Bacon Alternative – Pork Chop Egg Sandwich

Pork Chop Egg Sandwich

As you all may have read in our Happy Birthday post, one of TastingBuds, Sondra, is pregnant. This has led to quite a change in the eating habits around the Vallejo house. The crackling smell of bacon that was once familiar, is now a distant memory. Well, I needed some bacon, or something like it, so I came up with a quick recipe that was a great “healthy” alternative to bacon!

I took a left over grilled pork chop and sliced it lengthwise so that it closely resembled bacon. Note: I’ve also done this recipe using raw thick cut pork loin, but grilling it first gives it more flavor. I then spiced each side with salt, pepper, and paprika. I heated up a little olive oil in a saute pan, placed my bacon alternative in the pan and let it sizzle away. The results? An excellent combination crispy, caramelized, smokey, spicy, and very lean. The texture was crunchy, with a slight chewiness and the perfect addition to my fried egg sandwich.

Enjoy!!

-Jon

Austin Cupcake Smackdown 2.0 Jaffa Cake Eating Contest + How to Break a World Record

How much food can you cram into your face in 60 seconds? That was the question 14 brave souls tried to answer at Cupcake Smackdown 2.0 during an attempt to break a World Record for eating the most Jaffa Cakes in a minute.

The contestants came in confident, as the bar seemed to be set pretty low at only 8 jaffa cakes in the allotted time. However, soon after the contest began, reality set in and everyone knew that this would be a tough record to beat.

Click through to see more pictures and learn how you might break a world record!

Photos From 3 Restaurants around Austin, the Capital of Texas – Food Photo Friday

We’ve been busy and haven’t had time to blog all the cool food happenings around town! So this Food Photo Friday we are going to catch up a bit by highlighting photos from 3 restaurants in the Austin area: Maudie’s new Hill Country location by the Galleria, Fogo de Chao downtown, and downtown Indian trailer G’raj Mahal.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy our pretty photos… I’m warning you though, you might get hungry.

Click through to seer a feast for the eyes!

Austin Daily Press of “The Great Food Truck Race” Interview

  • Amy Hildenbrand and Cory Nunez of Austin Daily Press

Foodies, chances are that you have spent time on the couch watching a Food Network show or five. Well get ready, because you’re about to get one more reason to park it in front of the TV, namely Food Network’s newest show “The Great Food Truck Race” premiering Sunday, August 15th 2010 at 10pm/9c.

One of the teams that competed in the coast-to-coast race runs hometown food trailer Austin Daily Press. I stopped by to chat with fellow Atlanta transplant now living Austin and co-owner of Austin Daily Press, Cory Nunez, about his favorite bars in Atlanta, the upcoming Food Network show, and his approach to running a business.

Click through to read the interview with Austin Daily Press

Happy Birthday & TastingBuds Year In Review

We almost didn’t realize it until someone asked how long the blog has been around, but the TastingBuds Blog is over a year old! To celebrate we’ll recap some of our favorite posts, photos, and favorite moments from the past year!

Thanks to all of our readers for visiting the blog and we’re grateful for the friendships we’ve made on the Internet and in real life as well.

Click through to celebrate with us!