I’m about to make a confession of which I am not proud: I love TV. I don’t think I loved TV before TiVo and DVRs, but now, like Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough. And with the Discovery Channel, Food Network, Comedy Central, Travel Channel, Independent Film Channel, Gilmore Girl re-runs and the NBC Thursday night line-up…well, I get a little light-headed just thinking about it. So I’m a foodaholic who loves TV and bacon. I’m sure some of you are drawing your own conclusions about me even now.

Oh well. This week I saw a couple of prominent bacon features during my favorite shows. First, Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame was in Paris and his friend made him Bacon & Eggs ice cream. That sounds gross to me because I don’t want my ice cream to taste like eggs, but the point seemed to be that he started with a custard base instead of just cream and sugar. To make it extra special, he sprinkled uncooked bacon with brown sugar and cooked it in the oven for a nice, candied finish. Once the ice cream was mixed and frozen to a soft-serve consistency, he diced and added the bacon. His friend’s 3-year old thought it was awesome, and that’s all the recommendation I need.

Next, Sarah Silverman, my favorite Queen of the Random and Offensive, noted that “bacon spelled backward is no cab.” This was a totally random comment to her dog, Doug, but for reasons known only to myself, I had already noticed the backward spelling of bacon. And it weirded me out a little that she thought to mention it.

For the record, I like to read, too. Alot. I swear! But unless you’re reading a cookbook, where are you going to run into bacon entertainment like this? Maybe that’s my new project…finding the best literary references to bacon. And there are about a million of you bacon fans out there, so help me out, peeps!

Mission: Literary Bacon. Go!

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Internet, welcome to your new favorite site! The Reddit Cats with Bacon page is AMAZINGLY fun, and full of fabulous photos and videos of…you guessed it, cats with bacon. And not just images like this one of a scheming cat spying on bacon. There are cats with bacon taped to them, cats climbing their humans to get to the bacon, and cats wrapped in bacon being plucked from a tree by an elephant. Really?! Yes. That’s what I’m talking about.

Fair warning: this page is an amazing time suck and could easily fill your entire day’s slack quota. But if you like cats, (and I know you like bacon) then this is the page for you.

You may also be interested in browsing Reddit’s Bacon forum. I don’t know who makes up the Bacon subset, or where they live, but I wish they’d come to our next Bacon Day party. I think we all have a lot to learn from one another.

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Want the great taste of bacon in your recipes, but don’t want to deal with the greasy mess of frying actual bacon? Well Minor’s has just the thing for you! This Nestle affiliate has created Bacon Base, a “savory bacon paste made with USDA inspected bacon and ham.” So I’m guessing this is something akin to bacon bouillon cubes, only it comes in a tub. And is a paste. Yikes.

If you go to the Amazon link and check out the product description, it calls this paste “Southern-style seasoning.” I know they like to use bacon in the South, but this isn’t really what comes to mind when I think “Southern-style.” I think Cajun spices. I think gumbo and crawfish and just about anything deep-fried. I think of Paula Deen using a whole pound of butter to make grits, but not so much bacon paste.

However, there is one review on Amazon, and the reviewer said the product is great for gravy, gumbo and green beans, so what do I know? Maybe bacon base is hiding in the depths of every Southern dish I’ve ever had, inconspicuously providing the salty goodness I crave. Maybe this is the secret to great cooking and I’ve been missing out all this time. Honestly, I think I’d rather let this continue to be one of life’s great mysteries.

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Wow, seems I was not the only one to hear about the Bacon & Eggs costume. And what’s even better, people have been coming up with their own version of the bacon get-up for quite some time. If you go to flickr and do a search for “bacon costume,” you’ll come up with hundreds of images. Yes, some of them are Kevin Bacon, and after a while some of the pictures are just plain silly, but i’m just saying…bacon is as wearable as it is delicious!

And speaking of wearable bacon, here’s a little jewel to top it all off. From StudioMarcy’s Etsy shop, these bacon-shaped glass beads are ready to become whatever you can imagine. They can be your new earrings! The centerpiece to a beaded necklace! Or for you bacon-loving hippies out there, weave them into your hair wrap! Heck, if you used the right colors, the whole wrap could look like a long, skinny strip of bacon hanging from your head!

And strangely I’ve just lost my appetite.

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It’s no secret that I enjoy the Bacon Salt. It was one my very first blog posts, and I totally use it at home for all kinds of recipes. I have one of every flavor, and a really big bottle of the Hickory. If you are one of the 3 people on the planet who have yet to hear about this amazing product, go here now. Order Bacon Salt and use it to make yourself a big, juicy burger. Thank me later.

Well the geniuses behind Bacon Salt have now come up another killer product. It’s called Baconnaise, and it’s sure to be sweeping the nation soon. While it’s not currently available, if you go to that link and send them an email, you can get in on the ground floor of the baconnaise phenomenon. In case any of you need translation, this here is bacon flavored mayonnaise. A bacon aioli, if you will. And I’m pretty sure you will. Often.

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For those of you who like to cook seasonally, here’s a smashing idea. Although this looks to be Summer Squash, I’m sure any old squash or gourd would do the trick beautifully.

Via Food Makes Me Happy blog.

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Archie McPhee, you complete me.

Naseem and I were just saying last night that McPhee will likely keep coming up with a new bacon product every few months from here to eternity. Then yesterday she sends me this. So now if bacon mints, floss, or toothpicks don’t give you that bacony taste in your mouth all day long, you can chew on some bacon gum and watch the members of the opposite sex swoon.

For $6.95, you get not one, but TWO TINS of chewy, bacony goodness. And I love the tin, especially the little bacon strip guy blowing a bubble. He looks like a stick of Fruit Stripe Gum, cannibalistically chewing bacon gum.

Ew, I just creeped myself out a little.

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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?

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