bacon is a recurring theme in our little home, which should need no explanation. is there a more perfect food? yes, true, calorie-free/fat-free/cholesterol-free bacon would be slightly more perfect. someday i’m sure we’ll be adding healthier recipes, but for now, don’t hold your breath. life is too short. and we’re not vegetarians.

this was an experiment after i saw some article on bacon-infused vodka. the concept sounded amazing, but not the combo…so we decided to try bourbon.

bacon-infused bourbon
1 bottle of bourbon (we used one full bottle of maker’s mark)
1 lb. (standard package) of bacon; the higher quality and smokier, the better
leave the bourbon out so that it stays room temp. slowly cook the entire package of bacon, so as not to burn any of the fat. remove the bacon and do whatever your heart desires with the entire pound (you could obviously use it in a billion other recipes, or you could bathe in it…i won’t judge). let the leftover bacon fat cool just a little; you don’t want it to be hot enough to boil the alcohol out of the bourbon, but you don’t want it to start solidifying yet. pour the warm bacon fat into the bottle of bourbon, stir right away, combining while warm. then let sit until the fat separates and solidifies. then refrigerate (for up to 48 hours). remove the cold fat layer and strain the bourbon, and you’re done. the flavor changes very very fast, so keep it in the fridge and try to use it within a week or so. we used it to celebrate election night 2008

graham’s bacon manhattan
2 oz. bacon bourbon
1/2 oz of grade b maple syrup (we used the spiced christmas syrup)
2 shakes of bitters (like angostura)
a pinch of hickory smoked salt
garnish with a frozen black cherry
put everything but the cherry into a shaker with ice and shake lightly. strain into a scotch glass. add the cherry. cry while watching obama’s acceptance speech. repeat as desired.

lauren’s spiced maple syrup

one bottle of premium maple syrup (grade B works great)
3-5 cinnamon sticks
one fresh vanilla bean
6-10 whole cloves
in a medium saucepan, toss in the cloves and cinnamon sticks over med-low heat and lightly toast (just until aromatic). pour in the entire bottle of maple syrup. split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla, add the vanilla and the leftover pod into the saucepan. stir until the vanilla has broken apart a bit, and leave on med-low heat for 2-3 hours. the syrup shouldn’t go above a very low simmer; there’s no need to reduce it. when it’s done, it can be funneled into the original syrup bottle, along with the cloves, cinnamon sticks and vanilla.

*a little bonus: at christmas, when most of the syrup was funneled into little bottles for gifts, and we had the leftover spices. we put them into a bottle of bourbon (maker’s mark i think) and promptly forgot about them until several months later. amazing, intense, and heavenly. still have to come up with a cocktail recipe for that one.

*another bonus: any leftover vanilla beans can be stored in your jar of white sugar. i wish i’d known vanilla sugar was that easy years ago. like, at birth.

*last bonus, i promise: the way the entire house smells while this stuff is being made! that is, if you like the smell of cinnamon buns, sugar cookies, and christmas-ness. if you don’t, you may just be without a soul.

1 large heirloom tomato
burrata or bufala mozzarella, the fresher the better
1 egg
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

slice tomato into 1/4″-1/2″ steaks. slice cheese in a similar fashion. stack vertically, alternating the tomato, cheese, and basil, ending with basil on top.

fry one egg, sunnyside up, in olive oil. place fried egg, along with extra olive oil, on top of the caprese. drizzle balsamic vinegar over as desired, and finish with a little salt and pepper.

p.s. making and eating this around midnight makes it taste even lovelier!