Holy Shit I MADE Bacon!

Finals week. Random food in the fridge. Leftovers. A small block of that pork belly I had roasted last week... Wait a minute, I had cured that thing overnight, so technically, isn't that bacon? Oh em gee, it is! More or less, it's bacon that hasn't been smoked.

homemade bacon with pickled daikon on garlic sauteed kale

I sliced that baby up real thin and put it on the pan just like I would with store-bought bacon. Not much of a difference here except the grease spattered a bit more than you'd expect, but that makes sense because it hasn't been dried the way the store stuff is. Flavor was there. Texture was there. Huh, wuddya know?

Cheese Straws

I'm going to a bacon-themed dinner party tonight! My original plan was to make an edible bacon sculpture for the table. That being a little difficult, I then opted for simplicity and found an easy recipe for cheese straws, a Southern staple that I've actually never tried before. I know, it's not bacon, but I think it'll complement things well.

cheese straws

They're really quite easy to make. Take grated cheddar, flour, butter, salt and cayenne pepper and pulse it in a food processor. Add milk. Pulse some more. Roll out, cut into strips and bake. I don't know if this should bother me, but they kinda taste like Cheez-Its. Anywho, I'm looking forward to a lot of bacon this evening.