Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Bacon is meat nirvana. It pairs well with every vegetable, even cold ones. It improves everything it accompanies. Bacon fat has become a part of my kitchen, and bacon guest stars in many of the things I make, from pizza to chicken to cupcakes. I own 3 bacon cookbooks already. The best reason of all, is that bacon and onions are best friends.

Life without bacon fat? NEVER. I love using maple bacon and saving the fat for whatever needs a saute. These days, I've taken to cooking bacon in the oven so I can put onions, garlic, mushrooms and other veggies on top to roast. I haven't tried baking with lard before, but I would love to get this leaf lard written about here to try it.

Deviant. There's no reason to follow a recipe exactly when you can think of an improvement. Shallots make everything better. Garlic belongs. Pepper = freshly ground black pepper. The only time I try not to manipulate a recipe is when I bake. The first time anyway. Even then, I add vanilla and almond flavoring to almost all the baked goods.

Ox tails, so flavorful and delicious!

Firefly or Sweet Carolines Sweet tea vodka, mixed with lemonade, best Arnold Palmer ever!

Cucumber vodka, delicious with sprite or 7-up.

I have one single apple brandy story. But since no one else has commented, I figure I will.

So I wanted to make my first ever gourmet recipe for my girlfriend. It was this one, Smothered Pork Chops in Blue Cheese Applejack Gravy: http://www.recipearchive.com/recipe1.php3?rid=394

Living as I did at the time in a college town, Ypsilanti, I figured finding Apple Brandy would be easy. 2 hours later, having traveled to even gourmet liquor shops, I was ready to give up. No one stocked Apple Brandy, because no one drank it. After having ranged from Ann Arbor to Canton, I came up empty.

I finally stopped at a store near my apartment, the Keg, aptly named. There, in the back of their top shelf, covered in enough dust that it had turned into a grease, was a bottle of Blackstar Farms Apple Brandy. This is a Michigan company, but there was no telling how old this bottle is. I still have it. It's so potent, you can sniff it and get lightly touched.

Since it's purchase, I've used it to make Brandy Alexanders, and to soak raisins for oatmeal raisin cookies.

And I overpaid for it. 50.00, making the total of the gourmet meal 80.00. But it is delicious and in hindsight, totally worth it. If anyone else is interested, here: https://xblackstarfarms.merchantquest.net/store/product_info.php?products_id=56&osCsid=f922db2ced615bede06c7ae4abae397e

The meal, by the way, fantastic. I highly recommend it. The apples pair incredibly well with the blue cheese, onions and pork. It's totally worth the purchase if only to make this recipe.

You mean I could get "output" from a woman with food?

Honestly, in defense of ladies, if she likes you, you could serve hot dogs and popcorn and she'd be happy cause she's with you. At least this show is insisting that you attempt to be romantic by cooking for a woman instead of getting her a happy meal. Even though they do come with apple dippers.

These days I steam cook veggies in the microwave, chop up some fresh onion and add them to the ramen. Delicious!

I have had both of them. They taste terrible, but they look really cool. I bought mine at comic shops.