Indulging My Sweet Tooth

I normally don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I recently indulged a bit while attending The Broke Socialite Does...Sugar Coma Festival.  The event brought some of Atlanta's best bakeries, caterers, ice cream shops and restaurants together under one roof (Le Fais do-do on Atlanta's westside).   Since I'd missed previous tours, I figured that I needed to have the full Sugar Coma experience at least once.  This was the perfect venue and opportunity to do so!

Talk about sensory overload-I didn't know where to start sampling!  The venue was jam packed with everything from cakes and pastries to truffles and tarts.  Cotton candy, petit fours, little marshmallows, brownies, and cupcakes.  Tons and tons of cupcakes.  Cupcakes as far as the eye could see...

Somehow I made my way to the Peacecake table, which is where I began my sampling.  I was really impressed with the Vegan & Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes and their Gluten Free Brownies.  Delicious stuff!  You can order their Organic, Vegan & Gluten free brownie, muffin, cupcake and cookie mixes online at their website, www.mypeacecake.com.

There were so many treats to sample and after a few I'd had my limit (I tihnk I may have suffered from Red Velvet Overload).  Among my favorites:  a mini pear frangipane tart from Konfections by Kristina,  the Whoopie Pies from West Egg Café, and a wonderfully refreshing Meyer Lemon Sorbet from High Road Craft Ice Cream and Sorbet (love!).   I'm kind of kicking myself for not sampling their Citrus Ginger sorbet (which received raves from several Sugar Coma Fest attendees).  A delicious Patrón Margarita cupcake from CEO Custom Cakes (purchased at the Sugar Coma Marketplace) was the perfect ending to a sweet afternoon.

The Sticky Pig Candy Project

With this Saturday being International Bacon Day, I thought it would be fitting to devote my very first blog post to this wonderful pork product. Not long ago, the fantastic food blogger my last bite (who I follow on Twitter) posted a link to a recipe for "Sticky Pig Candy Stripes" found here. As a lover of bacon and the "sweet & salty" combo, I knew I had to give this a try. Last Sunday, I carved out a little time to do just that!

I used 1/2 cup of turbinado sugar along with 1/4 tsp each of cayenne pepper and ground ginger to make the spiced sugar mixture.  You really don't need to add any more than 1/4 tsp of each spice.  This amount gives it just enough of a "kick".

The oven is preheated to 400°F, and I lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper per recipe instructions.  I decided to go with thick sliced bacon this time.  I carefully applied about a teaspoon of the spiced sugar mixture onto each bacon slice, trying to avoid spilling excess sugar onto the parchment paper.

Into the oven for about 20 minutes (or until sugar has melted and bacon is crisp).  I ended transferring the bacon to another clean sheet of parchment paper (to get rid of any excess grease) before returning it to the oven to finish cooking.

There you have it!  The finished product was sticky, salty, sweet and delicious.  The cayenne and ginger add just the right amount of bite to offset the sweetness.  I might give this a go with regular sliced bacon next time-I think it will make for a crispier finished product.  I'll just have to be extra careful watching it so that it doesn't burn.

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