Not your parent's bacon burger

There's an article in today's Washington Post about the new approach many grocery stores and restaurants are taking when preparing hamburgers. Instead of piling the toppings on, they are now mixing them in with the meat before it is cooked. And of course, bacon is one of the most popular items being mixed with the hamburger meat.

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Another bacon favorite:

Spaghetti Carbonara

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 large eggs, beaten
Salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with salt and pepper. Mound into serving bowls and garnish with parsley.

Source: FoodNetwork.com

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Bringing Home the Bacon

Where did the saying "bringing home the bacon" come from?

In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high esteem by the community for his forebearance.

Visit the following website for more bacon history, information and recipes:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa082701a.htm?PM=n3083001f

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Bacon Politics

From the Spokesman Review:

"(Idaho) Senators apparently are mutinying over bacon. This session, the strong smell of bacon frying no longer permeates the area around their chambers in the morning, as they’ve cut back in the Senate dining room – no more hot breakfasts. “We’re just trying to be frugal,” said Senate Majority Caucus Chairman Brad Little, R-Emmett. “We’ve got kind of some conservative guys in leadership.”

Complaints about the missing bacon have been so strong that Little quipped that Republican senators may hold a caucus on the topic. But he said the issue is unrelated to Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis’ strong hints to senators today that they all need to ante up their $75 lunchroom fees."

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Bacon on Wikipedia

Wikipedia has a nice write up about bacon. Did you know an individual slice of bacon is called a rasher? There's also a lot of other interesting information about bacon on the site.

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Egg, Bacon, Chips and Beans

Take a culinary tour of the UK with Russell Davies as he seeks out the best places to dine on "Egg, Bacon, Chips and Beans". The list of restaurants he has visited is pretty extensive - a true labor of bacon love.

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Bacon and Green Bean Casserole...Heaven

I was making travel plans for Thanksgiving earlier this week and it got me thinking about one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes - Bacon and Green Bean Casserole.

Bacon and Green Bean Casserole Deluxe
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
- 2 (16-ounce) cans green beans drained
- 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 (2.8-ounce) can French fried onion rings divided
- 3 ounces of bacon bits
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. In bowl, combine beans, soup, milk, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the bacon bits, and pepper; pour into 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake 30 minutes. Top with remaining onions and bacon. Bake 5 minutes longer.

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Pork Chop and Friends

Earlier today while standing in line for customs in Tokyo, I noticed a Chinese kid wearing a "Pork Chop and Friends" t-shirt (I was in line for an hour...I had a lot of time to notice a lot of things). I had never heard of "Pork Chop and Friends" before, so I decided it was worth investigating. What I've learned is that it is a line of children's products in Hong Kong (clothing, toys, etc)...or rather was a line of products in HK. The company recently went out of business.

My research also yielded some other interesting information. Apparently the term "pork chop" when translated into Cantonese is a slang word in HK for "ugly girl." It didn't take a lot of creativity to come up with that one. But apparently there is also an entire film focused on this particular slang term (along with other HK slang).

So at least my time at customs provided some entertainment. Not so entertaining is the cyclone that is currently headed for Tokyo that is supposed to arrive around the time my flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow. Oh well...time to go find some sushi!

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Pork Tabloid

The National Pork Board is doing some interesting marketing these days:

http://www.otherwhitemeat.com/default.aspx

The Dinner Contract is especially entertaining...this line is my favorite:

"I, Mom, certify that henceforth, I will maintain adequate quantities of The Other White Meat in the refrigerator and freezer to keep meals from becoming humdrum, ho-hum, or just plain boring."

There's also a nice section about bacon and another section with lots of recipes, including 28 bacon specific recipes.

The commercials are also highly entertaining...in one of them a pork chop and apricot get it on. Good stuff.

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Adventures in Pork at the Iowa State Fair

I just returned from a weekend at America's favorite fair - the Iowa State Fair. And given Iowa's special role as pork provider to the universe, I have several things to report. And by the way...yes, I was in Iowa on purpose. I wasn't lost, kidnapped or on the lam.

The Big Boar

This here is Tooter. He is a purebred Berkshire boar who tipped the scales at 1080 lbs to capture the Champion title in the Big Boar contest at this year's fair. You wouldn't believe the number of people who were gathered around good ol' Tooter for a photo op. He is a very popular pig.

