The Top 10 Bacon Photos of 2012

top-ten-bacon-photos

The title says it all.

You guys clicked away and these photos were the most “liked” of 2012. You guys just kept liking and liking. And you know what? You’re awesome for it! What other blog site can boast that we engage with our readers? (Probably quite a few.) But none as cool as ours! C’mon, it’s BACON!

Ready for the greatness according to you? Here we go!

1. Not surprisingly, this giant pile of bacon.

Giant Pile of Bacon

2. This cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapeno. Guess people like it cheesy and spicy!

bacon wrapped cheese stuffed jalapeno

3. This Some e-card that YES, Bacon Today created. (Well, let’s give the author [ME] some credit. Yep, I made this baby. And I’m proud.)

Do you want my leftover bacon

4. A bunch of bacon frying in a pan. Simple yet beautiful.

frying-bacon

5. This big bacon cheeseburger. Wow, you guys really like cheese!

Big Bacon Cheeseburger

6. Again with the cheese! A cheesy bacon wrapped avocado.

bacon-wrapped-avocado

7. People would rather vote for bacon!

vote-bacon

8. A wise observation.

whoever says

9. This awesome Bacon-Cabin-Gingerbread-Meat-House… thing!

Bacon Cabin- gingerbread house

10. And more true words of wisdom.

You Can't Buy Happiness

There you have it readers and fans! Your favorites! And for those of you that didn’t know we had a Facebook page… for shame! Go and “Like” it now!

Bacon Wrapped Cheesy Avocado

I’m pretty sure you could bacon wrap almost any food and come out with a delicious masterpiece. You could Picasso your way about the process. Take a jumble of foods, throw them together, bacon wrap it all, and suddenly you have people marveling at your edible art.

“How did you come up with such deliciousness?” they’d ask. Then you just shrug your shoulders nonchalantly and respond, “I don’t know. I was just trying to be weird and do something different. And after a couple of beers, this is what I came up with.”

“Wow, you have talent! The marshmallow and banana brings a delicious sweetness to the salty, savory bacon. You’re so creative, I never would have thought of this! You have to give me the recipe!” Little do they know that marshmallows, bananas, and bacon were all you had in your kitchen. And after a couple of beers, you were really hungry.

Fantasies of accidental culinary prowess aside, sometimes you just have to take two of your favorite foods and wrap them in bacon. So I ended up putting cheese in an avocado and wrapped it up in bacon. Yes, I love cheese and avocados. And yes, I thought adding bacon into the mix would make my mouth extra happy. I was right.

Oh… WOW. This was my first Cheesy Ba-cado experience. And it was beautiful. You know that moment when you take a bite of something and suddenly the world stops and you seem to be forever in that moment; nothing existing but you and this delicious morsel in your mouth? Yes, it was like that.

I suggest you experience the Cheesy Ba-cado awesomeness. Here’s how you can reach nirvana:

Ingredients: (This recipe yields two servings.)
1 Avocado (Preferably a large one.)
5 slices of Muenster Cheese (This is the cheese I used, but you may use any cheese that you would like. Pepper Jack would give it a nice little kick. However, if you choose a softer cheese such as Brie, the baking time will be shorter, and you will want to cook your bacon a little bit before you wrap it.)
2- 4 strips of Bacon (Depending on the cut.)
Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350?
2. Cut your avocado in half and take out the pit. Peel the avocado. (You will want an avocado that isn’t too mushy. This makes it harder to peel.)
3. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and grease it with the olive oil.
4. Place your avocado halves on your pan, pit side up.
5. Next step is filling them with cheese. You’ll be placing the cheese into the avocado where the pit was. For even more cheesiness, you can hollow out the avocado a little more.
6. I had sliced Muenster so I broke them into four little squares of each and layered them into the middle of the avocado halves until they were filled. You can use chunks, cubes, anything, because the cheese is just going to end up melted anyway. Fill to your desired level of cheesiness. (Feel free to nibble on the cheese while filling your avocado.)
7. Time to bacon wrap! Depending upon the width of the bacon, you may need two strips to get each of your avocado halves wrapped. Once you have the avocados wrapped up in their little bacon blanket of goodness, use a toothpick to stick through the middle to make sure they stay wrapped.
8. For added flavor, you may shake some garlic, rosemary, basil, pepper, or any of your favorite seasonings over your Ba-cado. I went with Garlic Salt because I love garlicy, salty things. Yum.
9. Drizzle olive oil over your masterpiece. (Don’t you feel like Emeril Lagasse?)
10. When your oven is ready to go, bake your Bacon Wrapped Cheesiness for 15- 20 minutes or until your desired crispness of the bacon.
11. When done, take a picture of them with your phone, think of witty caption, and share your photo with all of your social networks.
12. Take your first bite and reach nirvana. (So good, right?)

