Andrew, like most Americans, loves bacon. I like it by itself, but I generally don’t want it cooked into something I am eating because it makes the whole dish taste like bacon (“Um… exactly.” –Andrew) However, after our disappointing experience at the Bacon Festival on Sunday, I wanted to give Andrew the bacon-filled feast he’d been hoping for. Plus, I had my heart set on some bacon-wrapped scallops. 😀
I had two goals: 1. Incorporate bacon into every dish. 2. Make those dishes as healthy as possible, considering they contain bacon. 😉
Here’s the menu (with links to the recipes we used) :
Bacon-wrapped Scallops
Braised Brussels Sprouts & Bacon
Wilted Arugula Salad with Asparagus, Bacon, and Sherry Vinaigrette
Bacon Quinoa with Almonds and Herbs
As usual, we didn’t follow the recipes exactly, making adjustments according to our dietary needs and what we had on hand (the only ingredients I purchased yesterday were bacon, scallops, Brussels sprouts, and asparagus.) All we did for the scallops was wrap them in bacon and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.
As you probably know, bacon is a very fatty food. Some of these recipes called for vegetable oil in addition to using the bacon fat to cook. In order to minimize the artery clogging, we left out most of the added oils and removed some of the bacon fat from the pan so that we were getting the bacon flavor but not deep frying the vegetables. We also didn’t use as much bacon as the recipes called for; I think we put 2.5 slices in the in quinoa, 2.5 slices in the Brussels sprouts, 3 slices in the arugula salad, and wrapped each scallop with 1/2 slice. We used a pound of traditional-cut bacon, but have leftovers of everything. 🙂
Despite what the photo above suggests, I did not consume any bacon by itself. Andrew cannot honestly make the same claim. 🙂
Every dish was so, so delicious. By the time I ate that last scallop though, my stomach felt a little crazy. Andrew agreed. It wasn’t that we ate too much in terms of volume and were stuffed; all the bacon grease was just so heavy. I had to stand out on the back deck for a few minutes because I felt nauseous from the smell lingering in our house. Hah.
As much fun as it was to create our own Baconfest, and as delicious as those bacon-wrapped scallops were, last night confirmed what I wholeheartedly believe and regularly proclaim on this blog and otherwise:
You just feel better when you eat real food.
Whole food. From the earth. More plants, less animals.
Bacon does not fall among these foods. 😉
A Two Storey Home 
I love that you had a bacon redemption!! I agree, I always wonder when I read a recipe that says “add oil to pan and add bacon and cook.” Um, pretty sure it makes its own grease!
And while I do enjoy bacon, its a once in a while treat – although if push came to shove, I’d pick corned beef hash over bacon anytime!
Exactly! Plenty of grease. I used to like corned beef hash as a kid, but I haven’t had it in years!
I wonder if the sprouts sickened you though? I adore them but I know they really upset some people.
Hmm, I didn’t know that! We have sprouts fairly often, and I’ve never noticed a reaction, so I hope it isn’t that!
Hahah! So cute – I’m glad you got the chance to redeem yourselves from the great bacon disaster of 2013. 🙂
Hahaha, thanks!
How did you link the recipes through your blog? Is it hard?
It’s very easy! Just highlight the words you want to put the link in, then click the button that looks like a chain link (by the formatting options… to the right of the alignment buttons.) In the box that pops up you can copy/paste the link. Let me know if that doesn’t work!
Hehe that bacon looks like it’s going to take you down! (In a way, I guess it did 😉 ). At first I was like ‘hell yeah!’ to all the bacon (especially the bacon wrapped scallops… genius!) but by the end (and from your description) I definitely got the more greasy-inducing vibes… We all need those days though to get it out of our systems (we rarely have a less-than-annual fried chicken fest complete with buckets and all! So good but it then ends SO bad!) so that we realise that actually it’s all less about the grease, and more about the plants!
Haha, yes, it did take me down!
I love bacon wrapped scallops! We always make them every year to eat with the big appetizer meal we have on Christmas eve.
Yeah! They are so delicious! I just tried them for the first time this year… can’t believe I went so long without them!