Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

Just found this for all the bacon lovers....

Ahh, bacon! That crispy, chewy, salty and sinful cut of pork we all love.

Bacon has disciples far and wide, some of whom devote entire blogs to it. The Bacon Show, for example, posts a daily recipe featuring bacon; the site "101 Things Every Cook Should Cook" has an entire section devoted to bacon. Heather, of the site "Bacon Unwrapped", chronicles her adventures with bacon, and "Bacontarian" brings you bacon-y goodness from around the Internet, while "I Heart Bacon" conducts bacon reviews.

For those who’ve spent more time eating it than studying it, bacon is cut from the sides, belly, or back of a pig, near the ribs. It’s the fattiness of the meat that makes it so yummy. After the skin is cut away, the meat is cured, smoked, and sliced. It can be cooked in a pan on the stovetop, in the oven, or in the microwave, until it’s perfectly crisp.

You probably know bacon as the star of the BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, in case you didn’t know), and the bacon cheeseburger. But there are so many other ways we can incorporate it into our diets and our lives! Here are 50 ways to use bacon:

1. Make a good old BLT sandwich, of course.

2. Bacon cheeseburgers will make anyone’s mouth water. Meat topped with more meat? Perfection!

3. Bacon-wrapped tater tots would go perfectly with that bacon cheeseburger!

4. Roast a bacon-wrapped turkey for Sunday dinner.

5. Make delicious bacon pastry slices.

6. Add a punch of flavor to your creamed spinach recipe.

7. Make your own hot bacon dressing to use on lettuce, cabbage, or even potato salad!

8. Entertaining? Whet your guests’ appetites with the bacon-cheese fundido appetizer.

9. Indulge in a bar of dark chocolate infused with the flavor of applewood smoked bacon as a special treat.

10. Maple bacon cupcakes will make your mouth water.

11. And if you liked those, try a bacon chocolate chip cookie with maple cinnamon glaze.

12. It’s not real, southern cornbread unless there’s bacon grease in it.

13. Visit The Plaid Mushroom’s e-shop to smother your lips with bacon lip balm made with real bacon oil, refined from bacon. (The link is to a listing that was reserved for a certain buyer, but contact theplaidmushroom to ask for your own listing.)

14. Join the bacon of the month club to have artisan bacon delivered to your door 12 times a year.

15. The beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina gives us bacon-flavored cotton candy.

16. Enjoy a bacon martini with any meal.

17. Use bacon to dress up your leftovers for a second visit to the dinner table.

18. Whip up a tasty bacon asparagus quiche with Swiss cheese for dinner.

19. Cook bacon into the shape of cups and fill with lettuce and tomato for a breadless BLT.

20. Stay warm by wrapping a giant fleece bacon scarf around yourself.

21. Even if you’re a vegetarian and/or keep a kosher diet, you can still enjoy the taste of bacon salt, because, as the manufacturers say: “Everything should taste like bacon.”

22. If pork-covered pork appeals to you, you may also enjoy the bacon-wrapped deep-fried hot dog.

23. Trim your holiday tree with joyful ceramic bacon ornaments.

24. Use bacon instead of ground beef in stuffed peppers.

25. Get the morning off to a good start with beer cheese muffins with bacon cream cheese frosting.

26. Impress your guests with deceptively simple bacon-wrapped “crabette” appetizers.

27. A bacon-y take on an Asian favorite: bacon and bok choy potstickers.

28. Weave and bake bacon into edible placemats.

29. Then, use the woven bacon to augment your grilled cheese experience.

30. Or, use woven bacon to cook up an eggless bacon and cheese omelet.

31. Bacon and date appetizers will be the hit of your party.

32. Bacon egg salad croissants put a new spin on an old favourite.

33. Then, have a bowl of bacon ice cream for dessert.

34. Then use an actual bacon bandage to cover your own boo-boos.

35. Or wake up to cooking bacon with the bacon alarm clock, which is appropriately shaped like a pig’s face.

36. Add it to your bathroom in the form of bacon-printed toilet tissue.

37. Then, use it to wash up afterward.

38. Bacon popcorn is a deliciously salty, crunchy snack!

39. Try your hand at making your own bacon.

40. Enjoy barbecue-baked beans with bacon alongside your BLT.

41. Cook up a bacon buffet with bacon-topped potato skins, bacon-wrapped shrimp and scallops, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and eggs cooked in bacon grease.

