The Wisconsin State Fair offers multiple bacon items on a stick, including chocolate-covered bacon on a stick, deep-fried cream cheese with bacon on a stick, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts on a stick and bacon-wrapped shrimp tempura on a stick. But local Chef Brian Moran will dish up stick-less bacon dishes on Friday, Aug. 13 for Bacon Lovers' Day.

The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the Central Mall, which is across from the original Cream Puff Pavilion. Plus, the Patrick Cudahy Sweet Apple-Wood Barbershop Quartet will be performing throughout the day and Radio Disney will be on-site with activities for kids.

Moran is from the St. Paul Fish Company in the Milwaukee Public Market and he will perform cooking demonstrations -- and offer tastings -- of five unique recipes he's created using Patrick Cudahy Sweet Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon. The recipes include bacon apple pie, bacon apple muffins, Spanish tortillas with bacon, jalapeno appetizers with cheese and bacon and a BLT with scallops.

"I'll present five totally different concepts based on foods that everyone likes, such as pie and muffins," says Moran.

Moran has been a Milwaukee chef for more than 20 years. Prior to working at the St. Paul Fish Company in the Public Market he was employed by The Pfister Hotel.

Bacon-inclusive recipes are very popular in the world of modern cuisine, and recipes that combine bacon with dessert foods are particularly crowd pleasing. According to Moran, adding bacon to many of these recipes requires people to think about the food in a whole new way.

"These recipes are about trying new things. They are about adding a little bacon texture and flavor, which is not the same as eating it as a stand-alone food," he says. "It doesn't have to be heavy and predominant. It's about adding a small amount of it."

Patrick Cudahy has been located in the Midwest for more than 120 years. The company specializes in its signature sweet apple-wood smoking process. The slow-cooking process takes a full day and does not use liquid smoke.

"Sure it takes longer," reads the Patrick Cudahy Web site, "but we're fine with that because every time someone bites into a strip of our bacon they're enjoying the benefit of over 120 years of sweet smoky experience."

What does Moran say to consumers who are concerned by the nitrates, cholesterol or fat content in bacon?

"Everything in moderation," says Moran. "Bacon is as old as the world. And for a lot of people, bacon is a flavor from their childhood. And so a little bit of bacon is OK. It's about flavor and taste and enjoying a comfort food."