Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 7:48AM First up: Buttermilk Bacon Pralines.
They're enticing served with pre-dinner cocktails. They'll provide a wonderful sweet-salty contrast served alongside a savory spinach salad. Or how about treating your guests to a knock-out two-bite dessert by pairing these unusual pralines with a steaming hot cup of black coffee?
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 10:29AM 
My Pork Belly: 22 inches long, 10" wide and approx 9 pounds. Soon to be BACON.
Charcutepalooza's tag line is "The Year of Meat. It's a challenge amongst food bloggers (across the world!) to make one stellar charcuterie project every month for one year. The competition is tough; about 300 passionate -- and some might say "obsessed" -- food bloggers battling it out to create stunning examples of cured meats. Sure there are prizes, including a trip to France. There's also the possibility of fame & glory, as well as advancing a few rungs up the "ways-to-prepare-meat" ladder in your kitchen. But I think most of us are doing it simply because it's fun. The fact that you end up with some incredibly tasty charcuterie as a result is a bonus too, of course.
I decided to slice the Pork Belly into 4 pieces, and will use 2 different cures on 2 pieces each.
