Darlings, I'm sorry it's been sooooo long since my last post. I'd love to say I was abstaining in solidarity with the striking TV writers, but the truth of the matter is that I've just been even busier than usual lately. Thanks for coming back for re-runs in the meantime. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!
Prologue
I'm a nice Jewish girl but I don't keep Kosher. However, for many years I banned the pig from my diet. I don't know why, but passing up pork seemed like more of a statement than skimping on shrimp. I know it makes no sense. But like any wavering vegetarian will tell you, bacon is a gateway food, and it's back in my life. It started innocently enough with the rationalization that if the best dish in a restaurant happened to have bacon or prosciutto or pancetta in it, who am I to turn it down? I have you all to serve, and if my review is lacking because I couldn't bring myself to make an exception to a nonsensical dietary restriction, then this blog ain't worth the pixels it's published on. Add to that my growing fondness for the sweet/savory combo, and we arrive at Chapter 1: Vosges Haut-Chocolat's Mo's Bacon Bar.
Chapter 1: Vosges Haut-Chocolat's Mo's Bacon Bar
Per their website, Vosges Haut-Chocolat's mission is "to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness of indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure." My first taste of Vosges was about a year ago -- their Barcelona Bar was a PMS-satisfying combination of milk chocolate, hickory smoked almonds, and grey sea salt.
Then not too long ago I heard Vosges had come out with Mo's Bacon Bar. Obscure, maybe -- but it sounded downright decadent and I had to score one. FFFs Rebecca and Stu were my partners in crime. One night after dinner at Florio we were like Charlie searching for the golden ticket throughout San Francisco. But Mo's Bacon Bar was out of stock everywhere. So, cybergirl that I am, I went online and ordered them straight from the source on the Vosges web site and then did a tasting at Stu's birthday party. People seemed to fall into two camps: the chocolate lovers who thought it was too bacon-y, and the bacon lovers who thought it was too chocolate-y. In the latter category was someone who, for now, I'll call Bacon Boy. What can I say, he loves bacon. So much so that he and his office mates drool over a blog called The Bacon Show that publishes a bacon recipe a day. One of those recipes was for Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Chapter 2: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
So Bacon Boy and I made a date to make Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here's what I can tell you: if they sound good to you, they'll taste better than you ever imagined, and if they don't sound good to you, try them anyway! You never know how life might surprise you.
We followed the recipe faithfully but when you make it, I recommend skipping the white chocolate chips (or substituting more dark ones) and doubling the bacon.
The Batter:
The Finished Product:
As much as we loved the cookies, Bacon Boy and I both thought there could be an even more wonderful concoction that focuses on the two ingredients we like best. You guessed it -- that brings us to Chapter Three.
Chapter Three: Chocolate Covered Bacon (and some variations)
Over the next couple of weeks, I fantasized about chocolate covered bacon. I daydreamed that our artisan concoction was discovered by the epicure buyers at Neiman Marcus, and we then went on to huge fame and fortune.
Okay, maybe that's not gonna happen. But that didn't stop us from trying out our first batch. First, we melted the chocolate and fried up the bacon.
Then we made a few of each of the following varieties:
Bacon + chocolate (semi-sweet)
Bacon + chocolate + candied walnuts
Bacon + butterscotch
Bacon + butterscotch + chocolate (since the naked butterscotch was far and away the best tasting, but the
color was a bit off-putting so we cloaked it in a layer of chocolate)
Getting down to the essence of bacon and chocolate was the ultimate sweet/savory taste sensation. Pig heaven! Bacon Boy brought some in to his bacon-loving office mates and they loved it too. The butterscotch was the sleeper hit.
We might be on to something big here... but don't worry, I'm not quitting my day job just yet.
