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 18, 2009 by Marianne

September 18, 2009 • Filed Under: Bacon Reviews , baconshot.net, International Bacon Day

At the request of our new friends at BaconShot.net, we made bacon shots available to our Bacon Day guests. Seemed like a great idea, since we were serving bacon vodka anyway, so we agreed and we asked people for their reviews. Here’s how that story went down.

First of all, we ordered two bottles of Bakon Vodka, because we wanted people to have the opportunity to try this internet sensation, and because we thought it would be perfect for the bacon shot. Sadly, though we ordered the bottles weeks in advance, the vodka never showed. We were sorely disappointed. When it STILL hadn’t shown a week AFTER the event, we asked for a refund. They gave it to us, so we’re over it.

What this means is that for the bacon shot, we had to use the Skyy Vodka I had infused with bacon at home. I know, I know. Why didn’t we buy better vodka in the first place? Well, because we were on a budget and the vodka was going to be severely mixed and tampered with, so we didn’t think it mattered. And maybe it didn’t really…I’m not a fan of drinking even the best vodka straight. But it may be true that this experiment would have gone better with a bottle of Grey Goose or even Ketel One. Trust me when I say, we will never know.

When we got together with our bartenders and volunteers before the event, there was much debate about whether we should make people use a drink ticket for these shots. I was dead against it because I actually wanted people to TRY it. Others thought, hey! Free alcohol? People will take dozens! In the end, we made them available without a drink ticket, a nice little freebie to make sure everyone’s throat burned for at least a moment during the day. Good thing we did.

The shot started with some crisp-fried bacon, cut into slivers. Top it with vodka and voila! Liquid death! No, actually, I went in with the strategy to throw it back hard, making sure to get all the bacon in my mouth. Once I swallowed the vodka, I chewed on the bacon for a salty chaser. It made the whole thing easier, I thought. I don’t think a single person agreed with me. Here were some of the colorful comments:

“I didn’t like it. It burned my throat.”

“I’m sorry, that was just nasty.”

“Why would you do that to me?! Did I insult you in some way?”

“Tastes like ass.”

So there you have it. I was the bacon shot’s biggest fan, and that ain’t sayin’ much. But please don’t let me discourage you from taking the bacon shot challenge. Let us know what you think…I can always use a good laugh. Thanks again to our wonderful bartenders: Sheri, Julia and Krista. Your smiling faces made these disgusting shots go down a little easier.

September 15, 2009 by Marianne

September 15, 2009 • Filed Under: Bacon Recipes , bacon cookies, Genesis West, International Bacon Day

By far the most popular items at Bacon Day were the sweets. We linked to the recipe Naseem used for Bacon Caramels, which were amazing. Although I have not traditionally been a fan of mixing my sweets and savories, I believe I’m being won over. Between the caramels and the chocolate fountain, I’m starting to sing a different tune. And let us not forget the cookies!

Maurie, the director of Genesis West (the theatre company for which Bacon Day raised funds), volunteered to help out by making some bacon-themed cookies for the event. His doll of a mother, Holly, also jumped in with a fury and came up with TWO new recipes. Three very different cookies, all equally enjoyed by our guests.

Maurie’s Elvis Bars were a tweak on Ina Garten’s Peanut Butter & Jelly bars. Simply substitute chopped bacon for the peanuts! You may remember that last year our friends Chrissy & Smiley made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with bacon…these cookies partially made up for Chrissy & Smiley’s absence at this year’s event.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam
2/3 cups crisp, crumbled bacon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Holly’s Chewy Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies make me drool just thinking about them.

2 cups + 2 tablespoons unsifted, bleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking solda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 bars dark chocolate, broken into chunks
1 1/2 cups chopped crisp bacon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.

Mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended - mixture should become almost caramel like in color and texture. Mix in whole egg, yolk and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks and crumbled bacon.

Using tablespoon, drop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes, reversing sheet position halfway through baking time. Cookies should be light brown with outer edges beginning to harden while centers are still soft and puffy. Cool on sheets until set, transfer to cooling racks to finish until chocolate begins to set. Yields 32 cookies.

And finally, Holly’s Bacon Breakfast Cookies. The secret ingredient is Rice Krispies! They make the cookie airier than normal oatmeal cookies.

1 cup Bacon Grease
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
2 cups Plain Flour
2 cups Oatmeal
2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup Chopped Pecans
1 cup Chopped Crisp Bacon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Cream grease and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and sifted dry ingredients. Mix well. Add aatmeal, Rice Krispies, pecans and bacon. Batter will be very stiff. Drop by teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 25-30 minutes. Yields 5 dozen.

So there you go, bacon cookie recipes galore! I can personally recommend them all; enjoy!