Midweek meal

During the heat wave that we had in San Diego the last few weeks, it was way too hot my apartment to even think about cooking during the day. One night had a Rigatoni and Riggins night (aka: I made Sausage & Eggplant Rigatoni then watched Friday Night Lights), but that was a 2 night process – one to do pre-cooking another to actually bake – and shooting the food at night made it kind of ugly, so no blog was written.

Now it has finally cooled down a bit and I’ve caught the cooking fever.

I spent about an hour online looking up recipes the other night and practically everything looked good. If only I had the time and budget to make it all.

Today I started with two rather simple recipes for lunch time. One I got from the Trader Joe’s Web site, the other I got from watching Martha Stewart while peeling wrappers for my Primo Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.

I started with the Martha Steward tabbouleh salad. The recipe I found online dates back to a 2004 issue of Everyday, but it was the same one I saw her make on television. This is a really simple recipe that requires hardly any cooking – just the boiling of water for the bulghur wheat. The addition of fresh mint on the salad is delightful and refreshing.

Then it was on to TJ’s BABP (Trader Joe’s Bacon, Apple & Brie Panini). First off brie cheese with apple slices is a snack time favorite of mine that I don’t have very often, but really enjoy when I do. With the addition of bacon, confirming my mission statement that bacon makes any sandwich better, I was sold at hello.

For the sandwich I used my wonderful Cuisinart Gourmet Griddler. I grilled four slices of bacon with the top closed. This kept the bacon from curling and really kept the bacon from shrinking much. The recipe asked to spread butter on the outside of the roll/bread that you use while making the sandwich, but I just didn’t clean the grill plates of the bacon grease and skipped the butter. It worked just fine.

While in the Panini press mode the outside of the sandwich gets nice and toasty, but the inside gets nice and soft. The brie melted around the apple and softened the apple a little, but the bacon managed to keep its crunch. TJ’s BABP was a wonderful sandwich that I will make again very soon.

Chocolate-bacon delights

If you didn’t know already, over here at Eating In Front of the TV bacon reigns supreme. I’ve made it a point for the to be known not only to my friends, but to coworkers as well. Last year a news editor bought me a magnet that says, “Bacon: It Makes Everything Better” and it hangs proudly above my desk at work. Numerous e-mails have been passed along to me with various endeavors involving bacon and most usually leave me with my mouth watering and a new pet project to undertake.

About a month ago one of my supervisors told me he went to a restaurant where they served chocolate-bacon cake. He hadn’t tried it while he was there, but immediately thought of me when he saw it on the menu. Bless his soul. As another coworker pointed out to me yesterday, “Don’t you think it’s weird that we associate you with pork products?” I told him there could be worse things to associate me with.

Back to the chocolate-bacon cake. The restaurant is Riviera Supper Club and Turquoise Room, a grill-your-own-steak establishment in La Mesa. After hearing about the wonderful-sounding bacon delight I thought it would be a perfect place to go for my birthday to get a slice of cake and a cocktail. My supervisor heard that my plans to go to RSCTR fell through and told me next time he was there he’s pick me up a slice.

Thursday I get to work and on my desk is a good sized black box inside a large Ziploc bag with a fork and note reading “Enjoy” on top. At first I was afraid. Was one of my coworkers trying to off me with some tainted peanut butter? But as soon as I opened the Ziploc and caught a whiff of chocolate I immediately knew I was in for a treat.

Almost a year ago I tracked down a chocolate shop that sold chocolate-bacon cupcakes. While excited about this product it was a let down. The incorporation of bacon was fine, but the chocolate cake part was dry and practically inedible. A restaurant review I read said the RSCTR cake was too dry, so I was a bit worried.

After taking a look at the chocolate-bacon cake on my desk, however, I cold tell that this experience was going to be good. My fork glided through the cake grabbing some of the bacon filling. As I lifted it to my mouth I was struck with a feeling of euphoria. When the bite hit my mouth and the flavors danced on my taste buds, I knew that this was the real deal. The cake was moist with a rich chocolate flavor and the bacon filling complimented the sweetness with a touch of salt and smokiness.

The cake was passed around the office and here were some of the other reactions:
“…pause…pause..ok, ok…This is working.”
“You’re right. It’s good, but I don’t have a need for a half-pound slab of it.”
There were a lot of emotionless stares and head nodding followed by, “Alright, it was better than I was expecting.”
“The bacon kind of overwhelms the chocolate, but it’s not bad.”

There were officially no bad reviews, except for those too afraid to try it. They stood to the side and judged the book by its cover. Apparently their mom’s didn’t instill in them that is not what you’re suppose to do.

When I got home from work I thought to myself, “Why stop at chocolate-bacon cake?” So I dug out the chocolate-bacon bar that I was given by a coworker that I just hadn’t gotten around to trying yet. The verdict on this culinary treat was also positive. Both my roommate and I had a small square of the bar. The bacon in this treat was crunchy and again added the perfect amount of smokiness and salt to the chocolate. The downside: these chocolate bars go for $7.50 online at Vosges.

What I took away: Along with the argument, “Bacon makes any sandwich better” I can now also say, “Bacon and chocolate make a great couple.”

Chocolate covered bacon, oh my!

It's not really a secret to many that I have a deep affection for bacon. Yes, that's right, the other white meat. I have often given the argument that bacon can make any sandwich better (and while I haven't tried it yet, I do think it could still make PB&J better). I offer anyone to challenge me with a sandwich that it would not make better.

With that being said, I made this argument one day at work while designing A1. The news editor Lora thought it was hilarious and while Christmas shopping this past year even found me a magnet, which is up at my desk, that says, "Bacon: It makes everything better." Quite possibly one of the best presents I've ever received (I'm easy to please). Now Lora holds the tradition of passing along Web sites with crazy bacon ideas. A few weeks ago she hit the jackpot and forwarded me the Breakfast of Champions Web site. I thought I was in heaven!

I immediately decided I could not pass up the opportunity to make my very own chocolate bacon. So Memorial Day weekend I got a package of bacon and a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips and went to work. I knew the bacon had to be very crispy before being dipped so I baked it in the oven at 400 deg for about 18 minutes. Once all the bacon had cooled I melted the chocolate in a double boiler and then dipped the bacon. After finishing I put the covered bacon into the freezer to harden the chocolate. From there it was chocolate covered bacon goodness!

I thought the treat, while very odd at first, was delicious. At first, the chocolate melted in my mouth and then the bacon aftertaste hit me with a high note. Something so good had to be shared, so I packed up what I didn't eat and brought it to work with me.

The reactions to this culinary experiment were quite varied. People mostly looked at me with disbelief repeating, "Chocolate bacon? Really?" Some ran quickly away from me, others reached into the Tupperware with trepid hands and the remainder couldn't run to me fast enough to try it. It was the talk of the newsroom for most of the afternoon. Seeing people's reaction made the effort of this culinary experiment quite worth it.

After the Tupperware was empty, there was talk of how chocolate covered bacon could be the next big thing in the fair circuit this year. A friend even suggested we try dark chocolate and maybe add a dash of cayenne pepper for a little bite. One even went so far as to dub the treat "chocobacon." I don't know, maybe we could be on to a good thing here.