Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (4 page)

Makes 1 swizzle stick, can be multiplied as desired

Most swizzle sticks do one thing well: They swizzle. One evening, we invited our friend Richard Bonomo over to enjoy a cocktail and taste a few of our newly tested bacon recipes. Richard, a chemist and avid cook, helped us find a way to make a bacon swizzle stick hold its spiral shape by wrapping it in a paper towel before popping it in the microwave. Sometimes it really helps to have a scientist in the kitchen. The swizzle sticks are great with Bloody Marys, martinis, and planter’s punch. Keep experimenting; it’s fun.

1 slice medium-thick bacon (see Note)

Arrange a slice of bacon diagonally on top of a piece of paper towel. Holding the slice of bacon at each end, twist the slice in opposite directions into a tight spiral. Fold the paper towel in half over the twisted bacon slice so that the towel’s opposite corners meet. Then, starting at the fold, roll the paper towel under the palms of your hands around the bacon into a tube. Microwave the bacon in its rolled paper towel on high power until it is firm and shaped like a swizzle stick, about 1 minute and 15 seconds. Because microwave ovens vary in power, check for doneness after about 1 minute. Unroll the paper towel and let the swizzle stick cool before using it as a garnish for your favorite Bloody or Virgin Mary.

Makes 14 cheese straws

History doesn’t record the genius who came up with the idea of baking cheese into crisps, but our guess is it was someone in the Deep South in the days before refrigeration when cheese wouldn’t keep very long. Cheese straws are the ideal predinner finger food—crunchy and salty, with just enough fat to keep the hunger pangs at bay. Some old-time recipes call for cheddar cheese, but with the puff pastry we use here we found in our testing that using cheddar can make the final result soggy. We love the concentrated umami punch in Parmesan, which gets even stronger and more satisfying when you add bacon. Cheese straws are great with beer, or Champagne, or martinis, or come to think of it, just about any cocktail.

You might ask why you would want to spend the time making cheese straws when the supermarket probably has pretty good commercial ones. Fair enough, but you can’t buy bacony cheese straws like these.

6 slices bacon, diced

1 teaspoon your choice of hot sauce

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, preferably Pepperidge Farm, thawed at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes

¾ cup (3 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Scant ¼ teaspoon salt

1
Place racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions in the oven and preheat the oven to 425˚F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

2
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Place the bacon in a small mixing bowl and toss it with the hot sauce.

3
Place the puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle the pastry with half of the Parmesan cheese, half of the bacon and hot sauce mixture, and ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Place a second piece of parchment paper over the cheese and bacon. Using a rolling pin, press the cheese and bacon into the puff pastry by rolling back and forth several times over the pastry. Keeping the parchment paper in place, carefully flip the puff pastry over so the cheese and bacon side faces down. Remove the parchment paper from the top of the pastry and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese, bacon mixture, and ⅛ teaspoon of salt over it. Cover the pastry again with the parchment paper. Using the rolling pin, press the cheese and bacon into the pastry. Measure the puff pastry and then roll it out, as necessary, to form a 10½-inch square.

4
Remove the parchment paper from the top of the puff pastry and, using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the pastry into fourteen ¾-inch-wide strips. Holding a strip of pastry at each end, twist the ends in opposite directions into a spiral and place the pastry strip on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry, arranging the cheese pastry strips about 1 inch apart and placing 7 on each prepared baking sheet.

5
Bake the pastry strips until they are puffed and golden brown, about 10 minutes, switching the positions of the baking sheets from the top to bottom racks after 5 minutes. Transfer the baked cheese straws to a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. The cheese straws are best eaten the day they are made.

Makes about 2 cups

The combination of crunch, sweetness, salt, and meatiness is irresistible to most folks. Add the nuance of aromatic spices and seasonings and you get pleasing notes and accents that make this simple recipe complex on the palate.

Glazing the nuts before combining them with the spice mix keeps them super-crunchy, never soft and soggy. Using bacon instead of butter produces a brawny flavor that stands up to a cold dark beer or a peaty single malt Scotch or fine old bourbon. We are partial to the combination of walnuts and cashews, but feel free to use whatever nuts you like, so long as they are raw and unsalted.

5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 cup unsalted raw cashews

1 cup unsalted raw walnuts or pecans

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 packed teaspoons light or dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚F.

2
Cook the bacon in a medium-size skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, setting aside 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the skillet.

3
Line a large shallow rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and scatter all of the nuts on it in a single layer. Bake the nuts until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees so the back of the baking sheet faces the front of the oven and bake the nuts until fragrant and slightly darker in color, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the nuts cool.

4
While the nuts cool, combine the granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar, and the salt, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper in a medium-size mixing bowl. Set the spice mixture aside.

5
Add 2 tablespoons of water and the remaining 2 teaspoons of brown sugar to the skillet with the reserved bacon fat. Let come to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Stir in the nuts, setting aside the lined baking sheet. Add the drained bacon and cook, stirring constantly, until the nuts are glossy and the liquid has evaporated, about 1½ minutes.

6
Add the glazed nut mixture to the bowl with the spice mixture and toss well to coat. Transfer the nut mixture back to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet to cool completely. When cool, the nut mixture can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Makes 48 polenta triangles

From Marie: “As a third-generation Italian American, I often crave polenta. Seeing it on restaurant menus with an expensive price attached to it always amuses me. In the northwest corner of Italy, in the mountains of Aosta where my grandparents came from, it was eaten daily as peasant food.”

In this recipe, bacon, scallions, garlic, and smoky chipotle peppers infuse the polenta. Once it’s cooked, the mixture is chilled, baked, and cut into crispy triangles with soft centers. They make tasty appetizer morsels by themselves, or you can top them with sun-dried tomatoes. Turn the polenta bites into a side dish by partnering them with a hearty bowl of beef or chicken stew, a tossed salad, your favorite bowl of chili—well, just about anything. If you’re a polenta fan, you might never eat it again without adding some bacon to the bubbling pot.

Olive oil or vegetable oil cooking spray

4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces

2 scallions, both white and green parts, finely chopped

3 large cloves garlic, minced

Salt

1 cup quick-cooking polenta

¼ chipotle pepper, packed in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Sun-Dried Tomato Spread (optional; recipe follows)

1
Line the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking dish (Pyrex is fine) with parchment paper and coat the paper lightly with olive oil or vegetable oil cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside.

2
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it starts to brown and the fat begins to render, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the scallions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned, the fat is rendered, and the scallions soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Set the scallion mixture aside.

3
Place 4 cups of water in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan, cover the pan, and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, reduce the heat to low, then add the polenta to the water in a very slow and steady stream while stirring with a wire whisk. Cook the polenta until it is soft and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes, whisking it often to eliminate any lumps. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the scallion and bacon mixture and the chipotle pepper. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt as necessary and black pepper to taste.

4
Pour the polenta into the prepared baking dish and refrigerate it, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour. The polenta can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated overnight before cutting it into triangles and baking it the next day.

5
About 30 minutes before serving, position racks in the center and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and coat each lightly with olive oil or vegetable oil cooking spray.

6
When the polenta is firm, using the tip of a paring knife, slice it into 24 rectangles, then slice the rectangles into 48 triangles. Transfer the polenta triangles to the prepared baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.

7
Bake the polenta triangles until they are crisp and lightly browned, about 20 minutes, switching the positions of the baking sheets from the top rack to the bottom rack after 10 minutes.

8
Transfer the baked polenta triangles to a large serving platter and serve immediately topped with a small amount of the Sun-Dried Tomato Spread, if desired.