Anne McAlpine – December 20, 2018

I always bake my bacon in the oven. I line a baking sheet with foil and then put the bacon on my wire cooling racks so that it doesn’t lie in the grease and becomes crispier. I brush it with maple syrup and it turns out really well. When I saw this recipe for coffee bacon, I just had to try it. It is delicious! I don’t have any instant coffee so I used prepared regular coffee and then added the water to make 1 cup. The coffee syrup is good when brushed on steak or ribs, or you can toss mixed nuts into it and bake at 300 for at least a half hour, stirring every 10 minutes. I coated mixed nuts in some of the syrup and I really liked them.

One of our regular readers, Tom Hunter, sent me his recipe for Christmas turkey bites that he created. Tom and his wife live in Cayuga and they both enjoy cooking. When they were first married his wife told him that she was a ‘good’ cook and he was a ‘great’ cook. Tom wanted a turkey dinner in a single bite as an appetizer. He uses Craisins in his recipe, but sometimes they are hard to find so you could use cranberries in place of them. I haven’t made these yet, but I certainly plan on doing so. Tom calculated the final cost at approximately $6 for the whole batch, which makes 25 to 30 appetizers. He also said that you can “cheat” and use Pilsbury crescent rolls instead of puff pastry. Thanks Tom for sharing your Christmas appetizer recipe with us.

Coffee Glazed Bacon

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

3 Tbsp. instant coffee

1 lb. bacon

Preheat oven to 400. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil. In medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and instant coffee. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half – 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Makes about 1 cup. Meanwhile arrange bacon in single layer on prepared sheets. Bake 8 minutes and then rotate the racks and bake 8 minutes more. Carefully pour off the fat and brush bacon with 2 Tbsp. of the coffee syrup and roast 4 to 5 minutes more. Immediately transfer to plate as it will stick to the foil as it cools.