Seduced by Bacon: Recipes & Lore About America's Favorite Indulgence

by Joanna Pruess, Liesa Cole (Photographer)

Our love affair with bacon is passionate and enduring. We simply adore its smell, which carries us back to comforting times, and its taste like no other. Caramel and wood fires come to mind. Oh, those delectably succulent, salty, crunchy morsels!

Very few foods don't take a shine to bacon. Not only does it flatter savories, but bacon is an admirable complement to sweets as well. Seduced by Bacon offers sensuous dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and anything in between. Some of the unique recipes include in this book

* Savory Bread Pudding with Canadian Bacon, Wild Mushrooms and Feta
* Candied Bacon Bites
* Seared Scallops on Leeks with Reduced Balsamic Vinegar
* Sweet Potato-Hazelnut Rösti with Apricots, Bacon, and Watercress
* Open-Faced Cheddar and Turkey Bacon Sandwich with Beer-Glazed Onions
* Jamaican Jerked Shrimp, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes
* Sesame-Crusted Tuna Salad Niçoise
* Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie in Pepper-Bacon Crust
* Pecan-Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream
* French Apple Tart with Cheddar Cheese Crust and Sweet Brittle Topping

There are many different types and cuts of bacon to tempt you to add style and flavor to your cooking. Seduced by Bacon covers them all, and includes advice on selecting, buying, storing, and handling bacon, as well as a list of some of the finest bacon suppliers. Every cook and connoisseur--in fact, anyone who eats--will savor the delectable recipes, tantalizing photographs, and fascinating bits of baconry in this fresh and innovative cookbook.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

178 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jaclyn Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! i love bacon and I love this book. This has got recipes, and infor on bacon curing. All sorts of tasty tidbits. A must have for bacon lovers who like to spice up every day meals with this awesome ingredient!

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

While many of the recipes seem super intense, I'm appreciating the variety of recipes, backstories on the porkbelly and the super easy foolproof oven baking recipe for the perfect slice every time.

[Phayvanh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this one for Christmas this year, and plan on using it a bit. The recipes range from breakfasty to desserty, including a pecan-bacon ice cream! Yum! I haven't tried the recipes but they do look scrumptious.

Each recipe is accompanied with full color close up photographs of the final dishes. There are variations on a theme, like crostinis, open-faced BLTs and salads and such, but they all sound really yummy.

While the authors are pretty comprehensive in their section about differences in different types of bacon, and they also list mail-order suppliers of quality bacon, there is only a little history of the food itself. At this point, I am ready for something more "meaty" on the subject--something akin to Mark Kurlansky's Salt, for instance.

The authors also gloss over the potentially unhealthy side affects of eating so much bacon, mentioning it merely as a casualty of dietary fads, with brief caloric and fat information. Say nothing about cholesterol and the rise of national obesity rates, or anything of moderation.

Nonetheless, these guys love their bacon, and I do too. There are informational tidbits scattered throughout along with poems, odes, and anecdotes to help me justify my porkish habit.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does one read a cookbook? I haven't tackled any recipes in this book. But I've read, reread, scanned, flipped, sipped, and, ok, drooled a little on this book. It was a gift from a coworker. Clearly we get along; my gift to him was 5 lbs of bacon. If you're a lover of bacon, and good food photography, give this one a taste (haha, sorry, had to do it).

[Curtis]

FOOD PORN

[Brian Indrelunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bacon cornbread was delicious, and mark my words: one day I will make that bacon ice cream!