August 30, 2010 by Marianne

August 30, 2010 • Filed Under: International Bacon Day , Bacon, Genesis West, International Bacon Day, Sweet Sunday

For a number of reasons, not the least of which is a lack of venue, RBS will not be holding a full-scale Bacon Day party in 2010. I’ve already discussed this disappointing news with a number of you die-hards out there, and all I can say is we are sorry. It was a tough decision, much debated over many, many glasses of wine. I mean, you can’t NOT celebrate what has become such a joyous event! So how do we, Santa Barbara’s mavens of bacon, plan to celebrate? We’re going to do some research and find the restaurant with the most fun and/or unique bacon-celebrating menu items and have ourselves a nice sit-down dinner. Cloth napkins and all! But we cannot stress this enough: PLEASE! Celebrate on this delicious day. Try a new recipe. Go out for a bacon-spiked meal. Host your own party (and invite us!) Just find a way to indulge in something wonderful this Saturday, because I’m pretty sure that’s what Bacon Day is all about.

For those of you in or near Santa Barbara: Any suggestions of great bacon dishes you’ve had locally? I’m considering Julienne, which has a crispy pork belly that seriously draws my interest. But I’m open to being swayed.

Now, if you really can’t stand the idea of not seeing us in September, we’ve got a great alternative opportunity for you. Last year’s Bacon Day party benefited a local theatre group, Genesis West. On September 19 they will be holding their first annual Sweet Sunday! It’s like Bacon Day, but all sweets! Cookies, cupcakes, pies and candy…your one-stop eating destination for that sweet tooth of yours. RBS is sponsoring this event and we’ll be there with our own spread of sweets, full of bacon of course. You’ll also have a chance to win lots of exciting swag, and meet some of Santa Barbara’s…well, sweetest people. (I couldn’t help myself.) Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and there are reduced children’s prices as well. Once you get inside, you can indulge in all the sweets you can handle. (Augustus, save some room for later!) Coffee and soft drinks will be provided, and wine and champagne will be available for purchase. So come on out, enjoy another beautiful Santa Barbara day, and show your support for the local arts. We’ll see you there!

September 24, 2009 by Marianne

September 24, 2009 • Filed Under: International Bacon Day , Bacon Grease, International Bacon Day

The day before Bacon Day, Naseem was at my house and asked me what we were going to do with all the bacon grease. We had toyed with the idea of offering it as a beverage option for the truly brave (or deeply disturbed). When that idea got shot down, Naseem volunteered our good friend Cameron to come up with an appropriate display. That evening, they both showed up with a giant, cylindrical glass vase, which we figured could probably hold close to a gallon in volume.

We started by filtering in all the standard (non-flavored) bacon grease. It was absolutely beautiful, a vessel of liquid amber. It was such a lovely shade, I didn’t want to taint it with the other colors. But we had four fabulous bacons from Bacon Freak, which had made grease in varying shades from a lovely orange (Bourbon Street Cajun Style) to a deep crimson (Coastal Caliente Smoked Jalapeno). If we really wanted to show off the grease we’d made, they’d all have to go in. From lightest to darkest we added them, and for a while they settled at the bottom. I thought we might maintain a layered effect, but eventually all the colors melded into a vibrant orange shade. The result was quite pretty.

After a final top off at Naseem’s house, we ended up with a very impressive display. Next Cameron made a nutrition fact sheet, along with creative suggestions for how to use an excess of bacon grease. I know for a fact that he makes fireplace kindling with bacon grease and dryer lint. No joke. The man is the MacGyver of pork fat. If you need any suggestions, just email us. We (mostly he and Naseem) are absolutely full of ideas.

For many, it was the highlight of the event. At very least, it left an impression and everyone learned something. Thanks, Cameron and Naseem, for impressing (and grossing) the hell out of everyone at Bacon Day!

September 22, 2009 by Marianne

September 22, 2009 • Filed Under: International Bacon Day , Bacon Freak, Bacon Unwrapped, Genesis West, International Bacon Day, Paradise Island Popcorn, The Soapier

Wow, it is really taking me forever to finish writing about Bacon Day. It was just SUCH a day!

