There Will Be Bacon (A Bacon Nation Blog)

Fun recipes for using bacon in different ways everyday by Marie Rama, co-author of BACON NATION, available wherever books are sold, May 2013.

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Now's a Good Time for Us Fig Lovers

Fresh figs are on the market only for a few short weeks in the late summer. Now's the time to use them up in dishes savory and sweet. David Tannis provides a few excellent uses in this NYT's article. I like to eat them as snacks without any adornment, but they are also delicious grilled and served with a smear of goat cheese or as a simple sweet garnish to a butterflied and grilled leg of lamb. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/dining/september-rewards-the-fig-lover.html?rref=dining&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Dining%20%26%20Wine&pgtype=article

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A Diet Axiom is Studied and Proven to be False

A new study says we should avoid carbs, especially those in processed foods, not saturated fat.  Read this NYT's article, and pass me the bacon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/health/low-carb-vs-low-fat-diet.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

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Architectural Food Digest

Hope you get a chuckle from this clever food cartoon created by NYT's illustrator Nicholas Blechman. http://nyti.ms/1sLhAFF

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Here's one insider's view of what's wrong with the way we raise hogs in the USA.

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Bittman's NYT's Editorial is Truly Food for Thought

The real costs of a fast food burger are explained here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/opinion/the-true-cost-of-a-burger.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region

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I'm Eating More Organic Produce and Here's Why

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/12/science/earth/study-of-organic-crops-finds-fewer-pesticides-and-more-antioxidants-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LargeMediaHeadlineSum&module=photo-spot-region&region=photo-spot&WT.nav=photo-spot&_r=0

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A Bacon Puzzle

I wish I could say I was clever enough to think up this idea, but it comes from a friend. Replace any one word in a movie title with the word "bacon." Like "Casabacon," or "Gone With the Bacon." What you got?

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My very favorite food writer, Sam Sifton, explains how to make the perfect hamburger. His direction comes just in time for the burger-grilling season, and he even mentions one of my favorite secret tips for a better burger -- add a little raw, chopped bacon to the meat patty. I know it sounds wacky, but it works and is especially good for making turkey burgers, which lack moisture because turkey meat is so lean. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/dining/how-to-make-a-great-burger.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSectionSumSmallMedia&module=pocket-region&region=pocket-region&WT.nav=pocket-region

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If You Want it Gluten Free, It's Out There!

Thank goodness I'm not gluten intolerant. I could never give up eating a croissant, a piece of naan, real French bread, a New York bagel. You get the point. To be gluten-free or not to be? That's the big question in this day and age of fad-food diet choices. 

Don't you just love how certain food manufacturer's are now marketing their products with labels like, "Gluten-Free." Take bacon. For some reason that information now printed on just about every bacon package appears to sell more of this wonderful popular food. But there's never been gluten in bacon, which leads me to believe people don't really understand what gluten is. 

This New York Times article reports on how chefs are cashing in on the gluten-free trend and our confusion regarding it. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/dining/gluten-free-eating-appears-to-be-here-to-stay.html?hp

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Making Parmigiano-Reggiano

This NYT's cartoon story explains the making of what is without a doubt the most versatile and delicious of all aged Italian cheeses -- Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Parmesan, as we know it here in America.

No good kitchen should ever be without it for dressing up soups, salads, and casseroles. 

Here's the link followed by my ideas for using this King of The Cheeses.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/06/opinion/food-chains-code-name-parmigiano.html

Top Ten Uses for Parmigiano-Reggiano 

Never serve a bowl of pasta without some grated on the side for diners to help themselves. 

Grate over steamed or sauteed asparagus. 

Whisk grated cheese into an omelet. 

Grate over a bowl of minestrone.

Add the rind to soup as it's simmered to lend a pleasant creamy-saltiness to the broth.

Serve a chunk on a cheese platter with a soft cheese, olives, crackers, sliced pears or grapes, roasted peppers, etc. 

Grate into Chicken Caesar Salad. 

