Everything tastes better with bacon.....

Doesn't it? Ok so here's my warning about this blog post.

If you are TOTALLY anti-bacon, you may not like this one!

I say, keep reading because you are welcome to experiment with other "bacony" products (like soy or turkey) in what could possibly be called "food crack," meaning it's extremely addictive! 

Let's go back in time for a moment. I am in a wonderful high-end steak house surrounded by some of my closest friends. The men want to order the "thick cut bacon" as an appetizer. The ladies want crab cocktail and salads (duh). 

I scoff at the idea that a couple of slices of "appetizer bacon" cost as much as a lipgloss at the MAC counter but hey, who am I to judge? The bacon comes out and is presented in two thick slices on the plate. 

Now, I like bacon. I actually prefer to eat turkey bacon myself just because I run for 10 minutes at the gym and call myself healthy (HA!) But in truth (and you'll understand if you eat REAL bacon) ain't nothing like the real thing baby. I ask for a bite of the men's bacon at the table. It's different then I expected. Slightly sweet (maple?), slightly spicy (pepper?) and not as crunchy as I expect. Still overall, very delicious.  I boast that I can re-create it at home with promises of bacon gifts to all at the table (I'm working on it guys!) But my wheels are turning.

The next day I head to the supermarket armed with the memory of the steakhouse bacon and the question of what can I use to make it even better. I buy thick cut bacon. I waver over the maple syrup and decide against it. I choose brown sugar instead. I head for ground pepper and choose cayenne (super spicy but excellent used in baby spoon amounts). DO NOT use your babies spoon for this! It was just a silly analogy people!

I head home and get to work. I lay the bacon out on a foil covered cookie sheet.  I preheat my oven to 375. I mix together in a bowl one cup of light brown sugar and ½ a teaspoon of the cayenne.

I taste the mixture. This is just enough to give the sugar a tiny punch but not enough to make you run screaming for anything in sight to cool your mouth down. If you are bold, I'd suggest using ¾ of a teaspoon of the pepper.

Don't say I didn't warn you! I spread half of the sand like mixure over the raw bacon and bake for 10 minutes. I assume I will flip and repeat with the other side however after 10 minutes the bacon still looked like....well, raw bacon now sitting in a puddle of brown sugar mixture that melted.I'm sure I uttered some sort of expletive, then put it back into the oven. Another 10 minutes and we are ready for flipping! 

Bacon is flipped, coated again with spicy brown sugar mixture, then back in the oven for another 10. It comes out all shiny, sugary, and coated! I let it cool for at least 30 minutes and come back to check it. 

Folks, this is the mecca of bacon!  I created "BACON CANDY"! That's right. Sweet and smoky, slightly spicy and crunchy, all on a base of bacon. Photos attached are exactly what I made, no stand in's neccesary for this photo shoot!

I have my extended family to dinner that night and I cut the "candy" into small bite size pieces and display it in a glass candy dish, hee-hee!  I warn my sister when she comes over not to eat it (she doesn't eat bacon) but I sit back, fold my arms, and watch everyone else taste.

I am met with praise, exclamations of "YUM!" and as my brother-in-law fondly put it "If this was in my house I'd be eating it every single night!" So there you have it..... BACON CANDY. Don't say I never taught you anything.  

And steakhouse friends....your bacon gifts are on the way soon, I promise!