Super Bowl Weekend
February 1st, 2008
Hey, you over there, put down the Lays and jar of onion dip. Yeah you. I know it’s Super Bowl weekend, and the football fan in me knows that such an event allows, nay demands, a certain type of food. We call it Football Food. But you can make your own. And it will be better — much better — and more bacony.
Simply Recipes has an authoritative round-up on Super Bowl recipes featuring everything from classics (potato skins, hot wings, various and sundry dips) to the truly frightening. Okay, so I was honestly curious about the Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Frosting — if that’s not a manly dessert, what is? — but then I saw the “beer” in question: Budweiser Select. What’s a sell-respecting beer drinking to do? Guiness cupcakes, of course.
Bacon Salt Review
January 15th, 2008
Earlier we told you about an exciting, confusing, utterly terrifying new product: Bacon Salt. The fine folks at Bacon Salt were kind enough to furnish Impoverished Gourmet with samples of the new porcine-flavored seasoning. Dig in — it’s gonna be a long read.
Vanilla Ice Cream with Bacon Salt — more on this later
Bacon Salt?
November 8th, 2007
I’m as big a fan of salty pork as anyone. But a seasoning salt that tastes like bacon?
Now, I’m not saying I’m against the idea; I’m not immune to the siren call of bacon-flavored popcorn or French fries. But Bacon Salt, which comes in Original, Hickory Smoked, and Peppered flavors, contains such appetizing ingredients as MSG, Disodium Guanylate, and Yellow 6. I’m also not sure what to make of the Hickory flavor, which is apparently vegan. Vegans, is there an unmet demand for delicious bacon-y products amongst your ranks?
Bacon Salt sells for $4.49 a pop. I remain skeptical, but does anyone have any real experience with this?
Potato Bacon Soup
November 1st, 2007
The problem with most potato soups, really, is one of texture. Some are watery. Some are gloppy. Most are gritty or grainy. After some experimenting, I’ve developed a potato soup technique that produces a silky, sumptuous soup that’s still plenty hearty. The key is adding your potatoes in two installments. The first gets blended to form the base of the soup and give it body, while the second is added later and cooked until perfectly tender — no more overcooked potatoes. The result is a pleasant contrast in textures — the smooth soup, firm chunks of potato, crisps bacon bits.
Potato Bacon Soup
- 1 lb bacon, diced
- 2 pounds potatoes, mixed Russet and Yukon Gold, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 quart Vegetable stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup cream, half-and-half, or whole milk
- Heat a skillet and fry the bacon until crispy; fish out the bacon and pour the delicious, delicious bacon fat into your finest soup pot
- Sweat the onion and garlic over medium heat until they just start to pick up some color. At this point your kitchen will smell like bacon and garlic and onions, and you’ll be tempted to stick your head into the pot and begin gorging; resist this temptation.
- Add the peeled potatoes and veggie stock and simmer for 30 minutes
- Using your favorite stick-blender (or food processor, counter-top blender, potato masher, or sharp stick), blend the soup until it’s smooth and creamy. The soup should be smooth and rich but not gloppy or pasty; adjust thickness with more vegetable stock as necessary.
- Add in the unpeeled potatoes and bay leaves and simmer on low until potatoes are fork-tender, about a half hour
- Fish out the bay leaves, check your seasoning (you did remember salt and pepper, didn’t you?), and add the dairy product of your choice
- Serve with aforementioned bacon and chives