We had a number of very generous donors who helped us make this event a success. First and foremost was Rocco at Bacon Freak. He sent us 12 pounds of his delicious, uniquely flavored bacons. Without exception our guests enjoyed them…I don’t think we received a single negative review. Rocco’s bacons are dry-aged, so they have a texture that’s different from most bacons you’ve eaten. And the flavors! We were fortunate to sample Boss Hogg’s Hickory Smoked Maple , Rocco’s Private Reserve Sun-Dried Tomato (a big hit from Bacon Day 08), Bourbon Street Cajun Style, and the most popular, Coastal Caliente Smoked Jalapeno. You can find all these flavors and more at Rocco’s Bacon Store. Thanks, Rocco, for your never-ending support!

Next, we had a new sponsor in Paradise Island Popcorn. They sent us a split case of their Mmm…Bacon popcorn, and their popular Jamaican BBQ. We had enough popcorn for everyone to sample at the event, and several people won a box to take home. Thanks Steve! We’re customers for life!

Our raffle was jam-packed with awesome prizes. Blogtastic Heather Lauer of Bacon Unwrapped sent us two signed copies of her book, Bacon: A Love Story. John at The Soapier provided us with three beautiful bars of bacon soap (bacon in looks only…smelled divine.) There were swag boxes from Bacon Freak, theatre tickets from Genesis West, t-shirts, bacon novelties…there were moments when I thought the raffle would never end!

Congratulations to our raffle winners, and thanks a million times over to those who supported the cause. It was a huge help in our fundraising efforts, and really made for a fun day. And for those of you who didn’t win…you’ll just have to come back next year and try again!

September 9, 2009 by Marianne

September 9, 2009 • Filed Under: Bacon Reviews, International Bacon Day , International Bacon Day, The New Old Biddy

So I met these two great girls at Bacon Day, Jennifer and Lauren, and we talked a bit about theatre and whatnot. I was super impressed that they drove all the way from Los Angeles for the event, and very sad that they didn’t win any raffle prizes. What I didn’t realize is that Jennifer is a freelance columnist for the LA Times Magazine, and has a great blog, one that I actually read from time to time.

Jennifer’s review of Bacon Day puts me to shame. She probably took more photos than I did. So for a candid review of the good and the not-so-good novelties served at Bacon Day, check here. More to come from us when we get all our photos in order!

September 8, 2009 by Marianne

September 8, 2009 • Filed Under: International Bacon Day , Bacon Day 09, Genesis West, Nicolaysen Winery

What can I say about International Bacon Day 2009? It was so fun. It was muy delicioso! I am too exhausted to really even think about it. I CAN tell you that no fewer than 43 pounds of bacon went into the event, and no one left with an empty belly. I will tease you with a few photos here, but a more full and informative report will be forthcoming. Likely over the course of many days.

These bacon caramels made by Naseem were the #1 hit of the day. There have been a ton of hits to this page since the event…everyone wanted the recipe. They melted slowly in the heat of the day, but that didn’t make them any less scrumptious.

The bacon goat cheese lollipops got mixed reviews. What did I learn while making them? Grinding bacon, toasted pecans and fresh basil together makes your whole house smell like heaven.

Finally, the chocolate fountain. You simply cannot go wrong with a bubbling fountain of warm, semi-sweet chocolate. And yes, chocolate-dipped bacon is delicious. The big debate was this: Does that prove that everything tastes better with bacon? Or that anything tastes good dipped in chocolate? There was much disagreement.

I hardly know where to start with my thank yous. Wendy was my hero, my champion, my getter of all needful things. Thank you, Wendy. This event would have been a disaster without you. My co-conspirator Naseem. Thank you for planning and shopping and cooking and designing all the t-shirts and signage and EVERYTHING! Your work really took the event up a notch or fifty. The Genesis West team, Maurie and Holly. Thank you for inventing and baking the amazing array of bacon cookies (more to follow…you’ll want these recipes!) And of course our army of volunteers who manned the door and the bar and helped with set-up and tear-down: Cameron, Parry, Sarah, Sheri, Krista, Julia, Brian, Natalia, Ryan and my brother Matt. You were like a dream come true.

Last but not least, thank you to all those who attended! It was great to meet you and share the beautiful day. And for those who didn’t get to RSVP before it sold out, mark your calendars for next year: September 4, 2010. I’m already in talks with Nicolaysen Winery about their potential involvement…I promise you, you will NOT want to miss it!