Bacon Freak

I recently met with Brenda, owner and founder of Williamson Kenwood to learn more about her pancakes. Let me start by saying this gal is no short stack! Her pancake mixes aren’t just for pancakes, they are for making all kinds of great recipes such as muffins, scones and cookies, in fact she is the featured chef at baconfreak.com this month boasting her original Bacon Frittata

What is so unique about her pancakes you ask? Here is the secret. She put the flavor inside the pancakes! - I had never heard of such a thing.

Brenda’s story began with one simple desire and that was to give fun but useful gifts to her family and friends for the holidays. After years of giving homemade cookie boxes for gifts, she began searching for a new gift idea, but she wanted to avoid giving people junk that would just gather dust or be thrown away. A consumable food item was still the obvious choice.

In the meantime she was raising two boys and looking for quick, everyday food ideas. A breakfast staple was silver dollar pancakes, which she served without butter and syrup. Instead, she added flavor to the inside of the pancake itself to make a handheld treat for the boys.

The next holiday season she shared the pancakes with her extended family and friends. Having the flavor on the inside of the pancakes enabled her to customize the batches so everyone could have a pancake mix inspired by their favorite treat. They were a hit with everyone who tried them. Since then, she has developed nearly 20 flavors such as Strawberries & Cream, Cookies & Cream, Cafe Latte as well as my personal favorite Maple & Butter.

I am hoping she finds it in her heart to make a bacon pancake!

To try these delicious pancakes and see some of her recipes click here.

Signing off and pigging out.

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

Top of the mornin’ to ya my bold, brash and bawdy band of “Baco-conspirators!”

I’m walking a tightrope right now, trying to balance open communication about a very unusual book that recently came out and my ethical, moral obligations as a gentleman speaking in mixed company here at the Pig Pen!

You see, to days topic is simply way too interesting to merely ignore, but “Bacon-troversial” enough, that I really must take special care to mind my “Pigs and Quaker Oats.

You see an engaging young lady wanted to write from experience about passion, addiction, obsession and craving drives that some will do almost anything to effectively quell, so most naturally, she chose the two most popular things in the universe to create her compelling title, which turns out to be “Sex and Bacon,” by Sarah Katherine Lewis.

So what exactly can I say about this particular book that will fairly effectively express the point of the mater at hand, while avoiding crossing any and all well established, culturally agreed upon lines of demarcation regarding proper, socially acceptable behavior in a public arena.

Hmmm, l….. ets see. Well first of all, Sarah is a former porno star and prostitute, who has chosen to use food, both literally and figuratively, or symbolically, to express many of the “life lessons” that she learned from her extensive adventures in such industy specific, previously referred to professional endeavors.

Now I’ll be the very first one to admit, not only have i not yet read this book myself, I am quite certain that even if i had an extra 24 month, all paid vacation to do absolutely anything on Earth that I wanted to, when the 2 year period would close to an end, I still will not have read a single sentence of the book, of that, I’m pretty dang certain.

However, what of sincere value to us devout followers of “Baconism” is the simple fact that when a person deeply knowledgeable in the deepest, darkest desires of the flesh, mind and soul wants to reveal a clear glimpse of what mysteries are to be experience at the very center of that raging realm of hidden, forbidden lusts, the one word that is picked to symbolically represent the very hottest, steamiest, most sensuous and starkly seductive propensities and pleasures known to the human mind, the word chosen is ….. BACON!

What more really needs to be said.

Have a deeply “Bacon-templative” day my friends!

Click here to buy the book.
Click here to visit Sarah Katherine Lewis website.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

I have been featuring the wonderful bacon of Broadbent Hams over the past two years. They have come top of mind with the recent Tomato scare. After all as an official bacon freak I need my daily BLT for Lunch. Well with no tomatos how am I supposed to make a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich? Ah at last the solution hit me, the wonderful bacon of Broadbent Hams, Sun Dried Tomato. This bacon has a uuniquely sweet tomato flavor and is a must for the low carb dieter.

Broadbent Hams has been in business since the mid 1960’s. Since 1999 they have won the Kentucky State Fair over 5 times, including the Fancy Food Show of New York twice. Rodney Drennan states that, “They try and make the best bacon they can” I guess he doesn’t like to brag. They also hold the current record for the largest raffleled / auctioned Grand Champion Ham at $500,000.00 dollars – that ham sold for $29,000.00 a pound – what a great donation to charity!

