Donuts and Bacon in '08

Bacon!

Bacon dogs may be going extinct. [Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!]

This saddens me, not because I know how delicious they are, but because I haven't had a chance to try them and find out how delicious they are! In my somewhat recent visit to LA, I wanted to try one so bad, but the only time I passed near a vendor, I was feeling so ill from overdrinking and overeating and undersleeping, that I didn't get a chance to try it.

Perhaps next time I make it out to a BBQ I'll have to make these and chronicle their success.

Drew Carrey comments through this investigative report:

Just because we haven't talked about bacon in a while...

It can take a lot out of a guy to work two jobs, go to school, and in between it all try and maintain both a what would be family life and social activities. It's exhausting. So last night in a fit of rage, right when I had promised myself that I would get home and work out, instead I heated up the skillet and crisped me some maple bacon and served it up with some fried eggs for dinner. Man was that delicious.

Thinking back on it this morning, there's quite a few things on the back burner that I've been meaning to blog about, but due to the aforementioned lack of time and will power, I haven't gotten around to it.

Start Cooking had a fabulous list this morning on 50 ways to use bacon! In case you had run out of ideas.

Bacon Unwrapped, probably one of the best things since GUE. Heather talks about her many adventures with the best part of our friendly piglets.

Serious Eats talks about the wonderfulness of guacamole and how much to food of the gods improves it's taste.

Bacon Cake?!?! and Bacon Martinis?!

The perfect food indeed

Beggin' Strips

GUE hearts Bacon!

[via i love dragonfly]

Suck Some Bacon

[via: lollyphile]
This is definitely one out of left field. Bacon lollipops. Made from sustainable, organic bacon and organic maple syrup, for those Greenzos out there.

...once you make that initial leap of faith and try it out, we're positive that you'll love it. The salty chunks of bacon make a delicious and unique counterpoint to the subtle sweetness of the maple. [Lollyphile]

Oh noes!

!!!

More on delicious bacon. Out of clean dishes? Out of detergent? Oven's still working? Watching your weight? Your cholesterol? Need to have a salad RIGHT NOW!?!

Make your own bowl!


[Serious Eats via Not Martha]
Also, be sure to top your salad with this.

Yum!

Arrgh, matey! I love me some bacon!

In the grand ol' spirit of fine, bacon-worshipping entries, we (and by "we", I completely mean "I") bring you again via Easyjo, another meaty concoction of the pork kind. We have been tipped off by the creator about a new project he has just completed.

From the same people that brought you the meat house, unveiled is:

THE MEAT SHIP!

[Easyjo's Meat Ship Gallery]
In the same bacon spirit we found some more of that sweet bacon gear you've grown to love.

A t-shirt [via Serious Eats] bearing only the best diagram to ever depict the butchering of a pig for consumption:


[Available for purchase now!]
And a new version of the ever-sought-after bacon scarf [via Slashfood] is now available as well! SOLD OUT.


[This one, sadly, is no longer on sale as there was only one made]

bacon, bacon, bacon. (it's bacon!!!)

Jim Gaffigan on delicious, delicious bacon [via Serious Eats]

"I bet if you put sprinkles of bacon on bacon, you could travel through time!"

This guy's unreal. Love him.

We built this city on...cold cuts?

Right when I start thinking that the world's gone mad and everybody's going vegetarian, I blink twice and find an underground scene, I never knew existed. Well, maybe not so much a scene as crazy people with too much time on their hands, which technically is what a scene is.

At different points in my life, I believe I attempted scenester-isms. It was disastrous. Poorly groomed, obese, and with the fashion sense of a crab. (!!!)


Me at a rave trying real hard to fit in, circa 2001
Bacon attire. Apparently Bacon is not as lame as those Peta people would make it out to be. It is in fact delicious, nutritious, and delicious (that's right! two times delicious). Who needs a fox or a mink, when you can sport sweet, sweet bacon!?!

One of my favorite dishes to make and to eat are bacon-wrapped shrimp. Well, now during the winter I can feel like one with one of two choices!


