12 slices bacon, cut in 1/2? dice 1 cup onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 pounds sugar snap peas 4 cups corn (fresh or frozen & defrosted) 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
In a large skillet, cook the bacon until it is crisp; remove to paper towels to drain. Skim off all but 3 teablespoons of fat, then saute the onion for 3 minutes, until it begins to soften, then add peas and saute for 3-4 more minutes, until the peas begin to turn bright green and glossy. Add the corn, mustard, sugar and pepper and toss to combine. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until the corn is cooked through. (It can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered and refrigerated – reheat in a skillet before serving.) Serve the saute in a large serving bowl garnished with the reserved crumbled bacon and minced chives.
For Creamed Corn 6 ears corn, shucked 6 oz. thick-sliced bacon (4-5 slices), cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-wide strips 1 large bunch scallions 2/3 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup water 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon unsalted butter salt and freshly ground black pepper
For Quail 6 whole (6- to 8-oz.) jumbo quail, rinsed and patted dry 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne (optional) 1/2 cup whole milk about 2 1/2 cups corn or canola oil for frying
Accompaniment: lemon wedges
Make the Creamed Corn: Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of water to a boil. Add corn and simmer for 4 minutes. With tongs, transfer corn to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. When cool enough to handle, drain and cut kernels from cobs.
Cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Thinly slice enough scallions to measure 1 cup.
Combine cream, water, lemon juice, bacon, sliced scallions, and butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring, for 1 minute. Add corn and salt and pepper to taste and cook until liquid is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Cook the Quail: With poultry shears or a sharp knife, cut off necks and first 2 wing joints of each quail and discard. Cut out and discard backbones. Halve each quail lengthwise through breast and cut off legs.
Stir together flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using) in a shallow bowl. Pour milk into another shallow bowl.
Heat 1/2 inch oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Meanwhile, working with one piece at a time, dip quail in milk, letting excess drip off, then dredge in flour mixture, shake off excess, and place on a tray. Using tongs, put half of pieces, skin sides down, into hot oil. Fry quail, turning several times, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain and keep warm, covered. Reheat oil and fry remaining quail in same manner. Reheat corn over low heat if necessary.
Serve quail with creamed corn and lemon wedges.
bacon recipe courtesy of: The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl. Pages 403-404. Houghton Mifflin, 2004
Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellow or spotted outer leaves. Cut the Brussels sprouts into 1/16-inch slices, and use your fingertips to separate the slices into shreds. Alternatively, shred the Brussels sprouts using a food processor with the coarse shredding disk attached. Place in a bowl and set aside until ready to saute.
Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.
Just before serving, reheat the bacon fat until hot and add the Brussels sprouts to the pan. Saute until crisp-tender and bright green, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the bacon, hazelnuts, salt, and pepper, and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasonings, and serve.
bacon recipe courtesy of: The Thanksgiving Table: Recipes and Ideas to Create Your Own Holiday Tradition by Diane Morgan. Page. 120. Chronicle Books, 2001
Time for the?year-end?List of Stuff That Happened to Me And You Likely Won't Care About But Who Cares Because This Is About Me.?
A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year: 1.?Celebrated my second wedding anniversary with Hot Pants by going to France and Spain. It was my first visit to Europe, and it was just as magical as my brain had imagined it. Way to go, Europe. 2. Hosted my family for Christmas for the first time since HP and I got together. It was great to show off my Christmas crafting skills and to share our home with my parents, aunt, uncle and cousin. 3. Took a sewing class and have been going crazy on projects ever since. I can finally stop paying ridiculous prices for throw pillows and curtains. 4. Had a lovely visit from Ian, a ?friend from college who lives in England, after more than a decade of not seeing each other. 5. Our two best couple friends both had babies, shaking up our social lives in ways I still can't properly explain without graphs and charts. 6. I paid off my college loans.? 7. I was in three weddings between January and June. Yowser. 8. I visited the set of "The Walking Dead" for work and got to meet many of the actors, makeup artists, costume designers and the rest of the braintrust behind the incredibly popular show. I even got a hug from IronE Singleton. It was a truly awesome evening that I can't really tell you about because I signed an NDA. 9. My grandfather _ my last grandparent still living _ died in April after 90-plus years on this earth. I miss you, Grandpa. 10. My nephew, Elias, was born in May. Update: 11. Visited with a dozen of my very best friends on a reunion trip in Washington, D.C., part of our annual meet up in cities across the country.
