Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Our love affair with bacon shows no sign of ending

By Jean Prescott
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Back in the days before most people even knew about cholesterol, let alone its artery-clogging properties, almost every kitchen in South Mississippi kept a container for rendered bacon fat. Every bit of it that could be saved was used in all kinds of recipes, particularly those that called for sauteeing "the trinity" of Cajun and/or Creole cooking: celery, onions and bell peppers.

We especially loved plain ol' bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, but the matriarch of the family also liked to use bacon fat to produce another house specialty, fried grits. Her roots reached back to Northern Italy, hence the polenta-like practice. She would allow leftover grits to "set up," then she cut the solidified corn mush into rods about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. These grits wands were then sauteed in bacon fat to be served alongside fish fillets or calves' liver, eggplant slices or codfish cakes.

Bacon, which is simply cured, smoked pork, is bad for us, we're told, yet this country goes right ahead making it, more than 2 billion pounds a year. They're even making "bacon" from turkey and meatless soy protein, neither of which will leave behind rendered fat, but it tells you how far folks are willing to go for that fabulous bacon aroma and taste.

Warm German potato salad

1 to 1-1/2 pounds new potatoes

1/4 pound bacon

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

Fresh snipped chives, minced parsley and or hardboiled eggs, all optional garnishes

Scrub potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and, while hot, skin and cut into 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 4 cups. Set aside.

Place bacon in a skillet and fry until almost crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add onion and celery, cook until tender and transparent, remove from pan.

Drain off all but one tablespoon of bacon fat; add flour, sugar, salt and pepper to skillet. Stir until slightly browned. Add vinegar and water and cook until mixture is slightly thickened. Add back the bacon, onion, and celery.

Pour hot dressing over potatoes; stir gently to blend. The potatoes should look glossy. Garnish with hard-boiled egg slices, sprinkle minced parsley and chives over top. Serve warm. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Barbecued shrimp BLT

1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus 3 tablespoons

3 ounces (about 5 large) shallots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt and white pepper, to taste

1/2 pound (about 20 small) peeled shrimp

1/2 cup mayonnaise

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