Pretty sure you have the rest covered. I won’t tell you how to clean your own kitchen. But what are you doing still on the internet? Go make one! Right now!

Better with Bacon – Baked Bacon Blue Cheese Dip

Simple, easy, probably not good for you, but I am sure as heck thinkin’ it’s tasty!

Imagine this with some homemade potato chips…YUM!

[photo via Right Cuisine] photo via Right Cuisine

Recipe after the jump…

Baked Bacon Blue Cheese Dip

You will need :

Large, heavy skillet Electric mixer Medium bowl Medium baking dish with cover ( or use tin foil )

Ingredients:

8-10 slices bacon 1 pkg. cream cheese ( softened ) 2 cloves garlic( peel and mince ) 2 & 1/ 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped 4-5-0z blue cheese crumbles 1/4 cup half and half

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry bacon on medium, medium high until well done. Remove, and drain off excess grease. When cooled, crumble, set aside. Saute garlic in the bacon grease for about a minute – no longer. Remove from grease Place cream cheese and half and half in bowl and mix until well blended. Add the chives, blue cheese crumbles. garlic and bacon and stir well ( by hand ) Place in baking dish, cover and bake about half an hour Remove from oven, let cool slightly and pour into serving dish.

Recipe from JoAnne Thomas at Right Cuisine

Originally posted 2009-08-04 11:36:30.

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Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots

Of course bacon is delicious. Therefore bacon is the perfect food to add to any appetizer. But this particular bacon appetizer is a huge hit and will make any occasion better; all while making you look like an amazing cook. The best part? It’s very easy to make!

What you will need:
One package of tater tots
A block of your favorite cheese. (I used sharp cheddar for this particular recipe. Pepper Jack would be delicious for a little kick.)
One pound of bacon

Now, I must warn you… This recipe does make a good amount of taters, but they get eaten so quickly you may want to double the batch! They are raved about amongst even the mildest of bacon lovers. I know that sounds like a myth: a mild bacon lover… But, apparently, they exist!

Let the tater tots thaw for a little while. You don’t want them to be as hard as an ice cube, but you don’t want them too soft either. You’re going to be cutting the tots halfway down so you don’t want the potato crumbling all over the place.

While you’re letting the tater tots thaw, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the cheese into little squares or rectangles that will fit inside the tater tots. (Think of it as a tater tot sandwich with a wee-little cheese middle.)

Wrap the bacon around the cheese filled tot so that a little of the bacon overlaps each other. Cut the remaining slice of bacon off. (Instead of precutting the strips of bacon, this will ensure that your strips will wrap around the whole tater tot, nicely. Place a toothpick through to hold the bacon-tot in place. (If you have any leftover ends that don’t completely fit around a tater tot, cook them! You don’t want to waste any bacon!)

Use a baking pan, parchment paper, or line a pan with tin foil. However, if you use tin foil or metal pan, you are going to want to grease the pan so the cheese doesn’t stick to the foil.

Place your bacon wrapped tots on your pan, allowing a little room in between each. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the bacon is crisp.

When it’s done, take them out and make sure you let them cool! Yes, they will smell delicious, but they will be piping hot. They will burn your tongue if you pop them into your mouth right away! I know from experience. After you’ve let them cool, enjoy!

The Bacon Weave Grilled Cheese…

Really, who needs bread when you’ve got yourself a couple bacon weaves…

This work of brilliance from the fine men over at DudeFoods.com.

