J. Samuel Whiting Hickory Bacon - Apr 2008

J. Samuel Whiting's packaging leaves quite a bit to be desired, but their bacon was actually very impressive. According to the Bacon of the Month insert, they placed first at the 2005 Pennsylvania Meat Processor's Association competition. I have no idea how prestigious this competition is, but I can assure you the award is well-deserved. Thick-sliced and quite lean, the cooked product had great texture and flavor that's definitely well-suited to be eaten in whole slices. The BLT's were fantastic, and the bacon was a great complement to the cinnamon french toast we made for breakfast this morning.

This bacon was clearly the best of the recent offerings. I'm going to give it first place (for now), but it's pretty unfortunate that we can't do a head-to-head comparison with the previous frontrunner.

Bacon ranking:
1. J. Samuel Whiting Hickory Bacon (Apr 2008)
2. North Country Cob Smoked Bacon (Oct 2007)
3. Vande Rose Farms Applewood Smoked Bacon (Dec 2007)
4. (tie) Hudson Valley Smokehouse Smoked Country Style Bacon (Feb 2008)
4. (tie) Burgers' Pepper Bacon (Mar 2008)
6. Jim Oliver's Hickory Smoked Bacon (Jan 2008)
7. Tripp Country Bacon (Nov 2007)

Go Flames Go!

No, I'm Not Winking at You

Oh goodness, yes it's been a long time since I've written anything. Brian is good and faithful on the bacon posts, but just in case you thought all we did was sit around and eat bacon, I thought I'd pipe up. (This weekend, we made 'gougeres' from scratch... ok, they had bacon in them - but in our defense, the recipe came with one of the packs of bacon! We also made a whole duck. Ambitious, no? It was yummy!)

So what have I been up to lately? Traveling (LA and Boulder, all ostensibly for work but LA included a lovely party thrown by even lovelier friends) and wedding planning and working and wedding planning. Yes, we have 46 days to go till the big day, and it's crunch time. I think we're actually pretty on top of things, but there are a lot of details that still need to be decided or implemented, and it's all coming down to NOW. I think it's starting to get to me though, as I've developed a rhythmic tic in my left eye. Everytime I start to think about the items I have yet to order, the Ceremony we have yet to finalize, or the Guest list we have yet to confirm, it goes off, biddabiddabidda. Ugh! And no, dammit, I'm not winking at you!

I have to say though, darn that Brian, he's really been slacking off these days... there he sits at the breakfast bar, leafing through "W2"s and "Schedule CA"s and muttering about provincial tax credits. Whatever - he'll do anything to get out of planning. (Just kidding! I am so grateful that this year - and hopefully, from now on :) :) - I am spared the annual cryfest that is my attempt at doing my own taxes. Thank you dear!)

Anyway, that is the very cursory update. I will try to post more often, and hopefully more about non-"W" related topics...