Lost? About a year ago, I would have been. But thanks to the brilliance of Alton Brown, I understand thermo dynamics–and you can, too!

Thermo-wha?

Here’s the deal: If you’re looking to thaw/defrost something and a microwave is either unavailable or, well it pretty much ruins your food so I wouldn’t bother, what would you do? I won’t try to explain it because I can’t do a better job than Mr. Brown himself.

This is a snippet of the Good Eats episode, “What’s Up, Duck?” but I’m not interested in the duck part–today. Fast forward to 5:00 into the video for the most important cooking lesson every amateur chef needs to know. You can stop at 9:35 if you’re too aren’t into duck for the time being.

I will only add that at this very minute, I’m trying this technique by myself for the first time, and it’s working like a charm. (I’ve seen Frank, who introduced me to this, do this over and over again, but I wanted to give this a shot on my own.)

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The cool folks at Slate.com who put the following video together, however, think bacon has had its 15 minutes of fame. (Hat tip to Grub Street)

If bacon is less popular for the cool crowd, I’ve never been happier to not be a hipster.

Yes, bacon as pop culture icon might be gone for now. In my kitchen–and the kitchens of those who like fun and are wise–bacon lives.

What do you think: passing fad or culinary sine qua non? Discuss.

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