Farrowing Pig Exhibit

Even more intriguing than the number of people who were gathered around Tooter were the number of people lined up to watch pigs giving birth (farrowing). The piglets are pretty cute though. This exhibit is a big hit with the kids.

Fair Cuisine

"On a stick." Those three words pretty much sum up my Iowa State Fair experience. I'm not sure how many different things I ate during my 12 hours at the fair that were fried or on a stick, but I'm guessing it's over 20. Following are a few of my favorites.

Pork Chop on a Stick

This is seriously one of the best pork chops I've ever had. It ended up being a mid-afternoon snack after we finished touring the Swine building and before we headed indoors to see the Butter Cow. And the pork chop was served by the friendly ladies who are waving to the camera in this photo. It's kind of hard to see them in the window, but they were very enthusiastic about having their photo taken. I think they were disappointed, though, when they found out I wasn't from the local newspaper.

Saratoga Chips

My other mid-afternoon snack was a generous serving of Saratoga Chips. This dish consists of homemade potato chips topped with melted cheese, chives and bacon bits.

Freedom Fries

Just looking at this dish makes me proud to be an American. French Fries topped with melted cheese and bacon. God Bless the USA.

There's so much more that could be shared...fried twinkies, mullets, tie die, inappropriate use of halter tops, the dude who got stabbed in the eye with a fork from a funnel cake...the list goes on. But for now, these will all just be memories to treasure until the next fair.

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Bacon Genes

A note from Dad...

"I viewed the bacon website. I can only say that your grandfather would be proud of what your education has allowed you to create – he loved bacon and ate it regularly. Probably a major contributor to his early departure to the other side, not to say that Camel cigarettes, Lucky Lager beer, and your grandmother’s cooking with lard didn’t also have something to do with it. As I said before, I think your grandmother use to prep the pan with lard before frying the bacon – a little bit of overkill."

Classic.

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Bacon Sushi

Bacon Sushi brings together my two favorite things to eat - bacon and rice. It may have won second place in this competition, but in my mind it's still #1.

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Zucchini and Bacon Salad

This one comes courtesy of Mom and the Idaho Press Tribune!

Zucchini and Bacon Salad

Dressing:
3 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cornstarch
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Salad:
4 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
salt
sliced tomatoes

Fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels; crumble. To 1 tablespoon of the drippings, add sugar and cornstarch. Add vinegar, water, soy, sauce and pepper. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Set aside to let cool slightly. Combine zucchini in a bowl with the crumbled bacon; season with salt and then toss with the warm dressing. Arrange on serving plates with sliced tomatoes.

Serves 4-6.

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Bacon Dictionary

Here's a link to a site that gives a nice overview of the bacon family (and I'm not talking about Kevin and Michael):

http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatcureBacon.html

Bacon products that are defined (with photos!) include American bacon, bacon bits, Canadian bacon, fatback, gypsy bacon, Irish bacon, pancetta, salt pork, vegetarian bacon and turkey bacon.

This information could prevent you from committing a bacon faux pas.

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How to get your recommended daily serving of bacon

The Bacon Show posts "one bacon recipe per day, every day, forever." What more can you ask for?

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A hymn from the Church of Bacon

Check out this delightful little flash presentation. Thank God for Bacon!

http://www.indigo.org/bacon2004.html

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Just because it looks like bacon and is called bacon doesn't mean it's bacon

Our friend Megan at www.iheartbacon.com sent us this link about an experiment involving a BLT sandwich made of Beggin' Strips (yes, the dog snack) that went terribly wrong...

http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000070.php

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Express yourself with meat

Show off your love of bacon (or T-bone steak, pork chops, prime rib, ham, chicken and sausage) with the I Love Meat Sticker Collection!

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Bacon Wrapped Socks???

You are no longer limited to just wrapping (insert any food here) in bacon! Now you can also wrap any gift in bacon! And be sure to tape it up well so there's no peeking!

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The healing power of bacon

Treat your scrapes and scratches with a slab of bacon. Bacon Strips Bandages even come with a free toy!

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Martha Stewart Dog (ankle bracelet not included)

One of the items on the menu at Zanzibar Cafe at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (and Pink's in LA) is the "Martha Stewart Dog." I don't know the story behind the name unfortunately, but this dish is a 10-inch stretch hot dog with mustard, relish, onions, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut, bacon and sour cream. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't ever find any mention of this treat in Martha Stewart Living.

Correction: Apparently this has been featured in Martha Stewart Living afterall...

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