Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Test #205: Bacon and NAPA CABBAGE
The subject
Napa cabbage doesn't come from California's famed Napa Valley wine centre. It also doesn't come from NAPA Auto Parts (fine store, but we prefer JC Whitney for all our automotive parts/accessory needs). It originated in China and is now enjoyed throughout Asia (it's the most common base for kimchi, a spicy Korean delicacy). We bought a head for use in a vegetarian potsticker recipe; since we'll have plenty of leftovers, we decided to wrap a bit of this in bacon and report on the results.
The results
Yummy--the leaf, and especially the hardy spine portion, held up well to bacon-baking, retaining a significant crunch while soaking up a nice amount of bacony flavor. We've had brussels sprouts in bacon--we think we might take some more of the napa cabbage leaves, chop 'em up, and stir-fry with some bacon and shiitake mushrooms to accompany the potstickers as a side dish.
The conclusion: Bacon + napa cabbage = yum
Napa cabbage doesn't come from California's famed Napa Valley wine centre. It also doesn't come from NAPA Auto Parts (fine store, but we prefer JC Whitney for all our automotive parts/accessory needs). It originated in China and is now enjoyed throughout Asia (it's the most common base for kimchi, a spicy Korean delicacy). We bought a head for use in a vegetarian potsticker recipe; since we'll have plenty of leftovers, we decided to wrap a bit of this in bacon and report on the results.The results
Yummy--the leaf, and especially the hardy spine portion, held up well to bacon-baking, retaining a significant crunch while soaking up a nice amount of bacony flavor. We've had brussels sprouts in bacon--we think we might take some more of the napa cabbage leaves, chop 'em up, and stir-fry with some bacon and shiitake mushrooms to accompany the potstickers as a side dish.
The conclusion: Bacon + napa cabbage = yum
Friday, February 19, 2010
Test #204: Bacon and COTTON CANDY
The subject
As much as we love Morgan Freeman, we love cotton candy more. You give the guy behind the counter a couple bucks; he takes it, and turns a couple scoops of sugar into a delicious assemblage of edible gossamer sweetness, which melts in your mouth nearly instantly. Empty calories never felt so fulfilling. Because we love it so much, and because it was on sale at Strack & Van Til, we decided to wrap our cotton candy in bacon, which is something you cannot do with America's most beloved actor. Well, you could try wrapping Morgan Freeman in bacon, but something tells me he wouldn't cotton to it. Ha! See what we did there?
The results
We figured it would melt more quickly in the bacon than it normally does in our maws, and it did. However, it left behind the bright-as-bejeezus food coloring used to make cotton candy blue and pink (we're pretty sure those chemicals would endure after a nuclear attack), and sweetened the bacon itself. Not a complete waste, but not tasty enough to repeat--if you're in the mood for candied bacon, we highly recommend you just sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on the strips during the last 5 minutes or so of the bacon-baking process.
The conclusion: Bacon + cotton candy = fair to middlin'
As much as we love Morgan Freeman, we love cotton candy more. You give the guy behind the counter a couple bucks; he takes it, and turns a couple scoops of sugar into a delicious assemblage of edible gossamer sweetness, which melts in your mouth nearly instantly. Empty calories never felt so fulfilling. Because we love it so much, and because it was on sale at Strack & Van Til, we decided to wrap our cotton candy in bacon, which is something you cannot do with America's most beloved actor. Well, you could try wrapping Morgan Freeman in bacon, but something tells me he wouldn't cotton to it. Ha! See what we did there?The results
We figured it would melt more quickly in the bacon than it normally does in our maws, and it did. However, it left behind the bright-as-bejeezus food coloring used to make cotton candy blue and pink (we're pretty sure those chemicals would endure after a nuclear attack), and sweetened the bacon itself. Not a complete waste, but not tasty enough to repeat--if you're in the mood for candied bacon, we highly recommend you just sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on the strips during the last 5 minutes or so of the bacon-baking process.
