The aroma of sizzling bacon is more than just a signal of the start to a day. The beloved breakfast meat remains a favorite in countless time-honored recipes, but it also has found its way into many unconventional recipes by creative cooks.

Bacon with nachos, stuffed tomatoes, crab cakes, zucchini fritters and squash tartlets, have added variety to the party appetizer menu.

Bacon lovers are going hog wild and taking a second look at chocolate covered bacon strips, chocolate cupcakes piled high with cream cheese frosting and topped with candied bacon or a pineapple and bacon upside down cake.

The slightly salty and crunchy taste of bacon adds to the caramelized brown sugar and the sweet-tart combination of pineapple to provide a different twist to the classic pineapple upside down cake dessert.

Grilled pineapple, asparagus and string beans wrapped in bacon provides variety to an afternoon cookout.

Bacon strips are getting an added touch of flavor as chefs get creative in the kitchen. Strips of bacon brushed with maple syrup and brown sugar or strips infused with a combination of herbs lend a different taste to the all-time favorite. Of course, there is a Cajun version of the bacon strip brushed with a mixture of brown sugar and Cajun spices before it is cooked.

“Everything tastes better wrapped in bacon. It is certainly not healthy, but it sure is good,” said Butch Bourgeois.

“There is just something about mixing sweet and salty. It’s the same as a salty pretzel dipped in chocolate.”

Bourgeois, who devotes much of his spare time to cooking for fundraisers to benefit Teche Area organizations, often relies on bacon for that added flavor.

“Bacon and Steen’s syrup are two ingredients that I’m never without,” said the Jeanerette cook.

One of Bourgeois’ specialties is grilled venison backstrap with shrimp wrapped in bacon. Four large bacon-wrapped shrimp sprinkled with Cajun seasoning are skewered around the backstrap and grilled. The entrée is not only tasty, but creates an appealing presentation.

“The back strap is the rib-eye of venison so it doesn’t take long to grill,” he said.

Bourgeois had recently served his specialty dish to judges of the annual Festival of Oaks Barbecue Cook-off and was awarded a third-place in the Roadkill Division.

For a spicy appetizer for a Friday night cookout with family and friends, Bourgeois often prepares bacon-wrapped grilled jalapeño peppers stuffed with chicken tenders and cream cheese.

Another of Bourgeois’ grill-pleasers is a boneless chicken thigh wrapped in bacon and grilled until crispy.

Ernie Valls of New Iberia has a delicacy of his own that gets a few oohs and aahs from family and friends.

Valls’ grilled duck breast appetizers are always a crowd-pleaser. Bundled within a slice of bacon are chunks of duck breast, a dab of cream cheese, onion, pineapple and jalapeño pepper for that extra kick — all grilled to perfection.

“This is one of my favorites. The duck breast and bacon are a good combination,” he said.