42. Corn and bacon chowder sounds like the perfect soup to warm you up on the last chilly evenings before summer!

43. Strawberry bacon spinach salad will make you the star of any potluck.

44. Salty bacon will complement the sweet honey dressing in this imitation crab salad.

45. Try poached pears stuffed with blue cheese and baked with bacon.

46. Or try the same combo of flavors in a pear, blue cheese, bacon pizza.

47. Take a look at this bacon-filled quiche. It’ll really make your mouth water.

48. See who comes out on top with an action-figure wrestling match between Mr. Bacon and Monsieur Tofu.

49. Smooth caramel topped with crunchy bacon: Does that sound delicious or disgusting? Try it and let us know.

50. Try many other bacon dishes suggested by foodnerd, including bacon fluffernutter sandwiches, bacon cups with macaroni and cheese, bacon-pepper-cheese scones, and more!

PORKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

Oh the other thing I discovered in my travels this morning is that Iron Chef Japan is coming back, but not on the Food Network, it's going to be on Fine Living.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

GOOD NEWS RAD

PERHAPS BAD FOR ME

CAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT FINE LIVING CHANNEL IS

BY THE WAY JUST READ YOUR LOCAL STATEMENT..

I LIKED THAT MOVIE

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

ONE OF CHRIS REEVES BEST

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

Simon, in my opinion, microwave rice is foul stuff. It is packed with enough sodium to cause sane dieticians to scream travesty. Some companies, like Uncle Bens, have a plain rice with out all that sodium, but honestly, it's not that hard to make real rice! I try very, very hard to stay away from the micro stuff.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

JUMPIN IN A TAD PG

I USE MY MICRO FOR MAKIN RICE

NOT THE TYPE THEY USED ON THE EPISODE

KINDA WONDERED ABOUT IT..........

WAS IT PRE SEASONED???

CAN'T IMAGINE EATING THAT STUFF

I CAN MAKE IT FRESH WITH MY MICRO COOKER IN LESS THAN 10

PERFECT EVERY TIME

AND WAY FASTER THAN CONVENTIONAL METHODS

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

It's a fact. Older people lose their sense of taste. And wear hats.

WELL SPEAK FOR YOURSELF THERE NOTE

DO LIKE THE HATS .................

KINDA SORTA FAVOR THE ONE ON THE LEFT

HAVE A GOOD COLLECTION OF THEM POINTY HATS

JUST HAVE TO WONDER

WHY DOES THE OTHER GUY RESEMBLE ACTOR ???

OR IS IT INDIANA JONES???

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[SimonBao]

Actually, liver is incredibly good for you, as it's chocked full of iron . . . a trademark of many innards (for wont of a better word). But it's also full of fat. So, you balance.

Liver does have more cholesterol in it than most meats - a huge issue for some people, total non-issue for others. But, the cholesterol one eats is less important than one's overall diet. Eat plenty of heart-healthy fats, eat plenty of foods with "protective factors," and liver now and then is fine. Especially in a dish like Spaghetti a la Caruso, it's there but in such modest amounts. Says the guy who makes chopped chicken liver for lunch. On rye.

[SimonBao]

I guess the chefs got spoiled with the big time budgets, but to be honest when looking at most of the items they plated- how many of the plates looked apetizing for children? (At the end of this note- you will see what the answer was to this when I asked 9 of my students.)...

I feel alot of the chefs went down the garbage disposal with their attitude toward the $10.00 challenge with children helping. They just did not keep in mind family of 4 on a budget. They just seem to want to create an appetizing looking plate for adults (and even a few of them fell short with that.)...

