Happy New Year!

The new year is a time of change and new beginnings. Celebrate with a clean, fresh start—bathe yourself in bacon! Learn how to make bacon soap out of actual bacon here.

Bacon Candy

I am eternally grateful to Christopher Butler for sharing with me the delicious yet dangerous recipe for bacon candy. He is also responsible for my Baconista profile picture minus the bacon thought bubble (yes, I replaced my friend's head with bacon). Thanks, Chris!

Bacon Candy:

-cube some slab bacon

-toss in brown sugar

-spread on a cookie sheet

-bake at 300° for 30-45 minutes

The result is an irresistible pile of giant, sugar-coated bacon bits which also make a lovely garnish for other desserts. Since I've been on this bacon/chocolate kick lately, I added them to a plate of chocolate cheese cake. Bacon. Cheese. Chocolate. What??

I’m telling...

I enjoy bacon. I enjoy bourbon. So when I heard of a bacon-infused bourbon, I was very eager to make a reservation at PDT (Please Don't Tell) to try their Benton's Old Fashioned. PDT is a speakeasy style bar accessed through a phone booth inside Crif Dogs in the East Village. Unfortunately, I could not get a reservation and we had to wait about an hour for seats at the bar. It was well worth the wait. Although I didn't get a strong sense of bacon-ness from the drink it was still a very well-made, tasty cocktail in a pleasant and uncrowded atmosphere. A good reason to go back: the PDT specialty dogs menu. More specifically, the Chang dog—a bacon wrapped, deep fried Crif dog topped with Momofuku kimchi. I'll make reservations in advance next time...

Sweet, Sweet Santa

Santa was good to the Baconista this year. Not only did he bring me Roni-Sue Pig Candy (chocolate-covered bacon) & Bacon Buttercrunch—I also received this odd little package. Wrapped like it's straight from the butcher shop is the biggest piece of bacon ever! The label reads "Bacon Scarf" with a warning of "Do Not Eat." Finally... I can wrap myself in bacon!

A Toast to Bacon

With all the holiday parties and New Years celebrations coming up, it's the perfect time to serve up a festive new cocktail. What can make a martini even better? Bacon. Check out this Candied Bacon Martini recipe from the LA Times.

Happy Holidays from Baconista...

Holy bacon!

Chicken Fried Bacon

I'm not ashamed to admit that on occasion (usually a hung-over occasion) I will order a side of bacon... and that's it. If only I lived in Snook, Texas where bacon is not just a side.

Chicken Fried Bacon - For more funny videos, click here

WWBD?

With the holidays fast approaching, one might reflect upon the birth of Christ. And with so many decisions to be made one might think, what would Jesus do? Well, years of Catholic school have successfully rid me of any such religious inclination. A more appropriate question for me would be: What would bacon do? For example, you're running around all day but you have a party to go to soon. Do you have time to take a shower? What would bacon do? Bacon would smell awesome. Now you know you have to get your ass in the shower. Thank you, bacon!

Another fight to the death!

This time in politics. Bacon vs. Fries... Bacon (obviously) wins by a landslide. With a name like that, how could you lose? But what if Bacon was on top of Fries and they were both covered with cheese? It would be scandalous but amazing.

Bacon Awareness

There is a rainbow of awareness bands out there to choose from. Each supporting a wide range of causes—everything from hunger relief to drowning victims awareness. This particular band tells the world what's truly important to you—eating pig belly. Support meat.

Bacon Butter

My formerly vegetarian friend forwarded me a link to this food blog. We all know butter makes everything better. And of course bacon makes everything better. It only seems natural to combine the two. Bacon butter—more specifically bacon molasses butter—on top of steak?!! And home made fries??! Could any more deliciousness possibly fit on this plate? 

The Scent of Seduction

Many of you know that I've never had a fast food burger before. So I don't know if this post is appropriate. Does the Whopper have bacon on it? 

If so, behold Flame by BK—the body spray that captures the essence of the famous burger. Visit the Flame-inspired Fire Meets Desire website and a deep voice (accompanied by porn-like music) coaxes you to "Come on baby, give it a spray." Each spray leads you to a new "romantic" scenario including this disturbing fire scene with the King himself—who oddly reminds me of a certain bearded ex-boyfriend. Hmm... no Flame for me thank you. 

Fight to the death...

When it comes to bacon vs. tofu—I think we all know who will win. Although I may be slightly biased. According to my friend Mark...

Scratch n’ Sniff

Remember scratch & sniff stickers? I had albums full of them! There was always the typical fruity or floral scents—maybe an occasional odd one like grass... But I don't ever recall any meat-scented ones. Guess I was wrong. You can find these bacon-scented stickers on ebay!

Being Baconistic

Pretty funny Miller commercial. But a bit baconist, don't you think ladies? Much like this Wendy's commercial. Why do advertisers always assume bacon love is exclusive to men?? I may not be some fat dude frying things up shirtless—but my desire for bacon is no less enthusiastic.

Wake n’ Bacon

I hate my alarm clock (and I never listen to it either). Anyone that knows me knows that all one has to do to get me up is whisper "bacon" in my ear. This adorable, pig-shaped alarm clock has the same effect. The Wake n' Bacon by designer Matty Sallin gently wakes you with the aroma of sizzling bacon. You place a frozen slice of bacon inside the night before and it starts to cook 10 minutes before your wake time. The best part is, you have a slice of bacon ready to eat the moment you get up! 

Pig Candy Update

As I mentioned a few days ago, I bought a bacon chocolate bar for my friend's party this weekend. I was skeptical at first... but I have to say, it was quite an unexpectedly delicious treat. 

Also at the party were these fantastic little bread sticks wrapped in bacon and sprinkled with cheese. Bacon and cheese—can it get any better?

Everything should taste like bacon...

So goes the motto of J&D's bacon salt.

And here are some other things that taste like bacon...

Maple bacon flavored lollipops. "Incredible pork pops made with real organic chunks of cured bacon enhanced with the subtle sweetness of pure Vermont maple syrup" according to thegreenhead.com. 

Peppies! The crispy, crunchy bacon snack.

And Nobby's Nuts—another British snack that had a very cheeky ad campaign encouraging women to "Grab Nobby's Nuts." 

Bacon Crisps

"I can't say whether I enjoyed it, but they really did taste like smoked bacon." a friend says of Walker's Smoky Bacon Crisps. He found them at Meyers of Keswick, a British meat pie shop in the West Village. Interesting. What other bacon-flavored snacks are out there??

The gift that keeps on giving...

Looking for the perfect holiday gift? Look no further—bacon of the month club! True, there are other of-the-month clubs one can indulge in... But flowers die. Fruits rot. Who wouldn't want a lovely bacon package delivered to their home each month? Check out bacon clubs from the Grateful Palate and the Pig Next Door.

Beautiful Bacon Cups

Check out this brilliant (and delicious) recipe on the Not Martha blog.

It's funny because it's true. So, so true...

Comedian Jim Gaffigan's thoughts on bacon.

Pig Candy

I've always been a big fan of sweet and savory, but I'm not quite sure about this...

I bought Mo's Bacon Bar as a gift for a fellow baconista's holiday party this weekend. I intend to sample and report back. You can also purchase the pig-shaped version at the Vosges Haut Chocolat in Soho and choclate-dipped bacon from Roni-Sue in the East Village.