8.15.2010

The Bacon Party


Over apple-wrapped dates at a tapas restaurant, an idea was born, and enthusiasm for it grew rapidly. A bacon-themed party...yes! It was brilliant! We would collectively clog our arteries and gain untold pounds all in the same evening. Word spread rapidly and there was talk of bacon donuts, bacon ice cream, and bacon bikinis.

In the end no one wore a bacon bikini, and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Bacon Crumble was the dessert of choice although, in all fairnesss, two fearless guests did make Bacon Ice Cream, it just failed to reach the desired consistency: it was described as "swampy" and unfit for public consumption. (Disappointing, that.)


The cheddary, bacony crumble.

The finished pie. (Can I just tell you how excited I am that Mr. O'Kitten is baking again?)

Preparing pigs-in-blankets with bacon inside.

I made macaroni and cheese cassarole with bacon and scallions. Mac and cheese is one of only two things I can cook. (The other is spaghetti carbonara which, incidentally, also has bacon in it.)

Baked maple syrup-glazed bacon-wrapped apples. Some were cayenne peppered. Amazing.

The Bacon Explosion

A few months ago we spotted The Bacon Explosion online somewhere. I was skeptical, but Mr. O'Kitten was determined to make it, and the Bacon Party was the perfect occasion. He got the gorgeous thick-cut bacon (shown above) and the sausage (below) from Faicco's Italian Specialties (known around here as "The Pork Store") in the West Village.

The Bacon Explosion involves weaving bacon into a mat, adding some dry rub, cooking the bacon, layering on sausage and barbeque sauce, rolling the whole thing up and adding more seasoning, then grilling or, as in our case, baking the whole thing.



The Bacon Explosion, ready to go into the oven.

Just out of the oven.

Slicing the Explosion.



I really didn't have any idea how extraordinary The Bacon Explosion would taste. Mmmm...

We didn't get pictures of all of the food, so here for your perusal is the complete menu:

Potato Skins with Cheddar and Bacon
Baked Maple Syrup-Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Apples, Dusted with Cayenne Pepper
Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds
Bacon Cheddar Apple Quiche
Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Scallions
Pigs in Blankets with Bacon
Bacon Explosion with Biscuits
Green Salad
Apple Pie with Cheddar-Bacon Crumble
Assortment of sherbert, sorbet and ice cream

For you knitters, I even knit a piece of bacon.

Emma made some new friends.

And fortunately, we didn't need one of these.

To everyone's disappointment, we couldn't find this. Maybe next time...