Bacon is not Overrated
There has been so much hubbub about bacon lately. Almost too much. Is that possible? Baconnaise on Oprah, bacon salt showing up in local pubs, t-shirts extolling the virtues of bacon. My favorite is Bacon: the Gateway Meat. The comedian Jim Gaffigan has some hilarious sketches about bacon. Though everybody loves bacon, we all feel sort of ashamed about it, so it's perfect comedic material.
I read in a food memoir (Anthony Bourdain, maybe?) that even the most disciplined chefs cannot refrain from nibbling when a pan of bacon gets pulled out of the restaurant oven. Everyone manages to appear just at that moment, breaking off edges or grabbing whole slices. Hype aside, it is a magical meat, and that's precisely why I buy it so infrequently. It's a slippery slope.
Emily had two menu desires for our weekend in LaConner--BLT's and barbecued chicken. Thank you, Emily. Easy, and both treats--things we don't eat very often. BLT's also represent another chance to eat avocado. So in my case, I guess it was a BLAT. I like avocados even more than bacon, so I was in HEAVEN.
At home, we have sandwiches for dinner a lot, and often I cook up a sheet of oven fries to go with them. When I pulled these out of the oven, Emily said, "Are you going to post about those?" I said, "No. Doesn't everybody know how to do this?" She rolled her eyes (in a nice way). I took that to mean, "Please. Enough with your false modesty." So here are two "recipes"--more from my weekend of hardly any cooking and lots of relaxing.
Sarah's BLT Tips/Preferences
- Get your bacon crisp, but still a bit chewy. If it's too crisp, it doesn't smoosh as nicely into the bread. I cook my bacon on sheets in the oven because I have more control over it and it doesn't make my clothes smell like the bacon-lover that I am. And yes--I cook the bacon on parchment paper.
- One of my snotty pet peeves is BLT's on untoasted bread. So I either lightly toast it, or, if I'm making them for more than a couple people, I brush my bread with olive oil and lightly griddle it. I use English muffin bread or a good, dense white bread, like the Wild Wheat pain au levain above.
- Romaine lettuce. Only.
- Have to be flexible with the tomatoes. Hothouse ones in the winter, and summer tomatoes make BLT's a food of the gods.
- Avocado if possible, like the 79 cent ones from Young's Market. They were perfect.
- Lots of mayo, sometimes with a bit of lemon and garlic in it if I'm feeling ambitious or bored.
Red Potato Oven Fries
I have made these in different shapes (fingers, cubes), with different types of potatoes, and with different seasonings. I might post other variations later. This is what we ate the other night.
2 pounds large red potatoes, cut into 1/2" wedges
3 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (I always use Kosher salt on everything. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet)
2 Tb. dried Parmesan cheese from a can
Preheat oven to 400.
Toss everything together in a bowl, then spread potatoes out on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven when potatoes are tender, but not mushy.
May 25, 2009
Reader Comments (12)
James rolls his eyes when we are out and I ask the waitress "how is the bacon cooked? is it wiggly, or crisp?" I hate wiggly bacon. You come from a long line of bacon lovers. I remember once passing through the countryside in Louisville, Ky. being enamored with the country ham and bacon stands. I told James if he couldn't think of what to get me for my birthday, he could always get me the "bacon of the month club" that was advertised in my cooking magazines. Your bday is coming up, don't be too surprised if you find a slab of bacon in your mailbox, and a T-shirt with a logo on it saying, "bacon's a slippery slope, " and a note attached to it wishing you a Happy Birthday.
Turkey bacon doesn't taste nearly as good as gateway bacon, but I feel better after I eat it. Sarah baked some for me the same way she did the regular. It's an o.k. substitute, no one's going to rave about it, but it works. I used the left overs last night for dinner and used arugula for the "L". That was an excellent substitute!
Thanks for posting about the potatoes! I'm always on the look out for simple things I can do and your little tidbits make all the difference.
This may seem REALLY obvious to a lot of folks reading, but I think it would be helpful to post that you cook your bacon in the oven (yes, on parchment paper as you stated) at what temperature and for how long. I believe 350 for about 20-30 minutes? Anyway, this was news to me. We always fried ours, and burned ourselves, on the stove top. Messy and oily spurts of pain. Then there was this thing you used in the microwave with paper towel - that could have just been a midwest phenomenon.
O.k. I should work.
Em
These potatoes sound simple and delicious!!!! Thanks Figtreeapps
Mmmmm...those potatoes look delectable. And I am always on the lookout for good sandwiches. I recently purchased Wichcraft because I love sandwiches so much. thanks for sharing.
Oh yes, BACON!
None for me this morning, but I thought you would appreciate the spirit of my breakfast this morning. It was a "let's try to not kill each other" kind of morning, so there was even less time to make/eat breakfast than usual.
2 big scoops of whole milk yogurt in a giant mug.
1 handful each of dried bluberried and cherries, from Costco.
And here's where the leftoverist comes in...
1 last chocolate chip cookie (Nestle Break N Bake) left on the counter from last night? Sure, toss it in!
Stir. Shovel into mouth while walking around the house getting ready.
Yum!
PS - thinking about getting that blog started today... will keep you posted.
Bacon is a staple in our house. No seriously, it is. Flour, sugar, butter, eggs, cheese, bacon. OK, maybe some pasta/rice/potatoes too.
I love bacon for a variety of reasons, probably quite different than my 12 year old son who could eat strips of the stuff for hours on end every single day.
For me bacon is that little something special that jazzes up so many otherwise ordinary meals. A couple fo slices chopped up in pasta or a cream sauce or in a sandwich or on top of baked potatoes or ... Well, you get the idea.
I know it's a luxury ingredient for those with little money, but adding a couple slices to an otherwise vegetarian dish is awesomeness.
Oops, one more thing. This http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXAJAyLdUXU rel="nofollow">sandwich is absolutely great. It's a sandwich from the movie Spanglish, and the video is an extra on the DVD. We've made this sandwich several times, and it is Sooooooooo good!
see now, the rest of the potato recipe may be intuitive to a cook, but the parmesan in a can is not...that's why your recipes are helpful! thanks sarah!
You have successfully made me want a BLT so badly! This looks like a gorgeous sandwich and that is a fantastic simple recipe for potatoes! I never know what to do with potatoes as a quick side dish but this fits the bill very nicely. I just discovered the blog (through Eggs on Sunday) and I'm loving it.
Hi Sarah! It's Jo Jo, Jackie F's sister. I have been following your blog and now your website for awhile and I just love it! Anyhow, while on the topic of bacon I'll mention that I recently tried candied bacon...Have you tried it? If you google it several recipes will come up but the basics are just bacon and sugar. I just snacked on it by itself but I imagine you at this moment thinking of something tasty to partner it with. A salad? Anyhow, keep up the good work! You've inspired me to want to make more treats for my firefighter husband and his crew. I'll say 'thank you' to you, from him in advance :)