Toss into creamy chicken casseroles to boost flavor.

Shave thin slices over salad tossed with orange sections and toasted walnuts. 

Add grated cheese to seasoned breadcrumbs, then coat thin pieces of chicken or fish before baking.  

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Top Pizzas or Open-Faced Tarts With Bacon

Lardons, the French word for thick bacon pieces cut from a slab, are a perfect addition to pizzas and tarts. This tart, ready for the oven, 

is made from a quick yeast dough and uses caramelized onions, softened goat cheese, bacon lardons and thyme as toppings. You can vary the toppings any way you want, using our dough recipe to make the base.

Perfect for Father's Day brunch or a quick afternoon dish to serve with a chilled glass of white Rioja. 

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Father's Day Dishes Made Better with Bacon!

Thinking about the meals you're cooking for Dad this Father's Day? You know anything with bacon will please him. Here are some excellent choices all found in our best-selling cookbook Bacon Nation!

Let Dad wake up to the smell of bacon in this easy Huevos Rancheros that poaches the eggs in a luscious bean, bacon and hot sauce mixture. 

Or, treat him to a few mouth watering slices of Candied Bacon. So easy to make in the oven. He'll love you more for it!

Or, wow him with an Apple Pecan Bacon Coffee Cake with a Butter Rum Glaze. Bacon adds a pleasant saltiness to baked goods and other sweets. 

These are just three out of 125 recipes in Bacon Nation that can make Dad, your hubby or your bf take notice of and love your culinary skills. 

More posts to come throughout the week as we lead up to Father's Day. If you'd like to send me your own F's Day recipes, I'd love to post and tweet them out for you. 

Join me tonight, June 3, at 9 EST, on Bacon Today's All About Bacon Facebook chat. Link to https://www.facebook.com/bacontoday. Ask me questions about bacon, send me your favorite pictures and recipes. I'll pick a winner after the hour-long chat is over to receive a free copy of Bacon Nation. I want to hear from you so let's chat! 

Take care out there! 

Marie Rama

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Eggs 'n Bakey by pamlau.com

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Bacon Wrap Your Father’s Day Gifts In 2014

We’ve all heard of bacon-wrapped shrimp, but what about bacon wrapped gifts? As a part of Craftsman’s initiative to remake Father’s Day in 2014 and give dad what he really wants this year, the brand will be offering limited-edition bacon gift wrapping from May 31 through Father’s Day.

If you want to send along your shipping address, we’ll send you a Craftsman Cap Wrench Bottle Opener so you can test drive the bacon wrapping paper before sending a gift to dear old dad.

Feel free to reach out and I can provide an image of what the wrapping paper looks like. Other bacon buffs can get their gifts wrapped online at Craftsman.com for only $5 – the same price as the current gift wrap, only way cooler (some size restrictions will apply).

Thanks, Nick Eickemeyer 312-396-4397 [email protected]

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Let's Talk Bacon!

I'll be chatting with friends and bacon lovers alike on June 3rd from 6:00 - 7:00 PM PST, hoping to answer most of your questions about cooking with and shopping for bacon. Join me, share photos of your personal bacon creations, and win fabulous bacon prizes! Stay tuned for more info as the 3rd approaches. Just in time for Father's Day! Maybe you have a favorite recipe to share or a bacon story to tell. Let's see if we can get at least 100 people chatting on the internet all at once about one of the world's most interesting and delicious foods: BACON! 

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Always Hungry? Here's Why

New studies show to lose and maintain weight, count and reduce the simple carbohydrates you consume, not the calories.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?hp&rref=opinion

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Green Giant Tells Consumers to Eat Brownies with Spinach

Classify this idea under "Things that make you go hmmm."

Green Giant is selling pureed vegetable pouches, believing consumers will mix pureed spinach into brownies and pureed squash into mac and cheese in order to increase their daily servings of vegetables.  Read about it here. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/dining/stealth-vegetables.html?hp