dinner, we strolled around the Mall and popped into the Smithsonian National History Museum. The little one was getting pretty tired, so we stayed in the land of bones and rocks and such for a short time before we headed over to the little pool by the art museum where everyone was cooling their heels a bit. It was a great little trip and I can't wait to get Henry back down there soon to ride the Metro. He's going to LOVE the Metro.

Miss Shirley comes to town!

So finally, Towson, the COUNTY SEAT of Baltimore County (you know, supposedly the place with all the action?) is finally starting to see some of the local food truck action. Last year the Iced Gems cupcake truck was here but then they bailed this year (supposedly lack of sales when they were here). For two weeks, the Miss Shirley's food truck has been parked near the Old Courthouse. Last week on Wednesday, this week on Thursday, and supposedly on all future Thursdays (10am-2pm). Yay!!!!!!! FINALLY something to look forward to around here. The County just finished the project to create a public plaza in the core of downtown, yet other than a few random food carts (the usual hotdog sort of thing), the space doesn't see much action.

The Chamber of Commerce started a Tuesday Market a few weeks ago, but honestly it's more lame than the regular Thursday Farmer's Market. If that is even possible. So hooray for Miss Shirley's for taking a chance on us poor folks working in Towson during the week!!!

Jessie and I went out to get some tasty deliciousness again this week and I thought I'd share. Miss Shirley's has fantastic fried green tomatoes. The lemon-herb aioli is good, but the house relish is fantastic.

Jessie also got their famous sweet potato fries, the ones with the insanely good mango ketchup and citrus aioli. She's going to be very pleased that I posted these photos. :)

Fun in Annapolis

We took a quick little afternoon trip down to Annapolis today and had more fun than expected. Living fairly close, we go down there pretty regularly but haven't had a chance to go into downtown in awhile. After an early dinner at Ram's Head Tavern we took a stroll down Main Street where I found two VERY Amy-tastic snack locations....The first was Nostalgia Cupcakes. I must say that I found these cupcakes to be much better than the ones I've had here in Baltimore at Charm City Cupcakes or Baltimore Cupcake. Perhaps it's a good thing I can't get a good cupcake very close to my house. Could be very dangerous.

Good things always come in boxes wrapped in bakers twine.

We got two of the Chocolate City, I got a red velvet, and Kirk got the peanut butter--to go.

For our more immediate after-dinner entertainment we went to Yofiore, a new fro-yo place in Annapolis. Of course it wasn't as good as the places I've been in NYC but still much better than the one fro-yo place located here in Baltimore.


I didn't take the photos below (you can find them here) but the store was very cute inside!

Saturday

Oh, the fun and exciting things we do over the weekends!!

This is what happens when I ask Kirk to vacuum. Apparently I didn't specify WHAT he should vacuum.




Later Saturday afternoon we went to Weber Farm, which is just up the road from our house, for a little seasonal entertainment. And to be honest, we actually went for things like cider donuts and caramel apples.








Goats really find salt treated wood tasty!

Mmmm. Donuts. And they were still warm.





The pumpkins on our front porch.