As I said on Twitter, I am neither a coleslaw devotee nor a blue cheese fan, but Sebastian’s blue cheese coleslaw was excellent.

Blue Cheese Coleslaw
Makes 12 servings.
Modified from original source: Bon Appetit

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
16 oz purchased coleslaw mix
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Real bacon bits, to taste

1. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, and honey in large bowl.
2. Stir in coleslaw mix, cheese, and bacon bits. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Cover and chill.

We used real bacon bits instead of frying up bacon and crumbling it up.  We did that mostly because we just don’t eat bacon that often and it’s a pain to only use a few slices out of package.  We also cut down the blue cheese after reading a comment that it was a bit of strong.  While Sebastian loves blue cheese, I tolerate it.  However, we both agreed it was the right move.  It provides an unexpected twang to the coleslaw.

I came across this story about bacon chocolate chip cookies.

Bacon is the new black. what used to be just a side dish with breakfast now gets used in ways we would have thought nuts 15 years ago.

I’ve had bacon in a chocolate bar, fixed bacon wrapped fresh figs and pig candy. I’d even seen bacon topped cookies.

I wanted to go one further, though. I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies and added 1/2 pound of crispy bacon!

No. I’m sorry, it’s wrong. It’s really wrong. I realize that bacon is the new fad, and it is mildly amusing. But much like bacon vodka, there really must be a line in the sand not worth crossing. (Fortunately, the PA Liquor Control Board has not yet bought into the bacon vodka madness.)

This cracked me up.  If you don’t love the dance moves around the 3:04 mark, something is wrong with you.

I confess, the combination of chocolate and bacon doesn’t do it for me. Not even looking at this picture catches my interest.

The LA Times Tech blog pretends that they are answering the biggest question of our time: Why the internet loves bacon.

Except they don’t.  No wonder the MSM is headed downhill…

Given that I’m taking care of our tree that fell on a neighbor’s garage today, I don’t really have time to post or research a really good recipe.  In the meantime, here’s this photo-filled post of bacony goodness served up by one of my favorite gun bloggers.

I had real content planned for today, too.  Damn.

Its True.

Well, its quickly comign up on us and I’m busy.  But with Congress seemingly intent on passing a stimulus  handout bailout unsustainable loans from China, lets just print money bill, we better fill our bellies now cause we’re all gonna be homeless and starving before its over.

And in that regard, since bacon is really just nicely cooked pork belly, I figured I’d throw up a tasty recipie for the real stuff, Grilled Pork Belly This is one of my favorite outdoor grilling delights.

• 1 kilo pork belly ( Sliced )
  

• 3 tbps brown sugar

• Cloves of 1 head of garlic, crushed

• ½ cup vinegar
  

• Ground black pepper
  

• ½ cup 7-Up or Sprite

Dip

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 1 cup vinegar

• ½ cup soy sauce

• Ground Black pepper

• 1 sliced finger chili (optional)

• Combine Sprite or 7-Up, vinegar, garlic, sugar and pepper in a bowl then add the Pork Belly.
  

• Marinate 1 to 3 hours in refrigerator.

• When ready to cook, drain pork and discard marinade. Heat grill to medium and grill pork until thoroughly cooked, about 15 minutes on the first side and another 15 minutes on the second side..

• To make the Dip, combine the onion, vinegar, soy sauce and pepper in a bowl.
  

• Stir to blend. If you want a spicy dip, add the sliced chili.

• Serve the grilled pork with the dip and cooked white rice.
  

Michael Silence might have a great post about Bacon, but here in the kitchen, where bitchin’ about it for another 13 days straight.  Right up until the Barack The Squirrely Baconators Innauguration.

And yes, Barry is something of a squirrel.  Sure, its a common trait, even amongst Republicans like Bill Haslam who want to squirrel away their deep connections to gun bigots. In Barry’s case, he loves to squirrel away his connections to shady groups.  But we all know squirrels love ACORNS, especially ACORNS that might help him to ban guns.

They got the right idea in England though, where folks still enjoy to hunt squirrels and consider them great delicacies! Especially prizing the ACORN loving kinds

Many enjoy squirrel, however, simply because they like its taste. Mr. Carter said he didn’t know what he was eating when he tried it. But, he said, “at first bite, I thought it delicious.” Patchwork will send squirrel pâté, by the way, in return for a donation to “Save Our Squirrels” — but only within Britain.

Mark Holdstock, a writer and broadcaster specializing in countryside matters, is less enthusiastic, having recently eaten squirrel on the air on “Farming Today,” BBC Radio 4’s iconic program devoted to rural issues. “It’s fair to say I didn’t dislike it,” he said.

Nichola Fletcher, a food writer and co-owner of a venison farm, held a squirrel tasting for Britain’s Guild of Food Writers, finding “their lovely flavor tasted of the nuts they nibbled.”

And from the Independent, in London.

Braised Squirrel and Watercrest

4 squirrels, shoot ‘em and clean ‘em yourself.
Duck fat
12 shallots
1oz dried porcini
Splash of cognac
1pint chicken stock
Glass dry white wine
4 pigs’ trotters (ie: pigs foot)
4oz bacon, cut into small chunks
1 carrot and 1 onion, both roughly chopped
Bay leaf
6 peppercorns
Bunch watercress, roughly chopped

Scrub trotters, cover in water. Simmer with carrot, onion, peppercorns and bayleaf for several hours until tender. Cool. Strain. Extract meat and return to liquid. Leave to jellify. Keep overnight in fridge.