[Baconwrapt] $38

[Shopsin's General Store] $35
This next one even SMELLS of bacon!!


[Archie McPhee] $99.95
Hell, you can even build a ginger...err...meat house for the holidays! [Slashfood via Easyjo]



The closest I ever got to food architecture and shocking fashion was Christmas of 1990.


I think my mom shopped in New Delhi for my Holiday attire
People were clearly out to destroy me. Obvs.

Miracle cure for a hangover of gargantuan proportions

After a long night of pounding back beers at my favorite dive in D.C., and snacking on chips and salsa, I woke up this morning with the hangover from hell.

After what seemed like hours of struggling to make it out of bed, and trying to reconstruct the puzzle of what last night was, I decided to go get myself a piece of heaven to line my tripes and my arteries this morning. I got myself some Five Guys.

Five Guy's has been voted "Best Burgers" for the past five years in Washingtonian Magazine, were rated number one "Bang for the Buck" in Zagat Survey and The Washington Post calls them "the Willy Wonkas of burgercraft."[Five Guys]

This place keeps it simple and delicious. Burgers and fries are your options on the menu.

Only thing to decide on is the size and the toppings (which are included in the price of your burger). Just a quick glance at the packaging that will surely cure all my ails, is enough to know what I'm about to get into.



And clearly I asked for the perfect combination of toppings to patch up any wear and tear last night's alcohol may have caused and ensure a few ulcers down the line. Finger-lickin' good!

Bacon Cheeseburger

• Mayo
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• Raw Onions
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Pickles
• Fried Mushrooms
• Fried Onions
• BBQ Sauce
• Jalapeños

The final product looks a little something like this:



Another huge plus is the amount of French fries you get. You get enough to feed a group of three or four normal people (or one of me). Cloud nine, if I've ever been there.



If you've never been, you haven't lived.

Breakfast Culture

Everybody knows there should be three meals in a day. Not all of us are that disciplined. Everybody knows the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Again.

Although the fact that I don't always take the time out, during my rushed mornings of commute, to have a decent first meal should not, in any way, shape, or form, lead you to believe that breakfast is not my FAVORITEST meal of the day. EVER. In life. I love it. If I had a choice, I would probably eat breakfast three times a day. (Please note I can get quite inventive with breakfast).

I like going out to different places and choosing things that look interestingly delicious, and later on try to imitate them in my own kitchen. With a large percentage of success, this practice has been known to deliver some stomach-turning pieces.

Last item on the menu for Breakfast Imitation Project:

Banana Stuffed Challah French Toast from Ardeo on Connecticut past Cleveland Park.

Their brunch version was presented in fancy plates with not very much effort on the presentation. Then again, how much presentation can you really give French toast.



It was tasty, although I felt it something missing. So I took it upon myself to break it down in the kitchen and see how my duplication skills were working. The only thing I seemed to do differently was that I flambéed the bananas in vanilla extract which added a distinct and rich taste to the concoction. I've never really had Challah bread before these two times, but I can easily say it made great French toast.





It was delicious and it had some fans. Success!

Now, I have an incredibly huge sweet tooth, but I also love my eggs, and clearly my beans. My favorite breakfast ever (and this I could eat 3 times a day if it wasn't a guaranteed heart attack). Fried eggs, bacon, and refried beans with a side of tortillas and salsa verde (green hot sauce) or chipotle peppers. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. Not to say that I don't break a yoke every now and again. (particularly after a long night of drinking)



Nothing like this waking up after a long night of drinking. It'll heal ya right up. Most of the friends I've made up here (most, yet, not all) are a bit apprehensive to the refried beans. For whatever reason. La Sierra is my favorite brand of canned refried beans although not always available in the DC area. My second choice is always Mama Lycha. That's it. It's those two or they have to be made from scratch. Anything else I've tried here makes me want to gag. Nothing compares to just re-fried (like 5 times) beans. Straight from the slow cooker to the frying pan. (!)



I do not know. Maybe people here are afraid of gas. *shrug*