In this exuberant parade of pork fat, there is no doubting the flap copy when it states that Villas, former food editor for Town & Country
, has been “beguiled by bacon since he was a boy.” However, Villas's statement in his preface that staunch vegetarians and non-pork-eating religious traditionalists are “haunted instinctively by the sensuous, irresistible enticement” is about as nutty as his Bacon-Almond Cheese Spread (made with cottage cheese and chives). Nonetheless, there's plenty good to be had in these pages. An introductory chapter explains the difference between Salt Pork and Pancetta, Paprikaspeck and Bauchspeck, and provides a thorough list of mail-order sources. Breakfast choices range from a nifty ole Bacon Scrapple to a rich French Cheese and Bacon soufflé. There's a BLT, of course, but most of his other sandwiches go to extremes with ingredients like Jamaican smoked fish. For those who sometimes eat vegetables, there is Lima Bean and Bacon Casserole, and several amalgams mix a menagerie of meats, as in the Spanish Chicken, Bacon, Meatball and Chickpea Stew. Of the six dessert recipes, bacon-wrapped figs work, but Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles would be hard-pressed to create “irresistible enticement” in even the heartiest of carnivores. (Oct.)
