Flakey Bacon Dog

Having trouble making friends? Try wrapping yourself in bacon and pastry. 

Because anything wrapped in bacon is better! Try it with a cheese dog, too.

Freddy's Falcon Talons

There is no better way to flaunt your Falcon pride than by showing up to your BGSU tailgate or party with a plate full of Falcon Talons. The Ohio State University has its chocolate and peanut butter buckeyes — yummm — and now BGSU has its Falcon Talons. They aren't hard to make, maybe a little messy, but who minds being covered in chocolate and Butterfinger crumbles? Brace yourself for the creative sweet cashew crunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 can (9.75 oz.) of whole cashews
• 12 oz. semi sweet chocolate morsels. Mini morsels melt fastest.
• 1 12.5 oz. bag of fun size Butterfingers. Pr a few king size.
• 1 T of paraffin wax is optional.
• Total cost: about $10
• yields: 100+ talons

Setup:

Crunch your butterfingers. To minimize a crumbly mess, leave the candy bars in the wrapper. The finer the Butterfinger is crumbled, the better. Dump the crumbs into a bowl.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and place at the end of the table. This is the cashews' final plunge. It will help solidify the chocolate so the talon doesn't look like a turtle.

Open your nuts and place them on a plate at the front of the table. Scattering them on a plate can help you select the nuts that best resemble a falcon's talon. although the can says "full cashews," many wont be.

Melt the semi sweet morsels in a double boiler over medium heat. Add paraffin wax to improve the final product's glossy look. Once the chocolate is melted (and wax) remove from heat and place on table between the cashews and Butterfinger crumbles.

Now it's time to turn our nuts into talons. Hold onto what would be the tip of the talon and dip the other end into the chocolate. If the chocolate does not stick well, you may 

want to let it cool and thicken. Quickly, dip the talon into the Butterfinger crumbles and then immediately into the ice bath. The more quickly you complete this process, the better your talon will look. However, there is nothing wrong with a chunky funky talon. In fact, I prefer chunky chocolate and Butterfinger talons. If you experience a lot 

of your chocolate dripping off into the Butterfinger bowl, try molding the chocolate and Butterfinger around the cashew. They may not look the best, but they're certainly sweeter. I like to do about five nuts in a row and then I take them out of the ice bath and place them onto a plate — wax paper may come in handy. The talons shouldn't stay in the ice bath too long, because the Butterfinger will start to become soggy. Once you fill a plate, put it in the refrigerator so that the chocolate may solidify further.Get a clean plate and do it again!

Chubby Mary

I don't think I need to explain too much for this one. There is a smoked chub in my bloody mary. It wasn't gross. It may look gross. But it was delicious. The chub gives the mary a smokey accent, while the mary adds a bit of spice to the chub. It doesn't come served with a straw down the throat of the chub; that was my sister's idea, and a good one. So if you're ever in Northern Michigan, go to the Cove in Leland and order the Chubby Mary. I've never had a cocktail/appetizer so unique.

Feasting at the Festival

Black Swamp Arts Festival '08 — 

Didn't make it to the arts festival? Shame on you. You don't have to be into art to enjoy the festival. The food is equally as awesome as the art. 

If the music didn't draw you in the stage area, the aroma in the air certainly did. I was lifted off of my toes like in the old cartoons and floated into the parking lot. I didn't make it much further than Po Mo's — the giant smokers really turned me on and I love ribs — but every vendor was rock'n out to good tunes and serving up sloppy festival delicacies. 

All of the vendors had something special to offer. from basic fair food to fried gator bites, the 2008 Black Swamp Arts festival once again delivered a tasty celebration.  

Here's a slide show for the people who failed to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity. Feast your eyes out. I hope you are kicking yourself. I'm still stuffed.

The Jerky Outlet

I have probably passed by at least one hundred times but have never stopped. I have always wanted to, but for some odd reason I never had. "WORLDS 2nd LARGEST SELECTION OF BEEF JERKY" is the archetype Midwest tourist trap. This past weekend, I couldn't resist passing up the M-61 exit off I-75 in Standish, Mich. 

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I first walked in the door. I figured if it has the world's second largest selection, it must be chocked full of the saucy dehydrated strips of beef. I didn't think there would be any room in the Mobile filling station for windshield wipers, coffee, cigarettes and other gas station essentials. 

But there were a lot of jerky to choose from, and not just Beef. There was venison, bison, turkey and elk. I went with the Barbeque Buffalo Jerky and it was delightful! My car smelled very gamey for the remainder of the trip back to Bowling Green. 