The conclusion: Bacon + cotton candy = fair to middlin'
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Bacon on TEXTS FROM LAST NIGHT
Texts from Last Night is one of our favorite sites to visit when we're not making, eating, researching, or talking about bacon. The site, which consists of user-submitted cell phone messages (usually sent right before, during, or in the aftermath of drunken shenanigans) is highly amusing--and, as it turns out, pretty bacon-centric in its own right.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Test #203: Bacon and GRAPES
The subject
Grapes are nature's candy. Are they as good as chocolate? That's debatable. One thing's for sure: you can pop a whole bunch of grapes in your mouth and not deal with consequential guilt. Or ass embiggedness. And if you could pig out on bacon with as much joy and as little bad feelings as you can with these little orbs of deliciousness...well, the thought is almost too fabulous to consider.
Before we'd finished the entire massive bunch of grapes, we decided to salvage a few for to wrap in the bacon. And that's exactly what we did.
The results
Yummy! The grape nearly disappeared--the touch of crunch that a green seedless grape has when it's in perfect condition was gone, leaving only intensified sweetness with a touch of bacon flavor seeped in. It was like biting into a bacon bonbon with a grape jelly center. Yummers.
The conclusion: Bacon + grapes = fruitastic
Grapes are nature's candy. Are they as good as chocolate? That's debatable. One thing's for sure: you can pop a whole bunch of grapes in your mouth and not deal with consequential guilt. Or ass embiggedness. And if you could pig out on bacon with as much joy and as little bad feelings as you can with these little orbs of deliciousness...well, the thought is almost too fabulous to consider.Before we'd finished the entire massive bunch of grapes, we decided to salvage a few for to wrap in the bacon. And that's exactly what we did.
The results
Yummy! The grape nearly disappeared--the touch of crunch that a green seedless grape has when it's in perfect condition was gone, leaving only intensified sweetness with a touch of bacon flavor seeped in. It was like biting into a bacon bonbon with a grape jelly center. Yummers.
The conclusion: Bacon + grapes = fruitastic
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Test #202: Bacon and TURKEY BACON
The subject
In the past, there's been no love or respect for turkey bacon among the staff members of BDJ Labs. No offense to the bird that gave its life for the strips, but we've always felt that it just wasn't a meat product worthy of the "bacon" moniker. However, recently our friends Elana and Helen brought a package of the stuff to our Super Bowl party. Because it didn't get eaten on Sunday, it languished in the fridge, until we decided to give it the bacon treatment. And, while we waited for the test subjects to come out of the oven, we decided to nosh on some naked, unwrapped turkey bacon. While we won't completely go back on our former diss of the TB, we will admit that it tastes decent--hammy, not bacony--and we'll give it points for aspiring to be something greater than plain bird meat.
The results
Yummy--the turkey bacon didn't crisp up (it doesn't when baked on its own, either), but instead soaked up bacony grease and plenty of flavor. When coupled with the crispy bacony bacon on the outside, it was like eating crunchy bacon with a soft bacon center. All in all, a savory, bacony success.
The conclusion: Bacon + turkey bacon=worth gobbling up
In the past, there's been no love or respect for turkey bacon among the staff members of BDJ Labs. No offense to the bird that gave its life for the strips, but we've always felt that it just wasn't a meat product worthy of the "bacon" moniker. However, recently our friends Elana and Helen brought a package of the stuff to our Super Bowl party. Because it didn't get eaten on Sunday, it languished in the fridge, until we decided to give it the bacon treatment. And, while we waited for the test subjects to come out of the oven, we decided to nosh on some naked, unwrapped turkey bacon. While we won't completely go back on our former diss of the TB, we will admit that it tastes decent--hammy, not bacony--and we'll give it points for aspiring to be something greater than plain bird meat.The results
Yummy--the turkey bacon didn't crisp up (it doesn't when baked on its own, either), but instead soaked up bacony grease and plenty of flavor. When coupled with the crispy bacony bacon on the outside, it was like eating crunchy bacon with a soft bacon center. All in all, a savory, bacony success.
