"B" is for Bacon.

There are so, so many things you can cook with bacon. It is definitely one of those ingredients that is added to things even if it doesn't make perfect sense. People love bacon, and they probably always will. There was once an article about food trends that will eventually fade away, which included trends like cupcakes, frozen yogurt, and the cronut. They included bacon on that list, but I disagree with that completely.

Right off the bat when thinking about what to make with bacon, the "bacon explosion" came to mind. The bacon explosion is a rolled log of meat consisting of the following ingredients:

• Bacon, weaved in a square

• BBQ seasoning

• Ground Italian sausage

• BBQ sauce

• Cooked, crumbled bacon

After all of those ingredients are layered in a square, you roll it up as tightly as you can with the bacon weave exposed on the outside. It is then baked or smoked until the bacon weave is crispy and the Italian sausage is cooked throughout. After it cools a bit, you pray to God that it doesn't fall apart as you slice it. For this blog post, I decided to cook something more refined, and to use more flavor pairings.

olive oil, bacon, shallot, apple cider vinegar, whole grain mustard + rosemary, mixed greens + baby spinach, cherry tomato + avocado

Above are the ingredients for a warm bacon vinaigrette over mixed greens with avocado and cherry tomato. This makes for a great, hearty salad with so much flavor and texture. Flavor pairings for bacon being avocado, greens, olive oil, shallots, spinach, tomato, and vinegar. Here is the recipe for the warm bacon vinaigrette which makes about enough for 3 servings:

• 3 pieces bacon, 1/4 inch strips

• 2 T olive oil

• 3 T shallot, minced

• 2 T apple cider vinegar

• 1 T whole grain mustard

• 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped

1. Combine bacon and olive oil in a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Once oil and bacon begin to simmer, stir with wooden spoon until bacon starts to turn brown. Increase heat to medium high is needed.

2. Add shallot and continue to cook until bacon is desired amount of darkness and crispiness. Remove from heat and stir for a minute or two.

3. In a bowl combine vinegar, mustard and rosemary. Whisk in warm bacon mixture slowly until completely combined.

4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper before dressing salad.

dressed salad with warm bacon vinaigrette, cherry tomato, and avocado.

Add dressing slowly and toss in between additions to avoid over dressing. Also, be careful with adding to much salt as the bacon provides a good amount of salt as it is. Serve aside chicken, risotto, salmon, or scallops to make it a more complete meal. Or top it with a poached, hard boiled or fried egg for the love of all things delicious. I hope you try it, and enjoy!

Resources

• As always, The Flavor Bible. If you don't have it and you love to cook, buy it.