Review: Meatball Shop

The Meatball Shop on Stanton & Allen in the LES.

Ginger snap and coconut macaroon strawberry ice cream sandwich:

Bacon Makes Babies Smarter

For all you pregnant ladies out there, go ahead and indulge in your bacon cravings. According to a team of researchers from the University of North Carolina, choline—found in meats such as bacon—plays a critical role in developing the fetal brain regions associated with memory. And do you know what your future baby will remember??.. that you are an awesome mom that fed him/her bacon while in the womb. Lots of pregnant women crave unusual combinations of food... bacon is the perfect way to satisfy this AND make your kid’s brain better! Bacon & chocolate, bacon & ice cream, bacon in cookies, bacon on cupcakes... all great combinations—even for those who aren’t pregnant.

Great Gifts for Baconistas

Besides the ultimate gift of bacon, there are other bacon-related items you can give your bacon-loving loved ones this holiday season. Below is a list of a few places to find them.

4505 Meats

Gorgeous letterpress pig posters.

Etsy

All kinds of crafty, hand-made bacon items: art, accessories, housewares, toys...

Vosges Chocolate

Lots of bacon-chocolate treats to choose from.

Bac’n

Pig tees, the perfect apron, and actual bacon too.

the baconista blog

Find delicious cookie recipes for a special, home-made gift.

My New Bible

Very soon you’ll be seeing more and more bacon recipes featured (and not just cookies)! Eventually, anyway. Summer had me wanting to be out and eat out all the time. However, this book may be just the thing to inspire me to finally get back to the kitchen. The Bacon Cookbook was sent to me by baconista follower Justin of justcook nyc who is currently working with this author on a cookbook filled with all Southern-style pig recipes out next spring. Very exciting...

To weigh in on which recipe I should make first, vote in the poll to the right.

Elvis Cookies

The King of Fat meets the King of Rock n’ Roll... in a cookie! Elvis’ favorite sandwich (and General Greene’s ice cream flavor that I have yet to try!) was my inspiration. I used the Love me Tender recipe from an article posted last month with a few slight alterations. Instead of just butter, I used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup bacon grease. A little extra bacon flavor couldn’t hurt! Another tip: use a fork to flatten the cookies to get that classic peanut butter cookie criss-cross pattern.

The original recipe called for praline of bacon which involves worcestershire sauce, pepper and cinnamon. A little too complicated for my tastes. I prefer something simpler (bacon doesn’t need much help)—especially with peanut butter & banana flavors. Instead I used bits of candied bacon from this ice cream recipe. I should also mention I made it with Wright Brand applewood smoked bacon. Samples were sent to me last week—some of which I had with a huge breakfast this past weekend. I♥Bacon can confirm that it is “damn good bacon.” Thick cut, smokey and flavorful... and perfect for baking too!

Save Bacon Fat, Save the Earth (and the Economy?)

Growing up, my grandmother had a can under the kitchen sink to store grease. I never followed this frugal habit as I never really cook. But this year, I started saving my bacon grease (mainly to bake cookies). This article argues that doing so is an easy way to do your bit for the environment. Maybe you can’t afford a hybrid car or thermal heating system... but you can conserve a natural resource by cooking with your bacon grease! A very tasty sounding potato recipe is provided just to prove that it’s worth your while. If you don’t use it for cooking perhaps you can use it as fuel. The article even claims that saving bacon grease will save the economy:

“Cardiologists will prosper and they will buy the hybrid autos, and install geo-thermal systems thus stimulating the economy. The stock market will recover, the recession will end -- and we will owe it all to bacon grease.”

Sounds good to me!

Bacon Sweets & Treats

If you’ve been following the baconista (or just eating out... or even just reading the newspaper) you know that bacon-centric desserts is nothing new. This article discusses the oh-so-crazy trend that’s sweeping the nation. Like me, I’m sure you don’t need to be convinced of how fantastic savory bacon goes with anything sweet. Just scroll past the story, straight to the bottom. There you will find several recipes by William Mueller known for the bacon delights he serves at Babblin’ Babs Bistro in Tacoma, WA. First on my list to try—Love Me Tender peanut butter, bacon and banana cookies. Maple bourbon with bacon praline ice cream is also high on the list. Yum!!

Bacon Inspiration

After a baconful weekend, I came into work with the usual Monday morning blues. That is until my intern came in with home-made bacon chocolate chip cookies! His amazingly decadent recipe was based off the cookies he used to make at Levain Bakery on the UWS—obviously substituting butter with bacon grease and adding bits of bacon. A nice, extra bacon-y touch: the chocolate chips are actually chunks of Vosges Bacon Bar! He may learn nothing from me at this job... but at least he was inspired my bacon grease cookies! I think these are WAY better—thanks Roberto!!

Pour Me Some Milk

Last month I posted a question about using bacon fat instead of butter to make cookies. Metalchick666 commented with this Bacon Grease Cookie recipe. Unfortunately, the recipe called for more bacon grease than I had on hand. I used half butter this time but I will definitely have to try this again using just bacon grease to see if it makes a big difference in taste. This batch, however, is pretty damn good. I’m enjoying them now—still soft and warm—as I write. Mmmm...  

The King of Fat

Someone please get me this book! Or better yet, someone just make me a few of the recipes in it! Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient (who wouldn't want to read this?!) argues that the quest for health has gone way too far. I agree! McLagan describes pork fat as the king of fat. I would like to believe that bacon fat in particular currently reigns! Recipes include a smoky bacon & squash soup and a slow-roasted pork belly. And she also answers my question with her spice cookie recipe that calls for bacon fat rather than butter. Fat is a beautiful thing...

Thanks to Pete LaCock for sending me the Times review.

Question...

Would it be absurd to make cookies using bacon fat instead of butter?