Spikes' elimination got a 5 with them (but they all were like spaghetti- yummy)
Antonio's elimination got a 3 with them

All the rest of the plates through the eyes of the child got 1 or 2.

I think when looking at this episode through an eye of a child- it tells you that overall the chef's attitude ended up with food down the drain. Better luck next time chefs because you sure failed this challenge

Kizzy, I'm not at all sure you're fair here. Remember how the challenge was specifically articulated... a healthy nutritious meal for a family of four. For only $10 (fine) to be purchased at Whole Foods (what?!?).

That means the meal has to take kids into account, as kids are among The Intended Diners. The meal does have to be "accessible" to kids, does have to come with a flavor profile they'll embrace. But no one would or should interpret that to mean they're making meals to be judged through the eye of a child.

Can't blame the chefs for using their $10 to create a meal that would be appetizing to adults, as that's as much a part of the challenge as keeping it appetizing to kids.

And every adult who's cooked for kids knows - what kids think of a plate of food before they taste it, or based only on looking at it, doesn't correspond with what they think after they've eaten it. I'm not so far away from childhood (or college) that I've forgotten how one plate might look sooo appealing, and then taste like crud... and another unfamiliar plate might look weird to me but turn out to be delicious.

And there's a good chance that a lot of kids would like the look of Dale's dish, but find the sweet and sour cabbage or the apples and mustard aren't the flavors they want with their sausages. And that the red stuff with Richard's roast chicken tastes good even if they don't really know what it is.

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 3, 2008 - 06:38 AM

[SimonBao]

Just FYI, there is a Burning Questions Q&A with Mark at the BRAVO site.

Nothing remarkable there, but they ask him about shopping for a meal for 4 for $10 at Whole Foods.

Are you kidding me? 10 dollars for four people shopping at Whole Foods is crazy talk. They should rename that place "Whole Paycheck."

[SimonBao]

I thought of a rather wicked set-up for an Elimination Challenge. It's based on my preference that a chef really know and be able to work in at least one cuisine other than the one she/he grew up with.

I think this could work when there are about 5-6 chefs or teams.

Let chefs/teams draw knives, and on the knives appear the words:
French
Italian
Middle Eastern (or Levantine)
Caribbean
Latin
Asian (or even SE Asian)
Scandinavian
Iberian

The actual words (cuisines) could be drawn from a list of what the chefs claim to know, on their applications.

Pause briefly to allow the chefs to try to trade away a cuisine they do not know for one they do know. Bit of drama, as Dale knows French perfectly well but has no intention of surrendering Asian to Lisa...

Once that settles down, announce that they're serving dishes rooted in those cuisines to 10 diners, and now it's time to draw knives to determine the order of their dishes. First course through to last course.

Pause briefly to allow the chefs to try to trade away that first course Scandinavian dish, cause they got nothin', for a fifth course they might succeed with. Bit of drama, as Richard knows what do in any situation, except a final course.

In any case, a chance to see what the chefs really know a lot about cuisines other than their own.

Or, have those knives include the names of some specific American cuisines, as some chefs are as unlikely to know those as to know Iberian.
New England
Southern
Tex-Mex
Southwest
California
Native American
Cajun
Creole
Etc

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 3, 2008 - 07:11 AM

[dogabone]

OMG, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" was on this a.m. Chuckles (who is 8 yrs my junior) had never seen it. Creeped him out. I told him that was the point. I love that movie, still.

AFI is having a 100th anniversary Bette Davis filmfest as we speak. Yesterday's feature was Baby Jane.

This post has been edited by dogabone: May 3, 2008 - 07:16 AM

[teleburst]

Were you not comparing Tom's editing skills to mine? Must have forgot that too eh? LOL.

You know, it's funny. You're acting as if he were blogging about events that hppened last week.in real time. He's taking time out of running his empire to wirte about events that happened half a year ago instead of last week (sometimes we forget that). It's as he says, he does Top Chef for about 3 weeks a year and the other 48 months, he's in a kitchen cooking or running his restaurants (and maybe he does an occasional personal appearance for Bravo).

