BLOG/RELIEF: BACON LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON. So far, I have only gotten one taker for the blog/relief posts, perhaps because I posted after most people had already given to relief efforts. However! Lots of places still need money, so if any of these ideas intrigue you, donate & let me know and I will still comply with your wish. (And thanks to Noli Irritare Leones for linking to the list….)

So, MSB asked for recipes involving bacon. Mmmmm bacon. Here are several.

First of all, I’ve discussed bacony things a few times here on the blog. I don’t recommend bacon-wrapped enoki. I have eaten Mexican Radio Sandwiches many, many times since I made that initial post, and they are scrumptious and very easy.

Due to some of this week’s bacon adventures, I strongly suspect that using parchment paper rather than foil would have transformed spicy honeyed bacon from a blackened, delicious mess into a mahogany, glazy delicious artwork. If I had to make one recipe with bacon, it’d be that one. …I’d use a spoon to coat the bacon with the honey, though, due to previous burnination issues. (I also note that switching from foil to parchment paper has allowed me to cook fantastic fries without setting off my smoke alarm!)

I also made corn with bacon this week. This is ridiculously easy. I did it like this, but you can add just about anything to this stuff….

Get yourself one ear of corn per person, let’s say two maybe three slices of bacon per person, some whole milk or cream, and hot red pepper flakes. Shuck the corn and use a knife to cut the kernels off into a saute pan. (This is a lot easier than I’d thought it would be.) Put the bacon on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and cook for about 20 minutes at 375. (Your oven may vary, a lot, so check up on it if you’re making bacon in the oven for the first time.) While the bacon is cooking, saute the corn in butter, then add the milk or cream and the hot pepper flakes, and cook all of that down until the corn is tender and most of the liquid is gone–I found that this took about the same amount of time as the bacon-cooking took. When the bacon is ready, let it cool enough to handle and chop it into yummy frizzly bits, then top the corn mix with those bits and consume.

Or you could try mashed potatoes with bacon, again, super easy and you can add whatever you like. First, cook the bacon on a parchment paper-lined tray, as above. Chop a baking potato into two-inch dice or thereabouts. Boil salted water. Plunk the potato in and cook 20-25 minutes, until tender. Mash the potato with much butter, some milk or cream, and whatever else you like–I used corn, but other obvious options are scallions, chives, sour cream, and lemon zest–and then chop the cooked bacon and scatter it all about. Eat with freshly-ground black pepper. Yum yum.

Tonight I’ll make a stock with the lemon rinds and corncob, plus bay leaves.