FN Dish – Food Network Blog: Go behind-the-scenes at Food Network featuring your favorite chefs, shows, recipes, events and more.

Bacon-Jalapeño Stuffing from FoodNetwork.com

Almost everyone loves bacon, whether you call it American pork-belly, Canadian bacon, French lardons, or Italian pancetta. In twelfth century England, couples who could last more than a year without arguing were awarded a side of bacon—an enviable prize that lead to the phrase “bringing home the bacon.” Be the hero of your dinner table with some of our favorite bacon recipes.

Emeril’s classic Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Almonds are simple to prepare and make an elegant starter for an evening of holiday entertaining. Warm cheese, sweet fruit and crispy pork meld in a satisfying way that your guests will remember for many holidays to come.

For a lighter take on bacon, give the traditional stuffed potato a healthy makeover with Ellie Krieger’s Broccoli and Cheddar-Stuffed Potato Skins with Avocado Cream from The Cooking Channel. Savory Canadian bacon creates a crunchy topping for the garlicky avocado cream.

Spice up your Thanksgiving table with a savory Bacon-Jalapeño Stuffing. This cornbread dressing with bacon and cheese should please even the pickiest eaters in your family.

For an easy weeknight dinner, nothing beats Bacon and Lentil Soup from Food2.com. Versatile soups like this are a great way to use up small amounts of leftover meat or vegetables. Make a big batch tonight and have it for lunch tomorrow.

And for a truly different sort of treat, there are Maple Bacon Cupcakes from Food.com. Minced bacon is folded into a sweet batter that also includes bacon drippings, topped off with maple syrup-infused frosting. Is it breakfast, dessert or something in between? You decide.

This year, try a new Thansgiving side, like Glazed Carrots and Turnips.

We’re teaming up with other food and garden bloggers to host Fall Fest 2010, a season-long garden party. Each week we’ll feature favorite garden-to-table recipes and tips to help you enjoy the bounty, whether you’re harvesting your own goodies or buying them fresh from the market. To join in, check out awaytogarden.com.

Thanksgiving is all about traditions – roasted turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, grandma’s pumpkin pie – but don’t be afraid to add new life to the traditional feast with a few new stand-out sides. (Here are 50+ if you want to start browsing now!) For a little something different, reach for one of these three often overlooked root veggies – turnips, rutabagas and parsnips – in season and oh so tasty.

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Cue the Popcorn - Image Courtesy Food Network Magazine

Pop Goes the Kernel: If you’ve 12 seconds to spare, use them to watch the moment when a single kernel of corn explodes into the popped puff we love to pour butter over. It’s a dramatic coming-of-age tale, told by the folks at Modernist Cuisine, who slowed down the transformative moment to 6,200 frames per second. [eater.com]

Green Machines: Now that vending machines are dispensing fresh produce, why not create ones that actually grow them? Japanese company Dentsu has crafted exactly that, and no sunlight is even required. Take that, science! One of these portable garden machines can grow up to 20,000 heads of lettuce per year, and it only costs $90,000. [re-nest.com]

Would You Like to See the Wine iPad? Clunky paper wine lists are so 2009. Now, some restaurants are going digital with their wine selections, uploading the whole shebang to an iPad from which patrons can click to see specific details for each bottle. How will this trend translate to wine sales? One sommelier says it won’t. “Looking at the iPad is great,” Hong Kong’s L’Atelier’s sommelier Benoît Allauzen tells the Wall Street Journal. “But it is still the sommelier who gives you his services to introduce the wine.” [blogs.wsj.com] [Food Network Mobile]

Here’s our round-up of food news, trends and happenings across the web. Check back for more, and tell us what else you’re loving in the comments.

Chef Chauhan's one regret about her final dish: Adding pineapple. "It was the jinx fruit for each and every eliminated contestant so far!"

What did you take away from the experience of competing on The Next Iron Chef?
I walked away feeling that there was little that I couldn’t face and conquer. Some of the situations that we were put in were challenging to say the least, and being able to overcome these obstacles gave me the strength and resilience to believe in facing anything that comes in front of me with grace and pride. Even though those three weeks were stressful, and an emotional roller coaster if I’ve ever been on one, it made me a much stronger person and I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything. I walked away from this competition feeling richer in experience, in friends and in life.

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Although "his plating could use a few more contemporary touches," Chef Tsai edged Chef Canora into second place this week.

Next Iron Chef judge Simon Majumdar joins us on the FN Dish each week to share his insider’s take on what went down Sunday night.

There is only so far that enthusiasm, tenacity and a good spirit will get you in a competition such as The Next Iron Chef. To date, Chef Chauhan had showed those qualities in abundance. She had also shown a great deal of culinary talent. However, as we reached the midway point on the road to selecting a new incumbent for Kitchen Stadium, the gap in technical skill between her and her rivals became more apparent.

The Chairman’s challenge, to create an American menu from all four points of the compass, was the toughest yet and the stakes were raised even higher when Alton informed the surviving six that the reward for pleasing the judges was a trip to America’s new dining wonderland, Las Vegas. It was obvious, from their expressions, that no one wanted to be the one to miss out on the party.

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Caramel was Chef Duskie Estes’ downfall this week on The Next Iron Chef (as you can tell just by looking at her attempt at a caramel apple, below). Here’s how to have it not be yours.

When Chef Estes couldn't get her caramel to heat up properly on the grill, she tried sticking the pot in the fryer. Not a good idea.

Caramel is made by heating sugar until all of the inherent moisture evaporates and the molecules break down and re-form. It’s a tricky process, but it’s not hard to do once you have the basics down:

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Chocolate-Stout Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, decorated with sanding sugar and gummy candy. Photo: Michael Buffardi

Just as important as the question, “What are you dressing up as for Halloween?” is “What are you dressing your cupcakes up as for Halloween?” Take a break from your last-minute Halloween prep and get inspired by some of the best-dressed Halloween cupcakes out there.

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Chef Jose Garces's winning moment on Season 2 of The Next Iron Chef

Chef Jose Garces won Season 2 of The Next Iron Chef, and this Sunday he’ll join the judges’ panel to critique the efforts of our current rivals. We caught up with the newest Iron Chef about being in the rivals’ shoes just one year ago and what he’s been up to since his big win.

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Claire Robinson's Dark and Spooky - Image Courtesy Food Network Magazine

It’s hard to believe that Halloween is almost upon us! Whether you plan on trick-or-treating with the kids or celebrating with more experienced Halloweeners, these frightfully festive drinks will get every ghost and goblin in the spirit.

Try these Halloween cocktails – if you dare….

A fresh caramel apple taking a spin through the toppings bar

I became addicted to caramel apples while visiting my parents’ fall festival, Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, last weekend. In three days, I ate more caramel apples than I care to admit: for breakfast, for late-night snacks and just for fun! Nothing satisfies cravings for sweets better than crisp, juicy apples dipped in luscious, buttery caramel. It’s the perfect Halloween treat.

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