780 Pound Boar!

(Press-Register/John David Mercer)

Check out this story about a Wild hog weighing 780 pounds bagged in north Mobile County! That is a lot of bacon! Thanks for the link Becca! Read More Here!

Momofuku Fried Chicken Dinner!

photo by Cliff Hawkins
photo by Cliff Hawkins

OK, OK so the main highlight was not pork but this was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. Every now and then one gets to sit down with a group of friends and partake in an unbelievable meal – this was one of those opportunities. We arrived at 10pm to take part in this feast having only heard about it….

At Momofuku Noodle Bar David Chang is now featuring a fried chicken dinner that comes with two whole fried chickens, one southern style and one korean style – mu shu pancakes, long spicy peppers, baby carrots, red ball radishes, shiso leaves, bibb lettuce, four sauces and an assortment of herbs.

As if that were not enough we started the meal with some sides; sliced fluke – apple purée, celery, furikake, roasted foie gras – charred onion purée, apples, pickled shallot,nugget potatoes – benton’s bacon, poached egg, scallions, steamed buns – chicken / shiitake / pork (a few orders of each), smoked chicken wings – pickled chili, garlic, scallions, and roasted rice cakes – roasted onions, red chili pepper, sesame!

All this was served up family style between seven of us and it was unreal! I have always been a huge fan of the steamed pork buns but tried the chicken buns and I was blown away! They have a piece of crispy chicken skin on them that adds so much texture and taste… The nugget potatoes were so rich, they come with a poached egg on top that you break and stir up with all of the bacon and potatoes! The foie gras of course was amazing, fatty and just melted in my mouth…

I still cannot decide which chicken I enjoyed more (Southern or Korean). Both of them had an amazing crispy skin and were incredibly moist inside. The sauces that came with it were awesome as well. After all of that we spit two of the cousin leroy & arlo’s soft serve ice cream –soft serve – sweet potato / pie crust / twist… The pastry chef Christina Tosi blew my mind with the salty and sweet combo in this ice cream!

If you have not been to one of David Chang’s restaurants in New York [shame on you] get on it! If you want the fried chicken dinner you better call for a reservation several days in advance (its worth it trust me!). Oh and do not wear your tight jeans when you go for this meal! Thanks Adam and Sarah for hooking this one up!

Check out the Momofuku Noodle Bar Menu.

Is it bad to crave bacon at 1am?

i cannot wait for breakfast!

Bacon and Cheddar Hot dog

Since the economy is “soaring” I have been looking for cheap, good eats when in the grocery. When I saw hickory smoked bacon and Hebrew National all beef hot dogs on sale I knew exactly what I was making for lunch!

I started by cooking two strips of bacon in a small skillet. When the bacon was done cooking, I placed the hot dogs in the grease to cook. If you have never eaten a fried hot dog (you really should) this is almost better since I essentially fried them IN BACON FAT! I spread mayo on one side of the bun, cheddar on the other then topped each dog with bacon and ketchup. Wow.

Paired with a Pabst and a little football on this cool New York afternoon was terrific!

Lunch at Umi Nam

I went to lunch at Umi Nam the other day and wow, wow, wow! I had the Longsilong (a traditional Filipino Breakfast) which reminded me of my fried rice breakfasts in Thailand. Sweet pork sausages served alongside garlic fried rice and two sunny side up eggs. My girlfriend got the pork belly sandwich. It reminded me of a banh mi, only with wonderfully cooked pork belly and a spicy aioli dressing.

This is a great neighborhood restaurant on DeKalb Ave in Clinton Hill. Besides the fact that it is right around the corner from my apartment they have terrific food. Now serving a lunch and dinner menu gives more opportunity to try it out; lunch is a little lighter on the wallet for those watching their money these days. BYOB for now makes it possible to save money on the alcohol portion of your bill.
The chef blends his Filipino and Thai influences into dishes that have left me wanting more. If you have not tried it yet, please support this great place and come eat some incredible food!

Candied Bacon at General Green

Today I had an amazing brunch at The General Green. I had heard it was really expensive, although I am not saying it is cheap – it is worth going if just for the wonderful crispy, chewy and sweet (but not too sweet) candied bacon. I have recommended this to a few people and you they asked me to put a warning up: you really should be a pork lover to like this. Hence why I like it so much!

Pigs in Commercials…

i saw this video and felt i had to share it with you all.

boost mobile and pigs, not sure. something strange about pigs eating pork though….. just shows HOW good it really is!

Bacon Carbonara

this was a quick dish i made one night with some benton’s bacon. nothing like egg, cheese, heavy cream and bacon to go with some asparagus!

Pecan Praline Bacon

photo by Cliff Hawkins

So my brother just got back from New Orleans and so of course we talked about food he had eaten and one of the things that stuck out was praline bacon! This is similar to my previous post but it sounds SO GOOD and it is really easy to make as well!

Ingredients:

1 pound thick-cut bacon (about 12 slices)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup pecans, chopped fine

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F.

On rack of a large broiling pan arrange bacon slices in one layer and cook in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until it just begins to turn golden. In a small bowl stir together sugar and chili powder. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle bacon with sugar mixture and pecans. Return pan to oven and cook until bacon is crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon, praline-sides up, to paper towels to drain.

Come on, you deserve it (maybe not but its the holidays) eat some bacon!

Pork, Gourmet Food, Butchers, Recipes, Cooking Supplies, Kitchen Gadgets

Candied bacon martini

OK so I lifted this from the LA Food times after my friend James sent me a link. Here it is 2:16am and I have finished up some freelance work and have not been able to stop thinking about how great one of these would have been all night instead of working… So here is the recipe. I have not made one of these yet but I might leave out some of the syrup as it might be a little much….

Candied bacon

8 slices smoked bacon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, shiny side up. Dredge the bacon on both sides in the brown sugar and arrange the slices so they do not touch on the sheet. Bake until the bacon is richly caramelized, 15 to 25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to transfer the bacon strips to a cooling rack and allow the excess fat to drain. Serve warm as candy or cool until hardened for the martinis.

Candied bacon martinis

6 ounces premium vodka
4 ounces Applejack brandy
2 ounces amaretto liqueur
2 ounces maple syrup, preferably grade “B”
4 thin slices tart apple, such as Granny Smith
2 slices candied bacon, halved crosswise

Chill 4 martini glasses. In a large cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, brandy, amaretto and maple syrup with ice. Shake until combined and chilled. Strain the cocktail into the 4 chilled glasses and garnish each with an apple slice and half a slice of candied bacon. Serve immediately.

<a href=”http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fow-baconrec3d-2008dec03,0,7141243.story
” target=”_blank” >Los Angeles Times: Food
Note: The candied bacon recipe is adapted from “The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations From Two Great American Cooks” by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock.

Pork, Gourmet Food, Butchers, Recipes, Cooking Supplies, Kitchen Gadgets