Bacon!

Is there anything that bacon does not make better? Hell, you can even make one of the better ice creams in the world now with bacon (see here for that recipe). You have something in the refrigerator that is getting ready to meet its natural fate? Wrap it in bacon and slap that baby on the grill. Do you have some fruit that is only attracting gnats? Wrap it in bacon. Don’t know what to do with those fish fillets you got on sale at the market? Wrap them in bacon. Tired of the same old boring way you’ve been preparing vegetables? Wrap them in bacon. If you’re a real bacon freak, wrap some bacon in bacon!

A few years ago while running a restaurant in Northern California my motto was: “When in doubt, wrap it in bacon.” Now you might think this is amusing, but I was serious. In an effort to prove me wrong my entire staff was attempting to come up with dishes which were not enhanced by bacon. In most cases they failed. A case where bacon did fail was when my Sous Chef wrapped some eggplant spears in bacon and then grilled them. Yeah, they were rather gross since eggplant in “spongy” and soaked up all the fat from the bacon.

Now you might be one of these people who will say bacon is not healthy. It’s fatty and not good for you. Really? If you shop at any supermarket and buy anything pre-packaged or processed (which if you are the average shopper is most of your cart), everything in your cart is worst for you than bacon…EVERYTHING! Mind you, bacon like anything else you eat, should be in moderation (and processed and pre-packaged foods should not be eaten at all).

So, let me share with you some of my favorite things to do with bacon. Since everything is so easy and doesn’t take a recipe, you won’t find any (albeit there are pictures of the yummies in the slideshow).

Garlic Wrapped in Bacon: Simply take some large cloves of garlic and wrap them in bacon. Hold them together with toothpicks and grill or broil them until the bacon reaches the doneness you like. What will happen is the cooking of the bacon will slightly and naturally steam the garlic clove. Because of the natural structure of the garlic, it will not soak up the bacon fat. I can eat these things by the handful and they are a great compliment to grilled steaks and chops. If you are having a party, these will be a great addition to the appetizer plate. Don’t tell anyone what they are and then watch their face when they bite into it!

Dates Wrapped in Bacon: Okay, this is my favorite snack of all-time. There is not a better marriage of tastes in the culinary world than dates and bacon! Of course remember to remove the pit from the date (unless your spouse or significant other is a dentist, in which case leave the pit in and call this marketing!). Take a sharp paring knife and make a slit into one end of the date, then simply squeeze out the pit. Wrap the date in some bacon (usually 1/4 of a slice will do) and then hold it in place with a toothpick. Grill or broil them until the bacon is at your desired doneness. I swear to you, these are better than any candy. The natural sweetness of the date with the salty/smokiness of the bacon is beyond divine. And hey, dates are also incredibly good for you as they are loaded with fiber and minerals!

Zucchini Spears Wrapped in Bacon: When I would spend my summers in the South, I became addicted to deep-fried zucchini. Actually I became addicted to all deep-fried foods but especially zucchini. So one day when I had my restaurant in San Francisco my produce delivery guy left an extra crate of zucchini. Zucchini doesn’t stay fresh too long, so what was I to do? Obviously living up to my motto, I cut the zucchini into spears, wrapped them in bacon and tossed them on the grill. The result? A classic appetizer my customers went crazy over! Of course I accentuated them by spritzing them with some raspberry vinegar before serving them.

And here are a few other treats you can wrap your mouth (and some bacon) around:

Grilled Pineapple Wrapped in Bacon

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Source Article from http://www.examiner.com/article/bacon

Views: 0

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes