THE PINK PIG BLT & FRIES

BLT and Fries Overview

What’s better than a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich? BLT and fries is a summer treat when you can find a good Creole or Heirloom tomato.

The Tomatoes

Of course, there is no such thing as a tomato that is as good as the ones my grandmother Lucille Willingham used to grow. We used to stand over the kitchen sink, bite into them and let the juices run down our chins. Those Big Boy tomatoes were grown in rich Alabama dirt – they were thin skinned, fat and sooo juicy. Mealy, tasteless grocery store tomatoes just don’t compare.

And, while we are on the subject of my grandmother and tomatoes, I remember seeing her peel a tomato with a knife, moving the tomato in one hand and expertly getting that peel off with a knife that probably wasn’t even very sharp (I certainly never saw a knife sharpener in her kitchen). She could get that peel off without nicking the meat, and then she would slice the peeled tomatoes, arrange them on a plate, salt them and serve them alongside beans or peas, greens from her garden and a skillet of cornbread.

I remember the SMELL of the vegetables from her garden. Before they were rinsed off they smelled like dirt, a bit of fertilizer and SUN. As kids we had no idea how talented a farmer, botanist and gardener my grandmother was. She could have taught Martha Stewart a lot! Her variegated irises were gorgeous, and people came from miles around to buy them!

But on occasion, when I see a good Heirloom tomato, I am reminded of Lucille’s tomatoes and how lucky my sister and I were to be able to spend time with our grandparents when we were little. I don’t know why I didn’t acquire a green thumb, but I didn’t. Maybe I got a little bit of my love of cooking from her, though. I think she would have enjoyed my BLT and fries!

The Bacon

Now – about the bacon. I didn’t feel like frying bacon in my kitchen, so I fired up the Pink Pig Traeger grill and cooked the bacon for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. It was DELICIOUS.