pork


			THE BACON CHALLENGE "There's never a bad time for Bacon" -Marsha Hubert ............................................................................ Let The Challenge Begin! Today I would like to start off with a subsection of the bacon genre called "Bacon-so-healthy". Many people think that by adding bacon to healthy foods such as greens and veggies they are making that veggie or green thing "unhealthy". Well, not so my friend! Bear with me a moment, as i venture to say that.. (pause) ...adding VEGGIES to BACON makes the bacon healthy! That's right folks, why think the glass is half empty? When with bacon, it's always half full! No one was better at making bacon, butter, oil and fat healthy by adding green things than my Dad, Greg Boeger. So i though it was appropriate to have his recipe for "Swiss Chard Boeger Style" as the first contribution to the Marsha Hubert Bacon Recipe Exchange. Enjoy.... SWISS CHARD BOEGER STYLE ingredients: swiss chard ( one head) bacon (6-7 pieces per head) broth cut bacon into little pieces, squares, chunks. (smaller=tastier) fry bacon till chewy not crispie. drain fat. in another pan: pour a can of chicken or healthy veggie broth, turn up heat. pile in a head of swiss chard cut into 1" strips. (washed with filtered water of course) dollop white wine add bacon bits simmer until chard is tender to eat (i forget how long chard takes to cook...15 min?) add more broth/wine as needed to simmer chard. salt and pepper. THE END for more interesting information on how to prepare bacon: makinbacon ............................................................................... As expected the Marsha Hubert recipients were anxious to reply with their favorite bacon-esque recipes. Since today is mother's day i am forwarding this reply that i got from, that's right, MY mother! This is truly "Swiss Chard Boeger Style" since A) it contains fat of some sort, B) no one can quite remember how to make it. and C) it ends in an argument. Happy Mother's Day Everybody! CONTESTANT #1 (sent in response to "Better With Bacon") You're so full of it!! You dice 2 pieces of bacon and saute with diced onion. Drain the fat. Wash the chard and chop it. Put it on top of the bacon bits. If it's really wet, you don't have to add any water at all. If not, sprinkle some more water on it. Put the heat on high and cook it quickly, tossing it around with a spatula. Add Salt (if the bacon's not too salty) and pepper. What's with the broth??? I demand a retraction, what will your subscribers think of us! Love, Ma .................................................................................... CONTESTANT #2 All the way from Santa Cruz California- Laura Hartwick, former artist, dog trainer and stone mason extraordinaire brings you another great bacon recipe. With special help from meat consultant Timmy, and taste and seasoning advisor Ruby. enjoy! Here is my favorite bacon recipe. I have not made it personally because the bacon is not something I want to touch with my skin. But it has been prepared many times by my friends in my plain view so I know how to do it: BACON FOR DOGS! Cook up some bacon, as if you are going to have it for breakfast. You can go ahead and have the bacon for breakfast. Maybe with some eggs. Leave the fat in the frying pan. Add some dog biscuits. Any kind will do. If you have small dogs, I recommend Mother Hubbard Small Puppy Biscuits. Large dogs might enjoy a more sizable biscuit. Fry them in the bacon fat. Remove and cool on some paper towels. After they are cool, give them to the dogs! ............................................................................ INTERLUDE before i introduce the next recipe i would like to share with you all some words of wisdom, passed on to me by fellow subscriber Michelle Mckenzie of Fresno CA. "Admittedly, all memories of bacon I have banished from the head and all recipes I've banished from the hearth but I would love to promote some Baconian philosophy here that is fit to accompany all bacon revelers to the breakfast table." -Michelle "To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed, at hours of meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long lasting." --excerpted from the essay "Regiment of Health" by F.(Francis, a.k.a."fried") Bacon. May this baconian cure spam our far-flung dining circles for centuries to come! Michelle .................................................................................... With these wise words in mind i heartily introduce our next contestant for your Baconistic pleasure. From Sacramento CA, renown architect Steven Goldstein, a man who did not build the House of Bacon, but could have. And a drum roll please......... CONTESTANT #3 "Not only does this soup have bacon in it, but all kinds of other unhealthy things and to top it off. . .Finan Haddie, an obscure Smoked Haddock that is practically impossible to find and expensive. Nonetheless, you would be hard pressed to find a richer, more satisfying winter chowder than this. Hope you enjoy it with a large vodkamarti with olives stuffed with blanched almonds." -Steven SMOKED FISH CHOWDER 1 1/2 pounds smoked haddock 2 1/4 cups bottled clam juice 4 slices of bacon, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 3 tablespoons flour 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered and cut crosswise into 1/2" pieces 2 stalks of celery, chopped 1 bay leaf 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill In a large heavy saucepan, cover the haddock with the clam juice and 2 cups of water, bring the liquid to a simmer, and poach the haddock at a bare simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it just flakes. Transfer the haddock to a bowl, strain the stock through a fine sieve into another bowl, and reserve it. In another large heavy saucepan cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp, transfer it to a small bowl, and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Cook the onion in the fat, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until it is softened, add the flour, cook the mixture, stirring for 3 minutes. Add the reserved stock in a stream, whisking, and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking. Add the potatoes, the celery, and the bay leaf and simmer the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the cream, the milk, and salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the haddock, flaked into large pieces, and the dill, heat the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring gently, until the haddock is heated through, and discard the bay leaf. Makes about 10 cups, serving 6. ........................................................................... CONTESTANT #4 This next recipe qualifies as a Marsha Hubert recipe since it has a main ingredient that is very difficult to find. I had never even heard of Mullet, though it does sound edible- somewhere between mutton and mulberry. Not to be Mullet-ignorant i did a search on "mullet" and here is what i found: VIEW THIS BEFORE GOING SHOPPING FOR YOUR MULLET! So that you can get the best mullet possible- this page has "mullet classifications" so be sure to find the type of mullet that best suits your tastes! mulletsgalore And now- contestant #4 Ginny McCormick from the west coast sending a recipe from way down south.... ...there's alot of Mullet in Florida...... "I thought I would send a recipe with a Southern flair. The recipe is from a small cookbook called Cedar Key Cookin' (Cedar Key, Florida which is by the way a great place for salt water fishing). The recipe calls for mullet, but you could use any medium thickness fish fillet. I have never tried this recipe with fresh water fish, though I suspect it might be quite good with fresh trout. And it is truly a bacon-based recipe, since you use the bacon drippings in the dish." -Ginny Piney Point Mullet 4 medium potatoes 4 medium onions 4 fish fillets 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp celery salt 1 tsp parsley 3 slices bacon 1 TB flour 1/8 tsp garlic Salt, pepper and paprika Cut bacon into 1/2" pieces and fry until crisp in a large skillet. Remove bacon. Peel potatoes and slice into 1/4" slices. Put into pan with bacon drippings. Peel and slice onions into 1/4" slices and put on top of potatoes. Barely cover with water. Add seasonings except papriika. Put a lid on the pan, cook gently for 15 - 20 minutes until potatoes are almost done. While this is cooking, salt the fish. When potatoes are almost done, lay the fish on top of the onions, cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Mix flour with 1/3 cup water to thicken the stock slightly. Serve in soup plates. Sprinkle with paprika and crumbled bacon. Ruth Coulter Piney Point, Cedar Key, Florida Enjoy!! Ginny McCormick ............................................................................

home mailing list contact stuff