Everything's Better With Bacon

1 Package of Wheat Angel Hair
1/2 Pound Shrimp
1 Pound Swiss Chard
1/2 cup mushrooms - diced
1/2 Pound Bacon
2 tbls of Unsalted Butter
2 tbls Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Last week, I'd jumped back in the kitchen and whipped up a fresh and easy pasta dish with bok choy and bamboo. It was good, filling and yet I knew that it needed something. It needed extra flavors to take it to where it really needed to be. Enter my two favorite things in the refrigerator - bacon and shrimp.

Normally all that's needed is one of these heavyweights, but when you bring them both to the party, it's like well bacon and shrimp. No need to get all pretty with language. It's frigging shrimp and bacon. Since i was dressing this up, I also decided to swap out the bok choy's delicate flavors for something that wanted to take part in this forbidden dance -- Swiss Chard. I know, I know the Swiss are known for not wanting to get involved in disputes, but should not forget that what they do, they do well. Chocolate, banking, watch making and chard.

The bitterness of the chard is a welcome compliment to the rich flavors of the shrimp, bacon and butter and we also need some foliage to assist in digestion so it's a win win!

So off we go.

Method:
Boil pasta to package specifications.

Clean and shell shrimp. I often grab big bags of frozen shrimp from the mega mart. They are flash frozen and really who has the time to run off to the store all the time? So run these under cool water to defrost. Shell them, cover and set aside.

I admit that this sounds strange but when I saw my idol, Alton Brown, do this the other day I couldn't do anything but laugh and shake my head. If you happen to have a waffle maker, you'll get a kick out of this -- cook your bacon in it. That's right. You take that half pound of bacon, slice those long strips in half and place them in the waffle maker. It's just like using a panini press except smaller. Turn it on medium, toss those bad boys on and wait for the sizzle. It should really only take three to four minutes to cook.

Once done set on a paper covered plate to drain. One great thing to appreciate about this method is the lack of grease flying everywhere and the easier clean up. Roughly chop once all of the pieces are cooked and dry. Set aside.

Now grab your chard, lay the leaves on top of each other, cut off the stems at the base of the leaf, roll into a cigar and then slice thinly (chiffonade) and throw into your salad spinner to clean. It could take a few whirls to get all of the dirt out so be patient. Pre-heat a wok or large skillet and insert butter, olive oil, mushroom, greens and garlic powder.

Toss together until greens wilt and soften, roughly four minutes. Remove from heat and place in a bowl for later. using the same wok/skillet, cook shrimp with a bit of salt and pepper. There should still be reside of butter and olive oil in the pan to help with the browning process. Throw in bacon pieces and toss again and then add greens and thoroughly combine.

By this time the pasta should be ready to go. Again, plating is up to you but I prefer to have the majority of the creation atop and in the middle of the pasta.