Mr. Pricklepants is looking forward to checking out my latest book buy — Ruhlman’s Twenty.

I’m not yet convinced that mexi-kota is an actual cuisine.

My first toaster oven lemon parmesan chicken breasts.

Hot mulled wine on a January Saturday night at the Clay Chalet.

In January there’s still time for heating up some fine mulled wine.

Awesomely-iPhone-friendly smarTouch winter gloves!

Found’m on clearance at Herberger’s for $12.99.

BBQ Pork Cabbage to go from the China Garden, Bismarck, North Dakota

Perfection.

You’ll get it.

♬ These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do, except on a day like today when they become boots that help me accomplish a controlled but rapidly-accellerating series of slides down my hilly driveway as I alternately steady myself and madly flail away with my shovel to clear the beady snow so that the ice underneath it can begin to burn off, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you. ♬

Simple pleasure.

My dashboard weather thingy indicates a bouncing weather alert of some sort.

Adtothebone Bacon!

Want the best bacon ever? Bake it. 

Here’s what I tried for the first time today after reading and mixing together several variations I found online:

Take a cookie pan.

Get enough aluminum foil to cover the pan.

Crinkle up the foil, then spread it back out and line the pan with it.

Place your uncooked bacon strips in the pan, making sure to leave a bit of space between each strip with no overlaps.

Sprinkle some brown sugar on the bacon.

Throw the pan into the oven (cold, not preheated) and turn the oven on to 400°F.

In around 15 minutes (give or take - check to make sure you get your desired level of crispiness), you’ll have some of the most delicious, almost-candied bacon of your life.

Bonus: No stovetop mess!

Warning: If you transfer the bacon to a plate with paper towels on it after you take them out of the oven, don’t wait too long or your glazed bacon will become one with the paper towels, Borg-style. I found that out the hard way. Also, if you go for a second round, drain the pan, use fresh foil and remember it’ll be ready faster than the first time because the oven’s already hot.

Pictured: The last two pieces of a pound of bacon. Omnomnomnom!