"bacon" news and stories

It can be easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to side dishes, so if you're looking for something other than steamed broccoli or mixed frozen veggies, try this Sautéed Cabbage with Bacon. The bacon gives the tender cabbage a deep, smoky flavor that's perfect alongside pork chops or a pork tenderloin.

Get the Sautéed Cabbage with Bacon recipe.

• Foodies and scientists cooked up a great course at Harvard last fall.
• Remember all those great meals you had in 2010? Those were the days (of poutine and Scotch eggs).
• Recall a more refined era with some tea and scones.
• One Massachusetts purveyor is selling candied bacon sticks -- because "people like bacon." (You don't say!)

Salty bacon and earthy cremini mushrooms nestled in pastry are pretty pleasing in their own right, but they're also easy-to-eat-while-standing-with-a-Martini-glass-in-your-hand food. The savory tarts are part of KitchenDaily contributor Alexis Touchet's New Year's Eve Cocktail Party Menu, which also includes Roasted Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce, and eight other appetizers and drinks.

And stay tuned later today for our post on Bargain Bubblies.

Mushroom Bacon Tart Recipe

"Away in an oven just kraut for his bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his meat head."

Yes, folks, the traditional manger's in danger with this meaty makeover on the classic crèche. Mary and Joseph are made of sausages and cloaked in turkey cold cuts, while the Three Weiner Wise Guys sport tin-foil crowns. Christ himself is a mini chipolata, and he ain't gonna freeze this year -- his new Bethle-HAM is set to 350 degrees.

"Heart-smart" bacon? "Healthy" hamburger? Monsanto thinks it's found a way to make red meat better for you, and that's got some overseas environmental activists worried.

The biotech giant has genetically engineered a type of soybean that contains a plant-based version of omega-3, the fatty acid that has been shown to improve cardiovascular health. Omega-3 is typically found in seafood; hence, all those recommendations to eat more fish.

But what if you could ditch the salmon fillet and get your dose of omega-3 from, say, sausage instead?

That's exactly what Monsanto had in mind when it began replacing regular soybean feed with its omega-3 enhanced soybeans and feeding it to livestock. The result? Meat that contained higher levels of omega-3.