I also really enjoy their nitrate free bacon which is cured with just salt and sugar. If you want an organic bacon – this is one to try! I asked Ronny why his bacon is so darn good and he told me that, “He wants to make the best bacon he can by doing things the old fashioned way. Everything thing they do is done by hand and each package is packed by hand.”

Click here to listen to the audio interview.

Click here to buy Sun-Dried Tomato Bacon

OK, …. Bacon Ice Cream ….. Udder Delight, ….. I know, I know, use a PUN - go to jail, but I swear on a succulent slab of bacon that this one really isn’t my fault; friends!

You see the name of the company that recently released it’s brand new “Bacon Ice Cream” just in time for the warmer days of summer approaching us just out on the vey near horizon, is “Udder Delight!”

They are a very popular Ice Cream company located out in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and they have been known for making some of the most delicious and interestingly unique and original ice creams in the entire world.

As a matter of fact, they are the celebrated winners of the 2004 World Series of Ice Cream, taking the judges taste-buds by storm with their amazingly delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly ice cream.

“Udder Delight” prides itself on never, ever skimping on any of their masterfully blende ingredients, especially the oh so ery important butterfat, that is the single ingredient that makes ice cream go from being a mere dessert to achiving near “Bacon Freak” like religious observance.

Some of their other popular flavors include: Cappuccino Stout Beer, Cake Batter, Honey Fig and Pear Green Tea and Memphis Barbecue. But hey, we’re not hear to waste time talking about trivialities like figs, green tea and honey, we’re all here for one reason and one reason alone, and that BACON!

These folks make a delectably delicious bacon ice cream that has small chunks of actual bacon in it, which surprisingly makes some people think twice before stuffing a huge gob of the good stuff in their mouth, but when reason finally raises it’s logical head and the fearful few actually decide to give it a try, most are totally blown away and can’t help butorder a couple of gallons to cit down in the middle of the side-walk and just “Pig Out” for about 13 minutes.

Deaware’s very own Bacon Ice Cream by “Udder Delight.” You can drop this slop in my troel any day of the week. I give it the official Bacon Freak Nine Snout Salute, it’s really that good.

Now please go away and leave me alone with the rest of my ice cream. We can talk again tomorrow! OK?

Please visit there website at http://udderdelighticecreamhouse.com/

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

I am always approached with all things bacon, last week I received a call from a company that produces fresh chocolates with unique flavor combinations using high quality, all natural ingredients. I will be honest that didn’t get my attention until she said, “It is our goal to bring cutting edge flavors and technologies to the chocolate industry, and deliver them to you as soon as they’re made.” And I said, “Yeah so?” and she said, well we have several new limited edition products including bacon covered chocolate.” Now she had my attention and I immediately ordered a box!

This company is called Luca Chocolate which is based in North Carolina. In speaking with them I learned that their chef and owner studied nutrition in college and went to the French Culinary Institute to study Classic Pastry Arts. The idea of LUCA Chocolate began officially in December 2006. What started off as a simple idea in the home kitchen and a lot of experimentation with many pounds of sugar, pints of cream and tablespoons of butter created a now successful business!

At this point I am sure each of you want to know what does chocolate taste like when paired with bacon? It’s pretty darn good. It’s sweet, and salty, and a little smoky and really something you might just need to try.

They offer several options including: Bacon Caramels: 4 of our signature caramels, topped with a crisp piece of bacon and covered in your choice of milk or dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt. The box includes 8 pieces of chocolate covered bacon, 4 bacon caramels, and 2 bourbon and black pepper truffles. There’s also a big box (that’s one whole pound) with double the amount of chocolatey-bacon goodness.

The owner of Luca Chocolate said that she would rather have one amazing piece of chocolate than a whole box full of something mediocre. With my candies, I hope I can re-create that for someone else. I’m trying to find that balance between unique flavor combinations and classic ones. I don’t want them to be overpoweringly rich, but I’d like to find that a person savors each piece, instead of eating them quickly.

Well Bacon Freaks, if you like bacon like I do, this is a must try treat! Let me know how you enjoyed the bacon chocolate.

Be sure to check em out at:
http://lucachocolate.com/

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com