The conclusion: Bacon + turkey bacon=worth gobbling up
Friday, February 5, 2010
Test #201: Bacon and BACON SALT SUNFLOWER SEEDS
The subject
One of our absolute things from the 2009 All Candy Expo (which had a big bunch of savory snacks, along with the sweets) were Bigs Sunflower Seeds--they come in crazy flavors like Frank's Red Hot (in our opinion, the best major-label hot sauce out there), Vlassic dill pickle, and the pinnacle of awesome tastes, Bacon Salt. We've never been the hugest fans of sunflower seeds, but when they taste like bacon, they're irresistible. We received a package of samples today from the company, and as a thank-you to the fine people at Bigs, we thought we'd give their fine product a big bacon salute.
The results
Awesome--the already bacontastic flavor of the sunflower seeds was amplified about 10 times by bacon wrapping. To return the favor, the shells added crunch to the crispy bacon. The texture might be a bit much for those that prefer to split and discard the shells before eating the seeds in the middle--we're the whole-nine-yards kind when it comes to sunflower seeds--but we think the texture was spot on.
The conclusion: Bacon + Bacon Salt sunflower seeds = a home run
One of our absolute things from the 2009 All Candy Expo (which had a big bunch of savory snacks, along with the sweets) were Bigs Sunflower Seeds--they come in crazy flavors like Frank's Red Hot (in our opinion, the best major-label hot sauce out there), Vlassic dill pickle, and the pinnacle of awesome tastes, Bacon Salt. We've never been the hugest fans of sunflower seeds, but when they taste like bacon, they're irresistible. We received a package of samples today from the company, and as a thank-you to the fine people at Bigs, we thought we'd give their fine product a big bacon salute.The results
Awesome--the already bacontastic flavor of the sunflower seeds was amplified about 10 times by bacon wrapping. To return the favor, the shells added crunch to the crispy bacon. The texture might be a bit much for those that prefer to split and discard the shells before eating the seeds in the middle--we're the whole-nine-yards kind when it comes to sunflower seeds--but we think the texture was spot on.
The conclusion: Bacon + Bacon Salt sunflower seeds = a home run
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Test #200: Bacon and GRAHAM CRACKER
The subject
Yes, we know the subject of this picture isn't a graham cracker--it's the late, great Monty Python trouper Graham Chapman, best known as King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, graham crackers, delicious though they may be, aren't very photogenic. We're a big fan of both Mr. Chapman and his namesake snack, so we decided to try the bacon treatment. On the cracker, not the Chapman--he'd probably taste funny.
The results
Fabulous--we expected the cracker to completely fall apart (ever try dunking a graham cracker in hot cocoa? A disaster). It did get quite soggalicious, but it maintained its square shape, and grahammy flavor, mixed in with the seeped-in savory bacon taste. Consensus among the baconeers in attendance is that this test is well worth repeating--we'd recommend wrapping the lucky cracker up with a marshmallow and a square of your favorite chocolate for a s'more that'd put the Girl-Scouts-round-the-campfire version to shame.
The conclusion: Bacon + graham cracker = something completely different
Yes, we know the subject of this picture isn't a graham cracker--it's the late, great Monty Python trouper Graham Chapman, best known as King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, graham crackers, delicious though they may be, aren't very photogenic. We're a big fan of both Mr. Chapman and his namesake snack, so we decided to try the bacon treatment. On the cracker, not the Chapman--he'd probably taste funny.The results
Fabulous--we expected the cracker to completely fall apart (ever try dunking a graham cracker in hot cocoa? A disaster). It did get quite soggalicious, but it maintained its square shape, and grahammy flavor, mixed in with the seeped-in savory bacon taste. Consensus among the baconeers in attendance is that this test is well worth repeating--we'd recommend wrapping the lucky cracker up with a marshmallow and a square of your favorite chocolate for a s'more that'd put the Girl-Scouts-round-the-campfire version to shame.
The conclusion: Bacon + graham cracker = something completely different
Monday, February 1, 2010
We interrupt your regularly scheduled bacon broadcast...
...to bring you this picture of Mad Men star Christina Hendricks. If bacon were to spring to life and take human form, it might look a great deal like this salty, savory lass. We don't care where this photograph was taken (though we thank What Would Tyler Durden Do? for sharing them), who made her dress, or what kind of flower that is that's pinned to her frock. We just know that the scenes in which her character, Sterling Cooper office manager Joan, walks out of a room make the show worth watching, and life worth living. Plus, we're pretty sure she could bring about world peace with her boobs.
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