After my visit I was left with 2 nagging questions:

1. Where is the worlds largest selection of beef jerky at? I want to go. 

2. Do they mean largest selection of beef jerky, or all types jerky?

It was a great little stop. I didn't buy a Jerky Outlet t-shirt, but I may have considered if I saw one. Not making the trip up I-75 anytime soon? No problem, visit www.thejerkyoutlet.com and order some.

A trip down Kielbasa Lane

I finally got around to checking out the annual Polka Festival in Cedar, Michigan. Just like you would expect to find at a polka festival, there was a lot Polish tradition. The town of cedar is small, it has one stop light, one bar and two meat smoke houses. Everybody's name ends in SKI and there is probably more red and white than there is red white and blue - even over 4th of July weekend!

So I found everything that I expected to find at the festival. A big tent with a dancefloor full of 3-stepping senior citizens. It was quite a scene. Are black socks with black sneakers a polish thing? because just about everyone was wearing them. There was lots of beer and even more Polish food. From the entrance of the tent you would of though all those people were bobbing their heads to the polka band. They were'nt. They were pounding down kielbasa!

They had plenty of pierogi, golabki and paczki, but what I went for was the Polish cornerstone: kielbasa and kraut! So did she ...

It was good. I mean, I'm not going to say it was the best I've ever had, but I really felt good about my Polish experience. I figure eating kielbasa at the polka fest in Cedar, Michigan is the closest I can get to eating a kielbasa in Poland without actually going there. Also, polka dancing is simple! I'm no pro, but my secret is to just count to three and kinda skip, hop and hold on to your partner. Kielbasa and lots of beer helps.

PB & Bacon ???

I have told people before, I think anything tastes good with peanut butter on it. And I have also said bacon complements everything. Many of the people who I tell this to don't believe I am serious. They try and create crazy combinations to make me eat my words. Combinations like bacon ice cream, or peanut butter hamburgers. So instead of eating my words, I ate a very interesting find at the Detroit airport Sunday night. A peanut butter honey bacon sandwich on cinnamon bread. On the menu it's called The Exception. 

I mean, if you think about it, peanut butter is just like a peanut sauce, only thicker, creamier. After I explain this rationalization, most people agree that peanut butter really is an easily compatible ingredient. 

And think about bacon. It's salty, smokey and sometimes sweet, and is easily added to just about ANY food item: burgers, salads, guacamole, shrimps, potatoes, gravy, even CHOCOLATE! 

The cinnamon bread worked great with the peanut butter and honey. And the bacon really fit in really well. Do you mind it when a little syrup gets on your bacon? If I'm having pancakes, the bacon is used to get the remaining syrup with, then a biscuit—if I didn't already 86 it with my sausage gravy. 

So the sandwich was interesting. I think it would of been much better if the bacon wasn't so crispy. The soft crunch of the peanuts didn't work to well with the sharp crispy bacon, but oh the after taste! One of my favorite aspects of peanuts is that the taste keeps with you for a while. So on my flight back to Traverse City my mouth tasted like sweet and smokey peanut butter.

So don't be afraid to get crazy with peanut butter and bacon. I say they are 2 very compatible ingredients. 

Check out: The Evolving PB&J

Morel Mushroom Mania

Lets just say morel mushrooms get the attention they deserve here in Northern Michigan. I have been home for about a week in Leelanau county and everybody is going crazy over these shroomies. Wondering why there are so many cars pulled off on the side of the road? It's because the driver is poking through the woods. Morel mushrooms can not be farmed for some reason, only found in the wild. Between mid-May and the first week of June is when the pickings prime. They favor growing in wooded areas after a warm rainy night, particularly around trillium, black ash, poplar and decaying trees. But the best way to find morel is to know where they have grown in years past. And some hunters will go to great lengths. My aunt said she knows a lady who goes up in an airplane and looks for cars that are parked on the outskirts of the woods, morel hotspots. She also said an elderly woman had just revealed her secret mushroom spot to her grandchild on her death bed. I mean these mushrooms are no joke! Just 1 lb. of dried morels goes for over 100 bucks. And you have to be careful where you look. If somebody catches you snooping on their property there's a good chance they will call the law. The reason why people go so bonkers over these shriveled little shrooms isn't because they are rare, awesome looking and expensive, it's because they're AMAZING!!!

They look like sponges, their porous caps, and they absorb butter like a sponge, too. I wouldn't advise spicing them up to much, just saute them in a little bit of butter so you can really get a taste of these fine fungi. Careful not to eat your finger tips off. After Sauteing, maybe sprinkle with a little salt to make them juice with flavor. This morning I made a single egg omelet with spinach and feta cheese. The omelet was just a vehicle for the morel's. I didn't want anything to over ride the shrooms, just complement them. So when cooking with morels, keep it simple. A few raw ingredients working in perfect harmony, there's nothing better.