Bacon has been one of my favorite foods since I’ve been a little girl, next to fried chicken of course.  I remember one time back when I was here in S.C. on a summer visit, my dad brought me to Shoney’s for the breakfast buffet.  My eyes lit up with delight when I saw that bacon piled high.  Looking up at my daddy I asked him “How much bacon can I eat?” and he replied “As much as you want!”.  He still laughs to this day when he tells that story.

I prefer crispy bacon, I always have.  When I used to come visit S.C. I would also stay with my Aunt Lavinia, who knew exactly how her niece liked her bacon and boy did she cook it perfect!  “Jennifer likes crispy bacon and Kelly likes floppy bacon”, is what she’d say.  Elvis records would be spinning on the turntable that was housed in a huge cabinet in her living room.  We’d sing and dance to “Don’t Be Cruel” while she cooked.  I have never met anyone who loved Elvis as much as my Aunt Lavinia.

Now back to the bacon.  This morning I fried the bacon traditionally in a skillet but in the past I have cooked it in the oven.  For all you die hard baconistas don’t gasp in disgust, it actually came out good.  There is no mess! No grease coating everything within 3 feet of the cook top and you don’t have to hover over a skillet watching to make sure it doesn’t burn.  It is also a much easier way to cook a large amount of bacon at once.  Put bacon on a cookie sheet (I put it on a cooling rack so the grease drips down onto the cookie sheet) and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until crispy.  Try it, you might like it.  The one plus of frying the bacon in a skillet though is the grease left behind. The liquid essence that has been extracted adds the most delicious flavor to the eggs fried in it.  I was in charge of the bacon and then Donna took over.  Donna cooks the perfect fried egg.  The egg white is completely cooked yet the yolk is the runny, which is the perfect consistency for dipping that crispy bacon into it.  And the grease adds such a depth of flavor to the egg that it is like a rock concert in your mouth!  My step mom Yuri keeps a tin of bacon grease on the shelf above her stove for cooking, so she has it at the ready to add it to a number of dishes such as green beans, collards, etc.  I can taste why.

Everything just tastes better with bacon.  Whether it is sweet or savory dish, bacon just makes it that much better in my humble opinion.  Till next time…enjoy your Sunday 🙂