Bacon/9 recipes

Hearty Tuscan bean soup with pancetta, sage, and ditalini pasta simmered in chicken broth. This rustic Italian pasta e fagioli feeds a crowd with creamy cannellini beans and sharp Romano cheese.

Hungarian-style peasant potato soup built on a paprika-tinted blond roux with cubed potatoes, carrots, tomato, and green pepper. Simple pantry ingredients, deep flavor.

Twice-baked potato 'boats' stuffed with scrambled eggs, ham, zucchini, red pepper, and Parmesan. A hearty handheld brunch dish that delivers the eggs-and-hash-browns combo in one shell.

Pan-roasted whole quail stuffed with pancetta, sage, and juniper berries, finished with a gin and white wine pan sauce. A masterchef-level wild game main course in 30 minutes.

Hot cowboy beans: pinto beans simmered low and slow with salt pork, ham hock, onion, jalapeños, and chili powder. A Texas chuckwagon classic that gets better every day.

New York-style clam chowder with hard clams, salt pork, potatoes, carrots, canned tomatoes, and thyme in a clear broth. The tomato-based cousin of New England chowder.

Rinderrouladen are classic German beef rolls stuffed with Dijon mustard, dill pickles, bacon, and onion then braised in beef broth. Served with a rich pan gravy for a traditional Sunday dinner.

Authentic Texas border chili with coarsely ground beef shank, chorizo, fresh serranos, and toasted cumin seeds simmered 4 to 6 hours in pureed tomatoes and beer. No beans. No apologies. This is the real thing.

Buttermilk-soaked, double-dredged chicken fried steak with a peppery white gravy loaded with crispy bacon lardons and fresh thyme. Cast iron skillet cooking at its finest.

Famous Jodeen sausage, a bold Wyoming-style homemade sausage loaded with garlic, jalapeno, cumin, sage, and a hit of liquid smoke. Blend with pork fat for juicy, spicy patties or links, great for wild game.

A two-meat chili with cubed pork and beef, pinto beans, green chiles, jalapenos, cumin, and red wine. Simmered low and slow in a Dutch oven, thickened with tortilla flour for serious body.

Hungarian Szekely goulash with braised pork shoulder, sausage, and sauerkraut simmered for hours with paprika, caraway, and sour cream. A hearty Central European comfort stew.

Refined split pea soup with fresh sorrel, ham hock, lemon, and cream, puréed silky smooth and strained. Serve it piping hot in winter or well chilled as an elegant summer starter.

Holiday appetizer quiche baked in a sheet pan with Swiss cheese, ham, scallions, and pimentos in a buttery cracker crust. Cut into 50 small squares for easy party finger food.

Classic beefsteak and kidney pie with claret-marinated kidneys, browned beef, and mushrooms baked under a golden pastry crust. Traditional British pub fare done right at home.

Boudin blanc de Liege, a delicate homemade white pork sausage. Lean pork and fat pureed silky with eggs, Port and aromatic spiced milk, dotted with currants, poached gently then browned in butter.