Heather Lauer authors a popular food blog called Bacon Unwrapped devoted to -- what else? -- bacon.  The hyper-specialization possible in the world of food blogs is on full display here.  Where else can you read about bacon whiskey?  Or see a video of a chef making Tempura Bacon -- that's right, deep fried battered bacon.

Fortunately, Heather agreed to answer a few questions for Cork & Knife, so we can perhaps learn just where this obsession comes from and where it may be headed.

So why write a blog about bacon?

Bacon Unwrapped started as a joke between me and my brothers, but it quickly took on a life of its own.  Once I really started to dig into the topic, I began to realize that a lot of people really do love bacon and there is something about the topic that gets people excited.  You can have fun with bacon in ways that you can’t have fun with most other food topics.  It appeals to everyone from top chefs to home cooks.  There is just so much material to work with and it never gets old.

What’s the strangest use of bacon you have ever seen or heard?

I’ve reached an unusual (or as I like to think, “enlightened”) point in my life where there are very few uses for bacon that seem strange to me.  But the one area that really hasn’t been explored yet is bacon in drinks.  A friend of mine experimented with bacon infused whisky last year…the experiment didn’t turn out so well, but we’re still working on it.  There is a bar in Las Vegas that serves a bacon martini – I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve read some mixed reviews about it, mostly negative.  Using meat - bacon specifically - in cocktails will probably never be mainstream, but I have to think that someone can come up with a right way to do it.

What’s the best bacon dish you have ever had (at restaurant or at home)?

There’s no way I could pick just one.  But if I had to choose a few off the top of my head, it would be the tempura bacon or bacon risotto at David Greggory in DC, the bacon wrapped shrimp at Richardson’s in Phoenix, or the BLT I make myself.

What do you like drinking best with bacon?

Definitely Pinot Noir.  The bold, smoky flavors complement bacon quite nicely.  Sometimes the Pinot Noir itself even tastes like bacon.

Which do you prefer: cooking in or eating out?

I love eating out and discovering new favorite restaurants.  But because of my schedule, I eat out a lot.  So there is nothing better to me than a home cooked meal.  I recently moved into a new house in Phoenix with a kitchen that is great for entertaining and cooking simultaneously.  I love having a few friends over to hang out in the kitchen and drink cocktails while I cook dinner.  It’s both relaxing and mentally stimulating.

What’s the scariest thing you have in your fridge right now?

Because of my schedule, the contents of my refrigerator are often limited to beverages and condiments.  So it’s the combination of things that is weird more than anything specific.  Before I went to the grocery store this morning, the contents were yeast, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, dill pickles, chocolate syrup, and bloody mary mix.  I don’t even drink bloody mary mix – I have no idea how it got there.

What would your last meal be?

My mom’s egg casserole, a slice of the beef tenderloin my uncle makes for Christmas dinner, a scoop of white rice (if I weren’t blogging about bacon, I’d be blogging about rice…my other favorite food), my Grandma Lauer’s garlic dill pickles, fresh corn on the cob, a juicy heirloom tomato, and last but not least, a thick slice of Applewood smoked bacon cooked firmly but not too crispy.  And if time permitted, I’d toss in the miso blackened cod from Nobu.  How’s that for random.  All of those things together as a meal make absolutely no sense, but individually these are the foods I regularly crave.  I’d probably have to spread it out over 48 hours to enjoy it.

What are you favorite food blogs?

I love Russell Davies’ Egg, Bacon, Chips and Beans.  His book of the same name is an absolute riot, and his dry sense of humor makes you want to visit the British cafes he writes about, but only if he’ll join you for the meal.  In terms of DC blogs, I like Metrocurean because of her “Five Bites on Fridays.”  She asks readers to submit a list of their 5 favorite dishes from DC restaurants – it’s fun to keep up on what others are enjoying and how it compares to my own favorites.  Michael Ruhlman’s blog is always entertaining, especially when Anthony Bourdain guest blogs.  And The Girl Who Ate Everything has a quirky sense of humor that I can totally relate to.  It makes me laugh.

I understand you’re working on a book.  What can you tell us about that?

It’s still really early in the process, so there isn’t much I can say yet.  But assuming everything comes together the way I hope it does, it will be the most comprehensive book about bacon to date.  And I plan to involve a lot of other people who love bacon just as much as I do.

Ask yourself a question and answer it.

A topic of ongoing debate is about the best way to cook bacon.  I personally go between frying it in a cast iron skillet and baking it in the oven.  It depends on how I’m using the bacon.  The only method I really don’t like is microwaving it.  But I know people who swear by it.

One final question: crispy or tender?

If I’m eating a strip of bacon on its own, then tender with just a slight crisp.  Crispy bacon is good but I also like a little bit of juiciness.