I ordered some back issues of The Baking Sheet from King Arthur. The recipe is in the Autumn 2009 issue. The recipe has bacon, blue cheese, Parmesan, yogurt, green onions, and Dijon mustard. I used thick sliced peppered bacon, creole mustard, and Greek yogurt. We rarely eat bacon, and I abhor frying it. Even when I use a screen, it just seems to go all over the place, and I always end up with at least one burn from the bacon grease. So I did some research. I thought about cooking it on my electric griddle, but thought that would be just as messy. I read numerous reviews of cooking it in the oven. I've got to say, I'm a believer. I will never "fry" bacon any other way. 350 degree oven, foil lined pan, lay bacon flat, turn over after 10 minutes, cook 10 minutes more - perfect, flat, crisp bacon. And the best part - super easy clean-up and no grease splatters all over the place.
Of course, cooking bacon brought back what is sure to be a shared memory by just about everyone. Breakfast for dinner! Breakfast is good in the morning, but it just tastes better at dinner. My mother was a working, single parent and there were times when due to being in a hurry, being dead tired or running low on money, breakfast was what we ate in the evening. I can still hear the pop of the biscuit can, as well as the sound and aroma of the bacon sizzling in the cast iron frying pan. I can see the Correlle plates bordered with little gold flowers. Scrambled eggs, creamy buttered grits, crispy bacon, and perfectly browned biscuits filled the plate, and nourished our bodies and souls. I still enjoy breakfast at dinner time, and I hope I always will.
Bells... I am going to really enjoy reading your blog. And I must first start off by saying I am jealous as hell about you getting to spend all this time baking.
ReplyDeleteI have never been a fan of baking bread, but reading these has really made me want to try my hand at it. It is also making me want to buy some more cookbooks. It is nice to know there are other people who love reading cookbooks as much as I do. Jeremy laughs at me every time he catches me reading a cookbook as if it was a book of fiction.
I can't believe I knew something about cooking that you didn't. I always cook my bacon in the oven. I am like you, I hate cooking it on the stove and I dislike cooking it in the microwave as well. I learned how to cook bacon in the oven a couple of years ago by obsessively watching the food network, which is something else I haven't had the time to do since Chandler was born.
I miss you!
Becky