bacon

Baconfest 2012

/ Shane / 7 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of the year again. I present the 2nd Annual Halbach Baconfest:

This year’s Baconfest was conceptually very similar to last year’s. Bacon themed menu all day, bacon taste test, and, of course, there were shirts.

Nathan and Amanda hosted this year, so even though it was at our house, they did all the food preparation. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it is to have someone else do all the food preparation. Also, they did as much as they could ahead of time, which really saved us from having to cook non-stop all day, like we did last year. Good thing too, since we had a ballet recital to attend in the morning, and the afternoon was just too beautiful weather-wise to spend it indoors.

 

I thought the food overall was much better than last year (and not only because I didn’t have to make it). Last year everything was perfectly good, but a lot of stuff was sort of unremarkable. This year, there were a few things that weren’t particularly bacon-y, but they were still unique or interesting. Additionally, there were several things that really stood out this year, which was much improved over last year.

Halbach BaconFest 2012 Menu

Breakfast

Bacon-Fig Scones

and

Sandwich-Bacon with Scrambled Eggs

Lunch

Bacon-Stuffed Crust Pizza, Two Ways
Barbecue-chicken bacon and Bacon with sautéed Onion

Bacon Taste Testing

Four distinct bacons for the discriminating bacon consumer

Dinner

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

and

Bacon-Stuffed Dough, Three Ways
Bacon-potato gnocchi pan seared in a bacon-butter sage sauce
Bacon wontons seared and steamed served with ginger-garlic dipping sauce
Bacon-pea pesto stuffed shells baked with bacon marinara sauce

Dessert

Sweet Bacon Cheesecake with Candied Bacon Topping

I want to specifically comment on the bacon cheesecake. My gut reaction was, “Say whaaa?” The combination of bacon and cheesecake did not sound appealing at all. And yet, it was so good! But strange. I don’t think I could really explain it to you without trying it. You absolutely can taste the bacon; it’s not one of those things where there’s some token bacon just to make it a “bacon” recipe. But the bacon combines with the sweetness to make something that’s delicious and totally unique. Without question the best bacon dessert recipe I have ever had (granted, that’s a low bar, because almost every bacon dessert I have ever had has been disgusting).

The Kevin Bacon movie this year was going to be Apollo 13, but by the end of the day we opted for board games instead. Sorry, Mr. Bacon, you were there in spirit. (Side note, are there any bacon related board games? Because if not, I think we have a money maker on our hands.)

I’m already looking forward to next year; I’ve already begun work on the logo.

Best. Tradition. Ever.

Search Term Roundup

/ Shane / 3 Comments

Here we have yet another search term roundup, in which I ruminate about the strangest Google search terms that have lead weary Internet wanderers to my doorstep.

“Skeletor frozen in ice” – We can only hope that Heman was also frozen in ice, to be thawed to combat the future menace, a la Demolition Man.

“awesome” – I don’t know what they thought they would find googling this term, but I’m glad my website came up in the search! I’d like to think it was the first result.

“the awesomest guy ever” – Two hits on this! Two! Thank you for the recognition Google! 🙂

“is this thing on dating website” – I’m not exactly an eligible bachelor, but maybe we could set something up for single commenters? Do I have any single commenters?

“stuffed animal bacon” – The hard part is cooking it long enough to make it crispy. However, I have to admit, Oliver does have a stuffed animal bacon.

“black and asian couples” – Boy, Sara and I to a “T”, I tell you.

“word for “things were better in the old days”” – Is there such a word? If so, I’d like to know it.

“where’s oliver?” – Must be getting desperate if you’re resorting to Google searches. Well, you found him!

“famous black man” – I’m so happy to think that someone searching for famous black men, instead found Sean Connery. Or, maybe it was Sara googling to find the name “Sean Connery”, and she succeeded.

“big sticky wad” – What do you suppose they were looking for? Why do you think they found me?

“hp lovecraft dinner party” – I hope they came to my website looking for my contact information for an invitation, because that sounds awesome!

“t-rex lick people” – I don’t believe that is historically accurate.

“kale chips jokes” – That’s pretty specific. I wracked my brain trying to come up with a kale chips joke to put here, and I think it’s just not possible.

“funny threats” – I’m going to kill you with a rubber chicken! Drown you in seltzer water! Slap you in the face with a poison cream pie!

“i-like-it-salty shane” – That’s right baby. I like it salty. (I really can’t deny, I do like salty things. Salty things.)

Quote Monday stops to breathe

/ Shane / Leave a comment

::Ollie, gobbling bacon so fast he throws up::
Evie, witnessing this: “That reminds me! I haven’t had any bacon yet!”

::Evie sucking her belly in::
Evie: “Innie!”
::Evie pushing her belly out::
Evie: “Outie!”
Evie, continuing: “Innie! Outie! Innie! Outie!”
Evie: “I can’t stick my belly out any more without going poo poo in my pants!”

Me: “We’re going to…”
Evie: “Daddy! Daddy! Pretend I’m your cat! What are we going to do?”
Me: “Well, first we’re going…”
Evie: “Daddy, you know what?”
Me: “Evie, I’m trying to…”
Evie: “Daddy, what were you going to say?”
Me: “Well, sometimes you have to listen instead of…”
Evie: “Tomorrow we’re going to Never Land!”
Me: “…”
Evie: “Daddy, what were you going to say that we were going to do?”
Me: “Evie, I’m trying to tell you, but you keep interrupt…”
Evie:  “I’m sorry. You can finish your sentence now.”
Me: “Okay, but sometimes you need to stop talking so you can hear…”
Evie: “Daddy, can we have lunch now?”

How old does your kid have to be before she stops talking? Because it’s been about 2 years now, and she hasn’t taken a breath yet!!

Blue Cheese Bacon Coleslaw

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The Reason:

Well, first off, I’m not sure you need a reason for Blue Cheese Bacon Coleslaw. Blue Cheese Bacon Coleslaw IS the reason. But this recipe has always been a hit, including Grandma Butterfly’s birthday, and I might also remind you that this was the #1 recipe at baconfest.

The Journey:

Well, there’s not much of a journey here. I don’t really remember why we made this the first time we made it, but you could see by looking at the recipe it was going to be good. Somehow, though, it’s even better than it looks!

I’m not even that much of a coleslaw fan, but this one I can guarantee.

The Verdict:

Awesome. Even ants love it, based on what happened when I spilled a bowl of it on our back porch and summoned every ant in a 10 block radius. They kept waiting around, hoping I would drop more, so I eventually had to poison them before they carried me back to their underground ant kingdom, to slavishly make Blue Cheese Bacon Coleslaw for the rest of my life.

The Recipe:

Recipe originally from Bon Appetit.

  • 8 bacon slices, chopped
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 16 ounces purchased coleslaw mix
  • 1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Make sure the bacon is nice and crisp, and then dry it on paper towels. Whisk the mayo, vinegar, and honey in a large bowl. Stir in coleslaw, cheese, and bacon. Cover and chill.

Don’t dump the coleslaw in before whisking the other ingredients or Sara will be very mad at you.

Delicious Night

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We all know Van Gogh’s Starry Night. It’s a classic. The only thing that could make it better (you guessed it) is bacon!

Link via FailBlog.