Suburban Redneck

There’s an awful lot of bacon going on over at Twitter. My favorite quote so far:

How do I know when my recreational bacon-eating turns into problem bacon-eating? link

The Wall Street Journal presents the history of (and recipe for) the sultry margarita (subscription may be required).

xkcd has a brilliant cartoon today on the conjunction of bacon and stove ownership.

Do you like grilled cheese? If not, then you can stop reading here. If you do, however, then this appears to be the most amazing grilled cheese recipe ever. I can’t wait to try it myself.

Perhaps the latest in pop music from Pigs Are Worth It

Pig farmers from across the country have swapped their wellies for microphones to record a single to raise awareness of their fight for fairer prices for their pigs.”

Yes, you too can download (wait for it) “Stand By Your Ham,” a song recorded to raise awareness of the plight of the British pork industry (and quite a few eyebrows as well).

With Ash Wednesday rapidly approaching, Cajuns are getting ready with pork-filled festivities. The annual “grand boucherie,” or pig slaughter, is taking place all over Louisiana. Read Cajuns fete Carnival with pig slaughter for all the yummy details. Speaking of the annual “greased pig” contest, the winner said:

‘This was my first time, and I’m so excited,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna raise it and kill it one day.’

On Thursday, I was at our office in Santa Monica, where I convinced my guys there to let me take them to lunch. We went to the Daily Grill, which happened to be right downstairs. And, lo and behold, they were featuring “Loaded macaroni and cheese” as an entree on the menu. Without quibbling about the fact that it was shell-shaped pasta, and not macaroni, it seemed like a good idea. Three cheeses, sauteed mushrooms, and bacon, all topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs. However, it wasn’t, well, very cheesy at all.

But I took a picture of it anyway, and posted it to my Flickr account. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

It turns out that there’s a whole community of mac & cheese lovers on Flickr. Ok, not one, but several. That picture has now received invitations to a couple of photo pools dedicated to mac & cheese. I have to admit, it seems quite odd to me. My personal fascination with macaroni & cheese has to do with the taste, and not with the appearance.

Still, to each his own, I suppose.

Went to a dinner party last night for Brian’s birthday; while there, a mutual friend told the story of how his ex-wife dreamed one night of bacon pie; she was so stirred that she woke him up and told him about it. Eventually, she actually made the bacon pie: it turned out to be basically pecan pie with bacon substituted for the pecans. Since I can’t find the recipe online, maybe this Bacon-Apple Pie (served with smoked cheddar) is a good substitute?

If you do know the recipe for the One True Bacon Pie, please leave a comment here!

A website aptly named Peppers and Smoke has developed what is perhaps the most amazing culinary achievement this decade: a burger made from 100% bacon, filled with cheese, and deep fried. Personally, I think he should get a Nobel Peace Prize for this.

More detailed instructions are available over at Yahoo! Food.

(Props to Laura for the pointer.)

It turns out that you can successfully add bacon to chocolate-chip cookies. [Hat tip to Laura for the pointer]