My new favorite sin: candied bacon!

I’ve never really been a good Jewish girl as far as food is concerned. I love shellfish, cheeseburgers and, of course, bacon. There was one Passover when my mom scolded me for eating ham, but that’s about the extent of our attempt at Kosher-ness. And since my love for bacon falls only slightly below my love of olives (both below cheese and chocolate), as soon as I saw this piece on unusual candied foods, I just had to try the bacon.

The process was actually pretty simple. I had to adjust a little, since I got a 12oz package of bacon (the only nitrite/nitrate-free choice). And while the instructions called for using just one spice I used a combo of cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg. The pinch of cayenne gave it a nice burn at the end to balance out the sweetness. My one problem was what to do with the finished product. My original plan was to use it as a topping on leftover cauliflower gratin. After snacking on taste-testing a few pieces, however, I didn’t really want more with my dinner. I tried it for lunch on a peanut butter and banana sandwich (amazing), and I think it could be great on a Cobb-type salad.

Any other suggestions for using candied bacon?

ready to go in the oven

draining (a few pieces didn't make it)

a bowl of 'yum!'

Here’s the recipe, so you can indulge too!

Candied Bacon

(adapted from Organic Authority)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground spice of choice (try cumin, chili powder or cinnamon)

1 pound sliced bacon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking pan with foil, and place a broiler rack on top of the pan. Coat the rack with oil.

Mix sugar and spices in a large bowl. Add bacon and press mixture onto each bacon slice. Place bacon slice on oiled rack in a single layer, sprinkling with any remaining sugar mixture.

Bake until bacon is nice and crispy, about 20 minutes. Transfer to towels to drain, then transfer to a dish to cool completely.

Oh so much linking!

Some posts are easier to write than others: that’s why I can post this slew of links while my Valentine’s Day commentary continues to languish in the ‘recent drafts’ section of my WordPress dashboard. Writing a post and compiling recipes and pictures requires a certain degree of focus, and I tend to be distracted rather easily by Twitter and my Google Reader. So, instead of fixing this obvious lack of focus, I decided to just share all the things that have been distracting me recently.

Because I love lists:

The Chicago Tribune made a list of Ten Underappreciated Superfoods. I was happy to see something other than the typical pomegrantes-and-kale-and-a-grain-you’ve-never-heard-of list. And, of course, garlic. But I appreciate garlic.

Domino's Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl Pasta (photo from menshealth.com)

(I used to tell Adam I’d break up with him if he didn’t have fresh garlic in his kitchen at all times.)

Liza over at (a)musing Foodie referenced this Men’s Health article about The 20 Worst Foods in America, which I thought went nicely with Ranker’s Top 10 Worst (for you) Restaurant Meals. I feel full gross just looking at the images.

A friend posted this on Facebook, and I immediately fell in love. There is an admirable amount of creativity involved in coming up with 10 foods that can be made in a coffee maker.

Because I at least try to be healthy:

Mmm... real salmon (photo from gptsc.com)

The Huffington Post shared a piece by Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch. In it she raises some concern over the Obama administration’s failure to focus on real food issues, like genetically engineered fish and produce.

On a similar note, Mark Bittman’s Op-Ed in the Times questions the lack of labeling on G.M.O. Foods.

The Department of Agriculture has reworked the Dietary Guidelines again, and this time there’s no pyramid (though there are plenty of pie charts and bar graphs). The New York Times shared Jane E. Brody’s take on the new guidelines. Her suggestions are pretty basic, but worth the reminder. (via @Washingtonian)

Some trends I can totally get behind:

photo from Salon.com

I should love wine: my parents were taking me to wineries when I was still in a stroller. I’m still in the ‘learning to appreciate it’ stages though, and these beer cocktails from thenibble.com sound quite tasty.

I don’t think I’ve ever tried to hide my love of terribly unhealthy junk food (aside from hiding it in my car so Adam doesn’t find it), so if this Salon-proposed Bugles-are-Cool trend actually happens I’ll be quite pleased (as long as Cheetos are cool too). (via @Washingtonian)

Things to add to my ‘Kitchen Wish List’:

Clongs- photo from thekitchn.com

I’ve started to keep a running list (scroll all the way down) of things I’d love to have in my kitchen. Apparently Adam pays attention, since he recently gave me a copy of The Wagamama Cookbook. So I’m sure I’ll have all kinds of new tools and pantry items to add to my list, since the more I cook new dishes the more I realize that I just need all kinds of new kitchen accessories. New need this week: kitchen clongs. (Emily over at Five and Spice has dubbed this phenomenon ‘the Wanting Monster.’)

Just some interesting reading:

I noticed this article on the front page of the Times Dining and Wine section and just couldn’t resist. For Actresses, Is a Big Appetite Part of the Show? focuses mainly on how interviewers write about their subjects’ eating habits, and what that says about societal perceptions.

This one I tracked down after seeing a reference/response to it (and later realized I’d also tagged it via @The Food Section). I’m sure it’s been all over the internet by now, but B.R. Myers’s tirade article in The Atlantic, The Moral Crusade Against Foodies, is definitely worth a read. One aspect I find interesting is his insistence that being a ‘foodie’ is quite expensive: my meager post-grad budget doesn’t prevent me from lusting after artisanal cheeses with the best of them.

And I think that’s it for now. Hopefully this week I will be less distracted by other people’s writing and accomplish some of my own.

