When my husband asks, “Did you know that Saturday is International Bacon Day?” what he is really doing is giving me a challenge. I have a hard time turning away from a challenge. I am a sucker. I awoke about six this morning and I stared at the ceiling thinking bacon-y thoughts. Breakfast was out. Sure, what could be more satisfying than a nice stack of buttermilk pancakes drowning in good ol’ NH maple syrup and a side of bacon? But really, I needed a new angle. I pondered new twists on the BLT, I considered bacon wrapped lobster chunks, and I recalled a post I’d seen on chocolate dipped bacon. I believe all these to have wonderful yumminess potential, but I didn’t want to do something I’d seen before.

I love savory pies. I have featured my salmon pie here before and we haven’t had it in a while. I usually do a lattice top crust on it. What if, instead of pie dough, the top “crust” was a lattice constructed of God’s gift to cardiac surgeons? I mentioned the idea to the hubby. A lustful glint filled his eyes. I had my plan.

I have finally become competent at making pie dough from scratch. I just use the “flaky crust” recipe from The Joy of Cooking. I started work on my traditional salmon pie recipe while the hubs pitched in and lightly browned the bacon on the stove. On top of it all I wove the bacon and put a light egg wash over the whole thing.  Finally, I popped it in a 350 degree oven for thirty minutes.

It smells amazing. I am serving it with corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes from the local farm stand. I am adding International Bacon Day to my permanent holiday schedule.

Today I went to see the movie. I will now confess that I enjoyed the movie too. It was more really good mac n’ cheese than coq au vin. It was comfort food. It was satisfying. It combined the things I love: food, writing, commitment, and the celebration of imperfection. It served them up with a big ol’ side of hope.

I left the theater and went the grocery store. Right now, the house is filled with the smell of garlic and roast chicken. I don’t claim to be an expert on the cinema. I don’t really claim to be an expert on anything. All I know is I watched the movie and then felt an overwhelming need to cook. I give this film two thumbs up and those thumbs are covered in garlic-y, buttery goodness.

I have not given up on bread, I have just been busy. This recipe is a keeper. I used the focaccia recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and divided it into three sections. I froze two of the sections and put the other in the fridge overnight. The next day I took the dough from the fridge and gave it about three and a half hours to come to temperature. I caramelized a bunch of Bermuda onions and cut stems of rosemary from my window herb garden. I cooked it on my new bread stone and the results were super yummy.

A few days later, I took one of the dough balls from the freezer and gave it most of the day to defrost and proof. That night, I baked it on the stone for five minutes in a 500 degree oven and then topped it with seasonal tomatoes, fresh basil, zucchini, onions, goat cheese, and parmesan. Then I stuck it back in the oven until everything was golden and bubbly. It made fresh and wonderful pizza. I plan on always keeping some dough in the freezer. This recipe knocked the socks off any prepared doughs I’ve used. Now, I just need to master the cool dough tossing thing. My attempts left me with a dough hat; neither hygienic nor attractive.