Is it any wonder that he might accidentally substitute the name of a similar contestant (two skinny scruffy somewhat crazy white dudes) or misremember the way a rather convoluted challenge went down after probably just scanning a broadcast of events that happened 6 months ago? Maybe he's doing it on an airplane flying to Vegas to meet with some of his investors. Maybe he was actually in the kitchen the night before helping runn service for 300 people. Maybe he's just like the rest of us and gets a bad cold around Thursday but feels he has to blog anyway. Or even more likely, could it be that the editing fairies created something that's so far away from the actual reality of what went down that even he gets a little confused?

You'll probably just pooh pooh this and say I'm reaching, but I think you're expecting too much for someone to remember all of the exact motivations and discussions and nuances of the judges discussions from events that happened half a year ago (or even not be prone to slip up and substitute Andrew's name for Spike). I'll bet that when he walks away from the set the last time, in a couple of weeks it's all ancient history as he plows back into to running his restaurants. And when the televised show comes around, he probably has to carve time out just to force himself to sit through the show so that he can fulfill some contractural obligation to Bravo to blog about the show. These chefs and judging events are almost ancient history to him at this point, plus, he might even be as baffled at some of the editing as we are. Even if he were able to see the final product before it airs, it's still months after the event. And if this is the case, I doubt that he sits down with bated breath every Wed. to watch with the rest of us. Maybe he watches it again, maybe he doesn't (many actors claim not to watch their own movies and TV shows). So he might even blog weeks after seeing a finished copy that's airmailed to him. Who knows?

Finally, let's not forget that he's actually in the presence of these chefs for a grand total of about half an hour per episode. He only has about 30 seconds one on one with them when he does his walkthrough, and that's the only one on one contact he has with them (unless he's telling one of them that they have to leave because they assaulted someone). These guys and gals as individuals are barely blips on his radar at this point.

[dogabone]

That movie scared the beeeeeeegeeuz out of me.
The commercials alone were horrid.
I had nightmares and it's still hard to watch.
Dear GAWD she was ugly!!!!
Not many movies scare me but that did.



BTW I never saw Arlo Guthrie play but I wouldn't pay a lot to see him..

Arlo is worth every penny. Schmoogie and I see him every chance we get.

I mean over others.....If I'm gonna' pay a lot to
see someone I want a lot of action.
If it 's cheap I would go or in a very small intimate setting.
I love him but....Tom Petty and Steve Winwood will be here in July...Now THAT I will pay for.

Don'ts shoot me. We've got tickets for Winwood and Petty for June 8. Freebies; I won them in a radio contest. BTW, have you heard Winwood's latest: "Dirty City"? Winwood still has fabulous pipes, and Eric Clapton is the guitarist on it. Talk about a pair of powerhouses!

[SimonBao]

Hey good idea.....But of course.
Just wondering Simon...... Do you ever
get to go home at all???
You were born there....... right???

Yes, I was born there (in VN), but it's a long time since I felt like was from there or of there. It's not home. Wasn't home even when I lived there (I'm "half white," spawned by a white American). It was a super sucky life there, there's no one and nothing there for me, no memories I want to relive, no past worth visiting. I'd be excoriated by lots of flag-waving VietnAms for that attitude, which is an indication of how little things change. LOL

No, I'd much rather revisit the SF Bay area, No Cal, or visit the deserts of the Southwest, the Rockies, the New England coast, the Tetons and Adirondacks, NOLA... Drive down blue highways... I've read "On the Road," "Travels with Charlie," "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," and "Blue Highways," maybe it's time for someone to travel and write another American on the road book.

[Radyms13]

My darling Radyms13, I'm sure you've impressed friends, neighbors and senators with your culinary skills!!

So, what do you make of the cauliflower/broccoli smash-it-up, shape with cream cheese and fry??

It sounds good, interesting and tantalizing all at once!

Anybody tried it?

Cauliflower/broccoli smash up sounds great and is on my list of things to try next week.

