Everything Tastes Better With Bacon... or Does It? [Tennessee Eats]

Yesterday, Kim and I did a fun food experiment at work.

For the fall issue of one of our magazines, I'm doing a blurb on Piggy Popcorn from the Loveless Café (RIP, Biscuit Lady!). The folks there were kind enough to send me a few bags for us to shoot in our studio, along with a catalog with Carol Fay smiling on the cover with a tray of biscuits, as well as the Nashville Vacation Guide, which we publish (ha).

They also told me about how they developed the uniquely Southern concept of Piggy Popcorn And I Don't Share (said to the tune of "Jimmy Crack Corn and I Don't Care"), which is basically bacon popcorn, where they use syrup to stick the bacon to the popcorn.

Yes, candied bacon popcorn.

I don't know why I find the concept of this product so awesome and the idea of the KFC Double Down so disgusting, but what can I say. Maybe it's because it's from Tennessee, not Kentucky, I don't know. But it sure was fun walking around the office and offering this questionable confection to everyone.

The conversations went something like this.

Example A.
Us: You have to try this.
Them: What is it?
Us: Caramel corn... with bacon.
They dubiously investigate a single kernel, smell it and then chew slowly and make an awkward expression. I reeeeally wish I had carried around a camera, better yet a Flip Cam, to capture the myriad of facial distortions.
Them: Interesting... it's okay... definitely interesting... I don't think I'd buy it, but I'd eat it... if there was a bowl of it on my desk, I'd probably eat the whole thing (and possibly get sick because it's so rich).

Example B.

Us: You have to try this.

Them: What is it?

Us: Caramel corn... with bacon.

Them: Oh, bacon! Everything tastes better with bacon!

They enthusiastically try a handful. No awkward facial expressions ensue.

Them: Genius!

Example C.

Us: You have to try this.

Them: What is it?

Us: Caramel corn... with bacon. From the Loveless. C'mon, you have to try it.

Again, dubiously they inspect and sniff the kernel and ingredients package, which by the way does include bacon, bacon renderings and pancake syrup. Their faces crinkle up, and they utter something along the lines of the following:

"It tastes like I licked my frying pan."
"It's like I put my head in a smoker."
"It tastes like Snausages smell."

And probably a few other hilarious nuggets of insight that I have since forgotten. (Leave a comment if you remember any good ones!)

All in all, it was probably about 50-50 (would/would not try it again), although those of Example B were by far a majority male. We thought it was a guy thing at first, but a few girls (even ambivalent vegetarians) also enjoyed it.

It's a fun novelty gift, and a local Nashville food blogger is actually introducing the product to China as we speak.

However, my desk does kind of smell like Snausages now.

Breakfast Pizza [Eat]

Some friends of mine were in town, so yesterday we went to brunch at Mad Donna's. They had revamped their brunch menu since we'd last been there, adding some new items such as Crab Cake Benedict (yum, but filling – cheddar grits not necessary), quiche of the day and Breakfast Pizza, which Ty ordered. They used sausage gravy as the sauce of the pizza, which is pretty ingenious (if you like sausage).

We still had breakfast pizza on the brain, and today over coffee, my friend said next time we visited them they would make it for us. Then I realized we had an extra pizza crust on-hand, along with eggs, bacon and feta ... so we decided to make it today. We improvised – I had no spinach but did have mushrooms and parsley, and we only had four eggs. I also had a ton of cheese, and we ended up have a theme where we used only white cheese that I had on hand – feta, mozzarella, Monterey jack and Parmesan. (Speaking of cheeses, we've started buying a block and grating it ourselves – so much better! Too many chemicals and not enough flavor in the pre-shredded kind, despite its convenience.) I had watched our food stylist/recipe creator make breakfast pizza a few months ago, and I remembered that she baked the crust partially before, since the eggs make it hard to cook all the way through. But anyway, it turned out amazing, though my food photography skills are seriously lacking. The idea to blog about it later came late, and then I didn't want to spend time setting up food photos... it's good while it's hot!

Next time we might try this gravy as sauce concept, though. Mad Donna's version used pita bread instead and cheddar cheese, and I'm not sure if any veggies were in the eggs. Breakfast or dinner, I love making homemade pizza because you can just throw in whatever is in your crisper.

Anyway, without further ado:

Breakfast Pizza

1 pre-cooked pizza crust (I used Mama Mia thin crust)
4-6 large eggs (could have used one or two more)
splash of milk
4 strips bacon (optional)
2 large mushrooms, sliced
parsley, chopped (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, diced
salt and pepper to taste
feta cheese crumbles
Monterey jack and mozzarella cheese, grated
Parmesan cheese

Follow directions on pizza crust. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and cook crust directly on rack for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Fry bacon in skillet and drain on paper towel when done.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs and milk together. Salt and pepper the eggs. Set aside.

Chop mushrooms, parsley and garlic. Sauté in olive oil for about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are done. Add egg mixture and scramble over low heat until eggs are no longer runny, but not cooked completely. Spoon egg mixture over crust.

Crumble up the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle over egg mixture. Then add a handful or two of feta over the bacon, and grate the mozzarella and Monterey jack directly onto the pizza. Top with Parmesan.

Following directions on pizza crust box, bake at 425 for 7 1/2-10 minutes directly on rack. (We put a baking sheet underneath to catch any wayward cheese.) Remove, let cool for 2-3 minutes and cut into slices. Eat and enjoy!