November 5, 2008 by Marianne

November 5, 2008 • Filed Under: Bacon Recipes , Bacon, Pork, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving

My friend Christine sent me this recipe months ago, but I decided it really had to be saved for Thanksgiving. And now that November is here, the recipe sharing can commence. This pie is unique in many ways. First off, it has a graham cracker crust rather than a traditional pie crust. Score. Next, it calls for fresh pumpkin rather than the easy canned stuff I always use. Sounds challenging, but fun! Also, there’s cream cheese, possibly the best spreadable substance ever invented. And finally, 16, count ‘em, 16 slices of maple bacon. Astounding! The pie got mixed reviews from those who tried the recipe, and I can see why this would not be everyone’s cup of tea. But that won’t stop RBS from spreading the word on any feasible bacon concoction!

I can actually see myself making this pie without the bacon, but pork has always played a prominent role in my Thanksgiving celebration. This year, I’ll be starting the day with the now-famous Bacon Cinnamon Rolls and mimosas. Guests are invited to show up as early in the day as they dare, but only if they plan to eat and drink as much as I do.

The main event will be a traditional turkey, stuffed with seasoned bread, apples, sweet and spicy Italian pork sausage and water chestnuts. On the side there’s always a mountain of mashed potatoes and a river of gravy. We buy all the green beans we can find and blanch them before sauteeing with bacon. Beyond that, there will be my mom’s butterhorn rolls, some sort of obligatory salad (with dried cranberries of course), and plenty of wine. No yams. No black olives. No cranberry sauce. All the stuff I love and none of the stuff I don’t.

With dessert we bust out the Maker’s Mark for Hot Toddies or bourbon & Cokes. Pumpkin pie is a must, bacon apple pie is currently under consideration, and ice cream will be introduced this year. We’re even thinking of doing Bobby Flay’s bourbon & root beer float. And now I need to know…what recipes are traditional at your Thanksgiving table? Do you have something that’s unique to your family? Do you have a recipe for an old standard that can’t be beat? Share with us! I’d love to add something new to my line-up!

October 2, 2008 by Marianne

October 2, 2008 • Filed Under: Bacon Recipes , baby back ribs, Bacon, carnitas, chile verde, chinese bbq, chorizo, italian sausage, national pork month, Pork, pork fried rice, prosciutto, pulled pork, serrano ham

As you may have heard by now, October is National Pork Month, and I for one would just like to say “here, here!” I know we’ve focused solely on bacon in this blog, but I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the many, many pork recipes and products that I adore.

My favorite Mexican dishes are Chile Verde and Carnitas, the corn tortilla’s two best friends. Although they’re both slow-cooking recipes, they’re relatively simple and totally worth it. And on behalf of my husband, I must give a shout out to real, greasy Pork Chorizo.

I dearly want to plan a road trip through the Southern U.S. just to get my hands on some authentic Pulled Pork and of course, Baby Back Ribs. There’s a tremendous amount of debate about which Southern state makes the best BBQ, and I aim to find out.

Spicy Italian Pork Sausage? It’s literally the only one I’ll consider. Sweet, fresh Prosciutto di Parma goes great with every single fruit or cheese I’ve ever eaten. And Serrano Ham is a relatively new favorite of mine, but quickly gaining popularity in my realm of influence. I really must get myself to Europe one of these days.

Chinese BBQ Pork can only be improved by adding it to Pork Fried Rice. Grind it up and throw it in some potstickers and I could eat just that for dinner. With a mai tai, of course.

And let us not forget the magical, mystical meat that is bacon. I know of no pork product that is more revered, more useful, or has a more intoxicating smell. Considering the weird, fatty cut of meat it starts out as, I’m totally awed by what a fantastic addition it makes to thousands of recipes, both salty and sweet.

I know I missed some of the pork basics…roasts, and chops and tenderloins. But I am just one woman and could always use some help. What’s YOUR favorite pork dish?

September 9, 2008 by Marianne

September 9, 2008 • Filed Under: Bacon Recipes , Pork, Recipies

You know what goes great with bacon? (Ummm…everything?) Yeah well, this time I was thinking of bacon’s cousin, the pork roast. I’ve seen a lot of recipes lately for bacon-wrapped pork roasts of various cuts, but I must admit the pork tenderloin makes the most sense to me. Most pork cuts have a decent amount of fat to help them stay moist and delicious during just about any method of cooking. But the tenderloin is so lean and perfect that wrapping it up in strips of fat makes sense. Delicious, smoky sense.

So you can find recipes for oven-roasting, crock-potting or bbqing said roast, but the bbq method looks the most impressive to me. I love the flavor you get from cooking almost anything over flames, but by wrapping almost anything in bacon, you get double the smoke, and ten times the flavor.

It’s technically still summer for a couple of weeks, so I think I’ll take advantage of those last few hours of evening sunlight to grill this recipe soon. But come fall and winter, I’ll be more than happy to have the smell of bacon and pork roast warming my cozy little house. I’m confident that this is a food for all seasons.