I floated into Baconfest Chicago on a wing and a prayer, with pounds of crispy King Creole spiced Nueske’s bacon poached chicken wings…

?…maybe this sign should read “SOLD OUT – BACON HOLDERS ONLY“

…from the balcony inside the Stan Mansion I saw a swarm of people, like drone bacon lovin’ bees gobbling up royal bacon jelly …

…I slugged down a Bakon Vodka Bloody Mary complete with bacon stirrer…

 …full of liquid bacon courage, I headed into the buzzing crowd to try some amazing pork laden creations.

Figuring it’s best to start with dessert when at Baconfest, I dug into Vanilla Bacon Ice Cream with Aji Amarillo Caramel Sauce and Bacon Cotton Candy by Chef Gilbert Langlois from Chalkboard…

…I licked my lips and the bowl, then I begged for more of this fantastic combination of bacony flavors! 

My sweet tooth sang while I oinked down a Bacon-Snickers Bar by Chef Derek Simcik from the Atwood Cafe…

…which was served with a refreshing cold cappuccino shot. 

The crunchy bacon in the cool snickeralike was unbelievable.  They should make a commercial where Chef Derek accidentally drops some bacon into a snickers then discovers the holy grail of frozen treats!

My belly growled for more.  I wanted something that would quench the overwhelming hunger induced by all the amazing bacony aromas around me… and oh boy did I find it!

…Texas Millionaire Hominy made with Lula’s Own House Made Bacon, Pork Belly from Gunthrop Farms, Hominy from 3 Sisters Garden, Jalapeno Peppers, and Prairie Breeze Cheddar Cheese by Chef Jason Hammel from Lula Cafe.

The porky cheesy hominy was just what I needed, bursting with smoky bacon flavor just perfect with the delicate hominy and tangy cheddar cheese. It stuck to my ribs like bbq sauce on grilled babybacks.

I was rooting around for another bacon concoction when Andre called me to the stage with the rest of my competition in the Nueske’s Ameteur Cook-Off .

We were introduced to the happy crowd of Baconaholics then I nervously explained that my Creole Bacon Poached Wings tasted like a pig’s wing, when pigs can fly.  At least it got a few laughs…

Alas, it was not my year to bring home the Golden Rasher Trophy, but I had a lot of fun trying.  Congrats to Tina Bennett!   Her Bacon Strip Cookies recipe made her the Bacon Queen of Chicago for the day…

Thanks to Nueske’s for sponsorinhg the amateur cook-off and for giving me an excellent consolation prize…

The BBQ Grill Set is top notch and will definitely come in handy as I grill their tasty applewood smoked Bacon and Beef Sausages.

Thanks to Andre and the fine folks who organized Baconfest Chicago, it sure did sizzle!

Thanks to the kind spicemasters at The Spice House for featuring my recipe on their blog.  Their wonderful spices are the secret ingredients that make my recipes shine bright with flavor.

Thanks to Guy Fieri for letting me try out his Knuckle Sandwich Knives.  Cutting up several pounds of chicken wings was really easy with my Dragon Dagger…

Wow, all this talk about bacon is making me hungry again, I’m gonna go fry some up…(could I say bacon one more time?)

I’ll write more soon about the other bacon concoctions I tried and the cool bacon schwag I brought home to try out.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Brad