It’s been almost four years writing this blog.  I have seen the “bacon weave” countless of times, countless!  Never had I had the thought to use it as “bread”.  And here I thought I was creative…

Well played gentlemen, well played.

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Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

These bad boys will have every bacon and eggs lover enjoying each bite of these delicious and easy appetizers. It brings three delicious foods together in one bite: Bacon, cheese, and eggs! So go ahead and make your own. (Seriously, you should. It was hard enough getting a picture before they got eaten!)

Ingredients:
12 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 pound of bacon (or enough to make 1 cup of crumbled bacon) Depending upon the thickness of the bacon, this will vary. So it’s best to just make the whole package. Besides, you know you want to nibble on some bacon while you’re making this. May as well just make that whole darn pound. People will come running once they smell your cooking bacon.
1/2 cup of finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of mustard

Directions:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. To cool more quickly, rinse eggs under cold running water.
2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown (or until your desired done-ness). After they are cooked, wrap the bacon in paper towels to soak up the grease. Crumble and set aside.
3. Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, crumbled bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving. You may garnish your eggs with crumbled bacon, paprika, or green onions.
4. You may have some mixture left over. Store in a container in the fridge to use as a dip or spread for crackers.

(Tip- for a chunkier, thicker egg filling you may add in more crumbled bacon and cheese. For a creamier, use less. The measurements on this recipe vary depending upon your taste. You may start your mixture by adding each ingredient slowly, taste, and add as you please according to your taste. Most of all: Enjoy!)

Slater’s 50/50: The 100% Ground Bacon Burger, the ‘Merica!

Slater’s 50/50 is the newest hot burger spot to invade the Orange County. Scott Slater opened the first location in the Anaheim hills just a few years ago. “Slater” for his last name and the 50/50 represents their famous 50/50 burger which is 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon. This burger restaurant and bar made such an impact on people that it was featured on the Travel Channel’s show, “Bacon Paradise”, and was voted top best burgers in the Orange County by Urbanspoon.

It’s a fun and casual environment, with its atmosphere taking cues from an upscale sports bar. It’s definitely a fun spot for those in their twenties and thirties who want a round of beers accompanied by delicious burgers; but is still clean enough around the edges to bring your families to. And hey, if Grandma doesn’t mind the higher pace and numerous TVs displaying sports channels, she’ll like it too.

Aside from their famous 50/50 burger, they also offer an all beef patty, fire beef patty, chicken patty, vegetarian, and turkey patty. Another delicious perk to Slater’s is that you can create your perfect burger with an abundance of traditional and unique toppings. With 5 different choices of bread, 12 different cheeses, 30 toppings, and 20 sauces, you are sure to create the perfect meal. Not only can you design your own burgers, but you can also design your own milkshake. They have flavors such as Maple Bacon, Mint Chocolate Chip, Nutella, Peanut Butter, Heath Bar Crunch, Oreo, Pumpkin Pie, Toasted Marshmallow, Root Beer, and Orange Cream.

Even though they’re famous for the 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon burger, for the month of July they brought out their ‘Merica Burger! This bad boy is 100% ground bacon, topped with two strips of bacon, bacon cheese, a sunny side up egg, then all topped off with a “bacon island” dressing (which seems to be a bacon infused thousand island dressing). Talk about cardiac arrest! So of course we had to try it.

We ventured out to Slater’s 50/50 in Huntington Beach and we got to try the ‘Merica burger, french fries with bacon ketchup, a Maple Bacon Milkshake, and slider-sized versions of their Hawaiian Burger; which is made with the 50/50 patty, grilled pineapple, sunny side up egg, American cheese, and baconnaise (bacon infused mayo). Sound like a few heart attacks on a plate? Perhaps. But we’re all still standing… and we ate every bite.