This post has been edited by Radyms13: May 3, 2008 - 08:06 AM

[Radyms13]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Radyms13, I love dag nabbit . . . it's a crazy goldarnd blamit critical element of my vocabulary!!

So, I saw earlier your talking about a grandchild's joke/riddle. I was totally repulsed with Antonia's knock-knock joke with her daughter. I never talked like that and still don't (and my daughter's now 20).

What say you about that knock-knock joke??

I kinda thought the elves might have had a hand in that joke.

[SimonBao]

I would love to visit.....But it really makes same laugh that spoiled 'Merikans like Bourdain find their *souls* in such
places....I mean come on!!!
Well I guess it's possible and I understand on some level.. but it is the *rive gauche* thing to do.

Kristl, to be fair to Bourdain, I think it is only some culinary soul he thinks he has found there.

I look for and read what he says of his time spent there, and I do not believe he's been taken in by an pro forma displays of grace and charm. His compliments have been directed to the food, to the unfamiliar but pleasing combinations, the huge repertoire of "Salad Herbs" that one really doesn't find in the West or other familiar places. The Viet way of extracting maximum flavors out of too few proteins or using modest amounts of seafood to flavor a dish for a family of 10. He's surely praised a well-made grilled-fish Goi Cuon. Which would not be Spike's Goi Cuon. LOL

But I really haven't read him praising much else there. I doubt that a Jersey-born New Yorker will find much to praise there, in the way the place is run or what the people care about.

But also it's not entirely that odd looking countryside he visited in his No Reservations. The cities are now home to millionaires and supermarkets, congested with new Japanese automobiles, new high-rises... Still famous for being utterly corrupt and despotic and inept... A nation run by a People's Central Committee of Venerable Three Stooges. And under no circumstances should Americans consume seafood imported from there, not unless you have spare internal organs stored somewhere safe, you may need them...

Send me abroad, I'd rather go to England again and spend more time there. Or Bosnia. Definitely, Bosnia.

[SecondTry]

I posted to Ted Allen's blog and it was actually accepted. After what Jim in NYC experienced, I was surprised that my comments were accepted. Go see. Never mind . . . here's what I said:

If, indeed, Antonio and Lisa had actually used Polish sausage, then the entire JT discussion about their dish was a joke. So, why didn't they speak up right away and put the issue to rest?

Instead, Tom was asking why they didn't use it . . . "You have to use your word." And when Antonio said, "Believe me, in the future . . .", Tom said, "If there is a next time."

Both Antonio and Lisa were talking at once with excuses for not using Polish sausage -- mashed potatoes, sauerkraut and all -- and their serendipitous decision NOT to use Polish sausage, which Tom thought was amusing. Guest pastry chef judge said they could have gone in a whole other direction with the Polish sausage.

In the stew room, Antonio said it was "improv" and she put her fingers in the air to show quotation marks. Lisa said, "We would have been better off steaming Polish sausage in f*cking beer."

Ted, please explain this discrepancies.

Good for you, Helen. I doubt you're going to get a response, but it's good to know that someone else is calling them on this.

[Radyms13]

Here is a great parody of Top Chef featuring Hung's Monkey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMkRt1gXKiI

[Radyms13]

Ok here's one of Richard Blais's restaurant opening at the end of April

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh70LSWL2q4

[partsgirl]

DUELY NOTED..........................

PG DOES NOT CHOKE HER CHICKEN....

MAKES ONE WONDER THOUGH

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

You're taking notes?! yipes!

Yeah... keeeeep wondering, babe.

[partsgirl]

MAN PG

SEEMS THIS MORNING I MISSED ALOT AS WELL

SO FAR ABOUT ONE AND A HALF PAGES

WHAT CAN I SAY................

MY BAD...........

TOLD YA I'M NOT TOO GOOD AT THE LIVE CHAT STUFF

GONNA KEEP READING

AND TRY TO KETCHUP BEST I CAN

HAVE TO ADMIT YOU AND NIC PLUS PITA SURE MADE IT FUN

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Yes, dear. Ketchup when you can. When you've mustard enough energy and relish another throw down we'll be here. We did have fun.