A Monday Amuse-Bouche

Normally I would be gearing up for a Meatless Monday right now, but unfortunately there won’t be a new or interesting recipe being tried out in my kitchen tonight. My car died a little last night, so there’s no going to the market: my plans for roasted potato leek soup will have to be pushed back to next week.

Instead, I’d like to share some food articles/posts/pictures that have caught my attention over the past week or so.

Happy Monday! Enjoy!

Photo from thekitchenyogi.com

Baking and yoga don’t seem to go together very well, but The Nibble brought these awesome cookie cutters to my attention. I tend to be a little more consistent in my cookie baking than I am in my yoga attendance, but maybe these would be an inspiration. (The recipe for molasses honey ginger cookies might even inspire me to bake something chocolate-free!)

Burratta, photo from Huffington Post

While most of Huffington Post’s Top 10 New Foods of 2010 didn’t thrill me (though I’ll admit that a fried peanut butter banana bourbon sandwich sounds pretty delicious), one thing stuck out as something I need to track down and sample: burratta. The HuffPo description alone is enough to make my mouth water. Then again, I’m a sucker for anything cheesy.

photo from Pretty Foods and Pretty Drinks

The Candy Critic is constantly pointing out interesting links to food and candy news and trends, and his post on 2010 Food Trends is no different. The mention of Parisian macarons was enough to make me take a look at the entire list. (I can’t get macarons out of my head since I saw them mentioned on Hot Polka Dot. She’s totally right- making macarons is not rocket science.) Nothing on the list seemed particularly earth-shattering, though it did reinforce my suspicions that I need to find a Bahn Mi restaurant to try.

Photo from Pretty Foods and Pretty Drinks

Finally, since I’m on the topic of blog-inspired foodcravings… I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Pretty Foods and Pretty Drinks. Sure, I love when these little visual treats pop up in my google reader. When pictures like this come up, however, I just end up frustrated. Why is there no recipe to accompany this amazing-looking grilled mac and cheese?!?

Meatless Monday: Spanish Omelette

For my first Meatless Monday I decided to make something new but simple. Based on the ingredients I already had in my fridge, a Spanish omelette seemed to fit the bill nicely. There was an easy enough recipe in Nigella Express and, best of all, it recommended that the omelette be eaten at room temperature, so I didn’t have to worry about timing dinner for when Adam would get home.

pages 272-273 of Nigella Express

The recipe was incredibly straightforward. I started by cutting the potatoes into cubes that were a little under an inch. I’d been worried about not having enough potatoes (I had a half dozen red-skinned baby potatoes) so I’d walked down to my favorite market to pick up extras. My mom pointed out that this was probably unnecessary since I was only cooking for two people and she was right. I only ended up using five of the potatoes I already had.

While the potatoes were boiling (since I’d cut them so small it took less than 15 minutes) I chopped up the rest of my ingredients. Nigella called for roasted red peppers and scallions, but since I was depending on the contents of my fridge I went with sun-dried tomatoes and onions, plus curly leaf parsley for color. I also opted for cheddar over Manchego, since that’s what I had on hand.

the sun-dried tomatoes were part of my mom's bountiful tomato harvest this year

While the (now cooked) potatoes drained in the sink, I moved on to the other key ingredient- the eggs. Oddly, the ‘Large’ white egg I used was significantly larger than the three ‘Large’ brown eggs were. I think I’m going to have to look into that. (I think I should also look into the health benefits of brown eggs, to justify the higher price to myself.) I whisked the four eggs together, added my chopped/shredded ingredients  and some salt and pepper.

scrambled eggs with onion, parsley, cheddar, sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper

Now, according to Nigella, it was time to pour the omelette into the pan and start the cooking process. I got as far as heating the oil and butter on the stove before I realized that I’d forgotten about the potatoes draining in the sink. Apparently Nigella did, too. After consulting the recipe again, I discovered that the potatoes disappeared after step two. A quick search of allrecipes reassured me that it was time to add the potatoes.

I put my small frying pan back on the burner and emptied the contents of my mixing bowl into it. This was the challenging part of the process. According to Nigella, I could cook the omelette for five minutes on the stovetop, then transfer it to the broiler to finish up. Unfortunately, none of my frying pans are oven-safe, so I had to search for an alternative cooking method.

waiting for the top to become firm enough to flip

Luckily, The Illustrated Kitchen Bible (one of my winter solstice presents this year) called for cooking in the pan, over low heat, for twenty minutes, then using plates to flip the omelette before returning it to the pan to finish cooking. While this method required a little more patience, I was pleasantly surprised that the bottom didn’t get over-done while the top was becoming solid enough for the plate flip-and-slide.

It actually ended up cooking pretty well. Overall, it was certainly satisfying enough to be a main dish. I was a little dissatisfied with the flavor: the sun-dried tomatoes were definitely the strongest individual flavor, and everything else was pretty mild. I think next time I might try the Kitchen Bible’s method: they suggest cutting the potatoes into matchsticks instead of cubes. I think that could help prevent the big pockets of mildness that the potatoes cause. And, of course, adding a little extra cheese could never hurt… Maybe I should just stick to quiche, after all.

Pie is the new cupcake(?)

On NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday this week, food commentator Bonny Wolf predicted some culinary trends for this year. Among them: pies will displace cupcakes as the new glorified dessert, and junk food will make its way into haute cuisine. My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned ‘restaurant-made Cheeto-like snacks.’