Ryan mentioned to Erica, as one does in conversation, that he had a chocolate-chip/bacon cookie recipe that he wanted to make again, but that it would take a special occasion because it was a bit of work. Erica told him about our bacon/fashion evening and suggested that maybe just "cooking a bunch of bacon" might be enough of special occasion. Everyone agreed. Bacon Party!

The menu:

• mulled wine (just because it's cold out)
• bacon-wrapped dates
• bacon-wrapped scallops
• bacon-wrapped steak
• zucchini and yellow squash (sauteed in bacon grease)
• garden salad with BacOs
• bacon and chocolate chip cookies with maple glaze
• bacon crumble apple pie

(Troy also brought Bacon Salt, but we didn't really use it, since everything already tasted like bacon. And right the end of the evening we found a Mo's Bacon Bar and some people had a nibble.)

We only used 3 1/2 pounds of fresh bacon (a pound of pre-cooked bacon went into the cookies, but most of those were saved to share with friends and co-workers, so that hardly counts) so that's not that bad -- just about a half-a-pound each. I'm feeling pretty salted this morning, but the mulled wine (and the bourbon and the malört) probably didn't help.

Bacon!

Update: photos from Ryan of the evening.

Recipes after the jump:

Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple Glaze

Originally from the "Never Bashful with Butter" blog, which no longer exists, but was recovered via the Wayback Machine. Recipe tweaked by Ryan Riley.

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond (or hazelnut) extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups bacon bits

*An important note- Be sure to use real bacon bits, not Bacos. Also, you can make your own bacon bits, just make sure you pat down the bacon chunks with paper towels to remove as much extra bacon grease as possible. Ryan uses pre-cooked, packaged bacon bits, but then fries them up a bit to get them good and crispy.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Beat together the butter, sugars, flavouring and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together. Dough will be slightly soft. If you want a cakier cookie, add another half cup of flour. Add in chocolate chips and bacon bits (reserve some larger pieces of bacon for a topping). Stir until well integrated. Place dough on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove dough from fridge, pinch off 1 1/2 inch pieces of dough and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (We always recommend parchment paper). Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers in the center.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack while you ready the glaze.

Maple cinnamon glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
enough water to make a thick glaze (about 3 tablespoons)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. If lumpy, use a whisk.

Spread a small amount of the glaze on the top of each cookie and top with a small piece of crisp cooked bacon.

Bacon Crumble Apple Pie

(recipe from Charles Pierce, Every Day with Rachael Ray, April 2008)

1/2 pound sliced bacon
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
3 golden delicious apples (about 1 1/2 pounds total)—peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
One 9-inch store-bought pie shell, prebaked according to package directions

Preheat the oven to 400°.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp; drain and crumble.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar; add the butter and, using your fingers, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the bacon and cheese; refrigerate.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the granulated sugar and lemon peel. Transfer to the pie shell and sprinkle with the sugar-bacon topping.

Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake until golden and the apples are tender when pierced, 40 to 45 minutes; let cool before serving.

Bacon-wrapped Dates

Cut bacon slices in half or thirds (depending on how bacony you want them). Wrap dates in bacon and skewer with toothpick. Broil in the oven for 6 minutes, flip dates, and broil for another 6 minutes or so, until bacon is crispy.

Bacon-wrapped Scallops

Get good-sized scallops. Defrost them, if frozen. Cut bacon slices in half. Scallops cook fast, so if you want crispy bacon, you'll need to pre-cook the bacon a little and then let it cool off before you wrap the scallops. We had enough crispy bacon in this meal, so I skipped that step. Wrap each scallop in bacon and skewer with toothpick. Put in the broiler for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the scallops, and top with a little brown sugar. Return to the broiler for another 3 minutes.

Bacon-wrapped Steak

Maybe Noah will share his exact recipe, but it's something like "cut steak into scallop-sized chunks, wrap with thick-cut bacon, and grill".

Update: Noah writes:

before cutting the steak into scallop sized pieces, run a serated knife across both sides, making very shallow jaggedy grooves in the meat. sprinkle liberally with garlic salt, and rub it into the meat, using your fingers, or, your face.. pour on Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, and rub that in with your fingers. works better than your face. I don't know why. then, cut the steak into scallop sized pieces. cut thick slices of bacon in half, and wrap around the steak, securing with two toothpicks, perpendicular to eachother. Grill until both sides of the steak are brown and the grooves are black. take off the grill, and put on a plate, tenting for about 15 minutes under aluminum foil.

serve.

die from awesome.