Cut squirrels into five – back legs, shoulders, saddle. Remove hearts and livers, brown in duck fat, splash with cognac, mash into paste, reserve.

Soak porcini in a little hot water for half an hour. Drain, reserve liquid.

Cook squirrel gently in duck fat until lightly browned. Flame in cognac, add wine. Place in casserole.

Fry bacon and shallots in same fat, adding porcini. Season. Add to casserole, with porcini liquor and four tablespoons trotter jelly. Cover with stock. Add lid. Braise in oven (325F) for two to three hours until tender. Stir in watercress.

Serve with liver paste on toast.

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm

Leon Panetta??

“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director,” Feinstein said. “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”

How about Lyon style Pancetta Wrapped Tuna??

Ingredients

The Tuna:
8 to 10 ounces slab pancetta, thinly sliced, or an equal amount of sliced bacon
1 1/4 pounds tuna loin, cut like a roast, approximately 6-inches long, 1 1/2-inches high, and 1 1/2-inches wide
Salt and freshly ground pepper

The potatoes and ramps:
1 3/4 pounds potatoes, preferably fingerlings, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3/4 cup whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces ramps, trimmed, and washed (or 3 ounces scallion greens and 1 clove garlic, peeled, split, germ removed, and finely chopped)
1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves only
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

To Finish:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces chanterelles, trimmed and cleaned (halved or quartered if large)
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots, rinsed and dried
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/4 cup sherry vinegar

Method

The Tuna:

• Spread a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and lay out the slices of pancetta (or bacon) vertically, so that each slice overlaps its neighboring slice just a bit. Season the tuna very lightly with salt and pepper (remember, the pancetta or bacon is already salty) and place it crosswise in the middle of the pancetta. With the plastic to help you, start to roll the pancetta around the tuna, stopping to straighten the rows of pancetta and to assure yourself that you’re getting an even wrap. Secure the pancetta by tying the roast at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine, just as you would a meat roast. Refrigerate the tuna while you prepare the potatoes.

The potatoes and ramps:

• Put the potatoes in a large casserole or stockpot of salted cold water, bring to the boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be pierced with the point of a knife, about 15 minutes.

• While the potatoes are cooking, bring the milk and butter to the boil in a small saucepan. When the mixture reaches the boil and the butter melts, turn off the heat; keep this warm until you’re ready to purée the potatoes.

• When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them, then return them to the pot. Set the pot over medium heat and, shaking the pot to keep the potatoes from sticking, cook just until the potatoes are dry, a matter of a minute or two. Pull the pan from the heat and spoon the potatoes into a food mill fitted with the fine blade of a potato ricer. Push the potatoes through the food mill or ricer into a large bowl. In a slow steady stream, add the hot milk and butter, stirring the liquid into the potatoes with a wooden spoon. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the potatoes and set the bowl aside in a warm place or keep the potatoes warm in a covered heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

• Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Toss the ramps or scallion greens into the pot and boil 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Scoop the ramps or scallions out of the pot with a slotted spoon (keep the boiling water over heat) and run them under cold water to cool; dry them well. Toss the parsley into the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes before running it under cold water. When the parsley is cool, dry it as well.

• Warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. If you’re using it, add the garlic and sauté until it is tender but not colored, about 2 minutes. Toss in the ramps or scallions and cook, stirring, another 3 minutes. Scrape the ingredients into the container of a small processor or a blender. Add the drained and dried parsley and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and whir, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until you have a smooth purée. Stir the purée into the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, cover again, and keep warm while you cook the tuna.

To Finish:

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

• Warm 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large ovenproof sauté pan or skillet over medium heat and, when it’s hot, slip the tuna into the pan. Sear the tuna about 2 minutes on each of its four sides, then slide the pan into the oven for 5 minutes. (After 5 minutes in the oven, the tuna will be rare – cooked on the outside and warm but not colored anywhere else. If this is too rare for you, increase the tuna’s time in the oven by 1 to 2 minutes and you’ll have medium tuna.) Lift the tuna out of the pan and onto a warm serving platter (don’t discard the cooking fat).

• Pour off half the cooking fat that’s in the pan, return the pan to the stovetop, turn the heat to medium-low and toss in the chanterelles. Cover the pan and cook the mushrooms until they’re almost tender but not colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook another minute or so to soften the shallots. Pour in the vinegar and allow it to reduce by three quarters. Add the white wine, bring it to a boil and allow it cook away before adding the chicken stock. Cook until the stock is reduced by half, then pull the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, a small piece at a time. (The idea is to melt the butter slowly so that it forms an emulsion.) Sprinkle in the chives.

To Serve:

• Cut the tuna into 12 slices (this is done most easily with an electric knife or a very sharp, long, thin-bladed knife). On each of six warm dinner plates, center a scoop of potatoes, lean two slices of tuna against the potatoes and surround with chanterelles and sauce.
  

Serves 6

Bon appetit . . . . .