Amazing Albums Released this Year: Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues" The Decemberists, "The King is Dead" Wilco, "The Whole Love" tUnE-yArDs, "Whokill" Katie Herzig, "The Waking Sleep" Adele, "21" Noah and the Whale, "Last Night on Earth" The Features, "Wilderness" The Head and the Heart, "The Head and the Heart" I'm From Barcelona, "Forever Today"? The Submarines, "Birds" Update: Beirut, "The Rip Tide"
Some Books I Read (and loved): "Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling "Bossypants" by Tina Fey "My Life in France" by Julia Child "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender "Anthropology of an American Girl" by?Hilary Thayer?Hamann "One Day" by David Nicholls "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan Harry Potter, books 1, 2, 3 and 7 (some for the second time, others for the third or fourth)
Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved):? "Crazy, Stupid Love" "Hugo" "Harry Potter: The Freakin' End" "Bridesmaids" "Midnight in Paris" "50/50" "The Muppets" "Ides of March" "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Places I Visited:? Paris, Avignon and Nice in France Barcelona and Madrid in Spain Norwich, NY Grantville and Harrisburg, Pa. Memphis, Tenn. Washington, D.C. Chicago Dauphin Island, Ala. New Orleans
Famous People Sightings: Bill Clinton Ron Livingston (sighting No. 2, this time in Atlanta, rather than New Orleans) the cast of The Walking Dead, plus Greg Nicotero Michelle Obama Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef Richard Blais from Top Chef Gen. Larry Platt of "Pants on the Ground" fame Spike Lee Laura Bush Ann Brashares
What do miracles have to do with bacon? Why, everything! The holidays are a time of year when miracles seem truly possible. Average people make extraordinary gestures, breaking out of their every day routines to brighten a strangers life, like the anonymous and good-heated folks, dubbed the “layaway angels,” who have paid off the K-Mart [...]
7 oz. smoked bacon slices, thickly cut, rinds discarded if necessary 7 oz. smoked bean curd 1/2 cup winter-sacrifice beans (SUBSTITUTION NOTE: 2-3 tablespoons black fermented beans and a spoonful or two of chili oil with sediment) 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes 1 tablespoon peanut oil or lard fresh coriander (cilantro) or parsley to garnish (optional)
Place the bacon in a steamer and steam over a high heat for 5-10 minutes, until cooked. Cut each slice into about 3 pieces. Cut the bean curd into thickish slices to complement the bacon.
Lay alternate slices of bacon and bean curd into the bottom and up the side of an earthenware or china bowl. Place any remaining slices on top. Spoon the beans, the chili flakes, and the oil or lard over. (You can prepare up to this stage in advance).
Place the bowl in a steamer and steam for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour, until the flavors have blended.
You can simply serve the dish in a steaming bowl, and just give everything a good stir with chopsticks before digging in. For greater elegance, however, cover the bowl with a serving dish, swiftly invert, and then serve it unmolded with a garnish of fresh coriander or parsley.
bacon recipe courtesy of: Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province by Fuchsia Dunlop. Page 93. W.W. Norton & Company, 2006
We’ve all been in this situation. It’s 7:30pm and you’re starving. You look in your fridge and all you see is a head of broccoli and a package of Maple Leaf bacon (because you should ALWAYS have bacon). So you figure, there’s no time to cook and what the heck are you gonna make with [...]
1 1/2 cups kasha 1 tablespoon lard or extra virgin olive oil 1/2 lb. good-quality slab bacon, minced 1 large onion, diced salt and black pepper to taste
Bring about 1 quart water (or, if you have it, stock) to a boil. Rinse the kasha in a strainer. Put the lard in a deep skillet with a lid over medium heat. A minute later, add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon, add the onion, and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; keep separate from the bacon so the bacon will remain crisp.
Add the kasha, along with some pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mixture smells toasty, about 3 minutes. Carefully add 3 cups of the boiling water, turn the heat to low, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes. If the liquid is absorbed and the kasha is tender but not mushy, it's done. If liquid remains, cook it a little more; if the mixture is dry and the kasha undercooked, add a little more water.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in most of the bacon and onion, then garnish with the remaining bacon and onion and serve.
bacon recipe courtesy of: The Best Recipes in the World: More Than 1,000 International Dishes to Cook at Home by Mark Bittman. Page 529. Broadway Books, 2005
While I know this might come as a shock to some of you, loyal readers, but I did my absolute best this holiday season to ensure that all my celebrating somehow involved bacon. While I am not exactly the spokesperson for self-restraint even at my most staid and reserved, I generally do try to exercise [...]
Source: Aesthetic Outburst 