All of the food was absolutely delicious. The staff was fun, young, and they even had an extensive beer menu. The ‘Merica burger was a seriously heavy-duty ba-con-ified meal. We thought it was absolutely delicious but we could see how others who are faint of heart wouldn’t be able to take this burger. It definitely was salty, which we’re big fans of. (Just talking about the burger is making our mouths water.) The outside of the burger patty had a pleasantly crunchy texture and even tasted awesome without the buttered bun and all the other ingredients. We definitely agreed that this burger was one to be shared. Taking this baby on by yourself would be a pretty heavy task. Plus, if you share it you will have room for their delicious milkshakes. The Maple Bacon Milkshake was one of the best we’ve ever tasted.

Moral of the story is… you’re going to want to take a nap after eating at Slater’s 50/50. But it’s worth it! So if you’re in the area of one of their locations, we highly recommend getting a burger. Any will do.

Slater’s 50/50 Website

Better with Bacon – Killer Bacon Cheese Hot Dogs…

“Killer” being the optimal word here…but hey, we’re all gonna die someday! Might as well enjoy ourselves and grab a couple of these.

Killer Bacon Cheese Hot Dogs

Ingredients

  • 8 slices bacon
  • 8 all-beef hot dogs
  • 8 hot dog buns
  • 8 slices Swiss cheese
  • 1/2 cup barbeque sauce, or amount to taste
  • 1 small red onion, diced

Directions

  1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grate, and set 4 inches from the heat.
  2. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels.
  3. Place hot dogs on grill; cook until browned, 5 to 8 minutes, turning once, or until done to suit your taste. Lightly grill hot dog buns.
  4. To assemble sandwiches, place a slice of cheese and bacon on each roll. Add a hot dog, top each with 1 tablespoon barbeque sauce, or desired amount, and red onion.

You know you want one ;-)

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!  Back to the grind tomorrow…

recipe via

 

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NYC’s Best Sandwiches

Grubstreet has a list of the 101 Best Sandwiches in New York. And no surprise, many of these are pork sandwiches! There are so many in fact that I decided to choose a mere 10 from the list that I would like to try in the next year or so. From the bottom of the list up, here are my picks:
100. The Elvis - Peanut Butter & Co.
83. Ham & Cheese - Char No. 4
56. Bacon & Marmalade - Prune
53. PMB (pancetta, mango & basil) - Sullivan St. Bakery
43. Bacon, Egg & Lettuce - BKLYN Larder
39. Bacon, Egg & Cheese - Prime Meats
32. BLT - Frankie’s Sputino
26. Country Ham Biscuit - Egg
22. Grilled 3-Cheese with House-smoked Ham - The Breslin
13. Croque Monsieur - Bar Boulud
I think I’ll start with number 53! A lot of these picks are based on me already loving particular restaurants or wanting to try ones I haven’t. There is lots of porky goodness on the list besides these. What are your favorites? Any sandwiches that you think are missing? I think Bierkraft’s Serrano should have been very high on the list. And are ice cream sandwiches not considered? Because Xie Xie’s 1000 Year Old Ice Cream Sandwich would easily top my list!

NYC’s Best Sandwiches

Grubstreet has a list of the 101 Best Sandwiches in New York. And no surprise, many of these are pork sandwiches! There are so many in fact that I decided to choose a mere 10 from the list that I would like to try in the next year or so. From the bottom of the list up, here are my picks:
100. The Elvis - Peanut Butter & Co.
83. Ham & Cheese - Char No. 4
56. Bacon & Marmalade - Prune
53. PMB (pancetta, mango & basil) - Sullivan St. Bakery
43. Bacon, Egg & Lettuce - BKLYN Larder
39. Bacon, Egg & Cheese - Prime Meats
32. BLT - Frankie’s Sputino
26. Country Ham Biscuit - Egg
22. Grilled 3-Cheese with House-smoked Ham - The Breslin
13. Croque Monsieur - Bar Boulud
I think I’ll start with number 53! A lot of these picks are based on me already loving particular restaurants or wanting to try ones I haven’t. There is lots of porky goodness on the list besides these. What are your favorites? Any sandwiches that you think are missing? I think Bierkraft’s Serrano should have been very high on the list. And are ice cream sandwiches not considered? Because Xie Xie’s 1000 Year Old Ice Cream Sandwich would easily top my list!