Bacon

The nerd in me says books but rest of me wants bacon. Mmm … bacon. Luke Broadwater, reporter, The Baltimore Sun A zombified Bea Arthur would add the celebrity element an event like this cries out for. Anne Tallent, editor, b Break dancing, just because. Wesley Case, reporter, b Bed, Bath & Beyond. Shopping is always more fun with a little Bourbon on board. Pick up some barware and napkins to wipe the BBQ sauce off your fingers.

This week's recipe is from Weight Watchers. Seems like a good recipe to make in a big batch and eat on all week. I know I love leftovers for lunch. If you have a healthy recipe you'd like to share please e-mail me at andrea.walker@baltsun.com .  1 pound uncooked asparagus, trimmed, cut into bite-sized pieces 12 oz uncooked whole wheat penne pasta 1 cup fresh tomatos chopped 2 Tbs chopped, fresh parsley 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar 3 slices uncooked reduced fat bacon cut into small pieces 2 large eggs beaten 1/2 tsp table salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 Tbs reduced-fat sour cream 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions: Boil asparagus in a large pot of water for 2 minutes.

How many degrees of separation are there between actor Kevin Bacon and the University of Maryland? Come April, just one. As part of a "Do Good" challenge, Bacon is asking College Park students to design projects aimed at promoting positive social change. Bacon and a panel of yet-to-be-named celebrity judges will pick the best projects from among six finalists during what is being billed as an "American Idol"-style competition April 18, with prizes going to the winners. "It's a small world, and it's easier to do good than you think," Bacon says in a recruitment video unveiled over the weekend at a Terps basketball game.

NAME : Lady OWNER : Don, Denise, Jeff and Kevin HOW THEY MET : Most outgoing puppy in the litter (hence her nickname Spunks) AGE: 14 HOME : Hampstead BREED : English Springer Spaniel BEST TRICK : Balancing a treat on her nose, tossing and catching it FAVORITE ACTIVITY : Belly rubs FAVORITE FOOD : Bacon FUNNIEST MOMENT : We had a yard sale and a customer was so impressed with Lady's repertoire of tricks that he wanted to buy her. MASTER OF HER DOMAIN : Lady believes that she rules all that she sees and barks when neighbors are in “her” yard.

To Baltimoreans by residence or in spirit, to Baltimoreans in need of comfort - that is, anyone with a corpuscle of love for the Ravens - I offer what works for me during any winter of discontent: coq au vin. The Super Bowl is a week away, and most of us will watch it, wondering what might have been had Billy Cundiff … or Lee Evans ... but never mind that. There are no comforting words for what happened last Sunday and what will happen next Sunday: our New England nemesis versus the New York franchise the Ravens trounced in the big game 11 long years ago. So let's try the coq au vin. Let me be clear: This is neither tailgate food nor a dish that requires a varsity letter in culinary arts.

An Poitin Stil offers the least expensive bison burger I've seen in these parts, at a penny under 10 bucks. I planned to check it out during this trip to the Timonium Irish pub. But then I saw the Backyard BBQ Burger ($8.99). The Backyard offers two types of cheeses, bacon, caramelized onions and homemade barbecue sauce for a dollar less than the bison burger. Those extras can cost you 75 cents apiece if you add them to the Stil's bison or angus burger. To keep this meal under $10 and still enjoy the civilizing effects of cheese and bacon, the Backyard was an easy choice.

George Bacon Rasin Jr., a former Kent County circuit judge who led a movement to modernize juvenile justice in Maryland, died of congestive heart failure Friday at the Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson. He was 94. "Judge Rasin was widely known and respected for his integrity, knowledge of the law and absolute fairness," said retired Baltimore County Circuit Judge John Fader, who was a friend. "He was a man who ran a very tight ship. " Born in Worton in Kent County, he was a 1937 graduate of Washington College and earned his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. After enlisting in the Army in September 1941, he was assigned as a special agent to the Counter-Intelligence Corps in the Division of Military Intelligence.

The dish: Chicken Wrap Deluxe, $8.95 at Crush Cafe Did they really grill this chicken? It had the yielding tenderness of rotisserie white meat. Rather than masking a poorly rendered main ingredient with competing tastes from lettuce, tomato and bacon, the kitchen seemed intent on making sure the whole was the sum of great parts. Swiss cheese played far off in the background. Romaine and tantalizing tomato strips struck a nice balance. In fact they were essential foils to the hearty sugar maple bacon that imparted too much sweetness to the vinaigrette.

Dinner at Grillfire, a new contemporary restaurant in the Arundel Preserve development, is not an intrinsically satisfying experience. The food is almost uniformly over-seasoned and entirely uninspired, and there is not a single moment, on or off the plate, that feels like it comes from a genuine creative impulse. Grillfire is an interesting restaurant to sit back and observe, with a skeptic's eye. Every detail feels like it's the result of consumer testing. When, you think, did edamame achieve permanent menu status in America, and what's with all the mango?