Sometimes it’s better when you don’t know the “proper” way to do things. A few nights ago, Hubby and I came home from running errands, opened the front door and were promptly greeted by the aroma of bacon. Not just bacon, but brown sugar bacon. No doubt about the smells. Kiddo was in the kitchen, eager to greet us. He had cooked up some brown sugar bacon (Kiddo loves bacon – could live on bacon) and had managed enough self-control to save us about a quarter of a slice to “sample”. It was awesome – smoky and sweet without being overly sticky. Wow!
As I sampled my little bite of yummy brown sugar bacon, I noticed there were no baking pans soaking in the sink with caramelized brown sugar. No racks dripping with the goo. Not even a hint of a sticky piece of foil. The only thing in the sink was a griddle pan, and it wasn’t a huge mess either.
“How did you cook this?” I asked, surveying the lack of mess in my kitchen.
“Simple.” Kiddo replied with a big smile, his chest all puffed up with pride. “I added brown sugar to the fry pan.”
Really? Fried brown sugar bacon? Not baked, not broiled but fried, as in cooked on a flat fry pan. I was amazed.
For Sunday’s breakfast of French Toast I asked Kiddo to cook up his brown sugar bacon. It was really simple – so simple there’s really no need for a real recipe. It’s all a matter of how much bacon, and go from there.
Brown Sugar Fried Bacon
2 tablespoons Bacon Drippings or as needed
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar or as needed
6 Slices Smoked Bacon or as desired
Heat a flat skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.
Add about 2 or 3 tablespoons bacon drippings to the warm pan. Stir in about a tablespoon or so light brown sugar to the melted drippings. Lay bacon over the brown sugar flavored drippings and fry bacon as you normally would, turning as needed to prevent bacon from burning.
As the grease in the pan increases, add a little more brown sugar to keep it a glaze consistency. Continue to cook bacon until it is golden and crisp.
To cook up additional slices, transfer cooked bacon in an oven safe rimmed dish and keep warm in the oven. To the now empty skillet, add a little more brown sugar to the pan and continue to cook a second batch of smoky, yummy bacon.
Each batch of bacon takes about 10 minutes or so to fry up – much faster than baking in the oven with the same yummy results.
Clean-up is a snap. Dump grease into the can you keep under the sink for grease (you know, the one that is later thrown out with the trash – please don’t tell me you dump grease down the sink!) Then wash the pan in warm soapy water. No soaking necessary.
A little research revealed the follow about this lovely dish: Chicken Provencal hails from South France – in the Provence region. The basic characteristics of Provencal cuisine are herbs, olives and slow cooking. Naturally, there is much more involved; but those are the basics in a nutshell. One look at the breathtaking charm of the countryside and it’s easy to see why. The use of Thyme, Rosemary, Marjoram and Sage are prevalent in Provencal cooking, as are olives and olive oils. Slow cooking is a must. After all, who would want to be in a hurry here? The countryside invites one to slow down, to savor and live in the beauty of the moment; don’t you think?
Thin slices of Black Forest Ham add yet another layer to the sandwich. When offered, Hubby and Kiddo go for the ham. Me? I’m an Heirloom Tomato kind of gal. Kiddo added blue cheese to his, while I went for a few slices of White Cheddar Chipotle cheese for mine. You could follow our cheesy lead or you could just use the cooking techniques, like Hubby. His is the sandwich with American Cheese and Ham, simple and basic. When it comes to grilled cheese, it’s to each their own. Pile it on or keep it simple.
The most difficult part about this sandwich will be deciding what cheeses to use. Once you’ve done that, gather them together and be ready to pile it on. While you need not work at lightening speed, you’ll want to layer your ingredients quickly – the sooner the cheese is piled on the more time you’ll have for the cheese to melt while the bread reaches golden perfection.
In a skillet, melt the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter and add the sliced onions. Sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften and caramelize, turning a light golden color. Add the sliced mushrooms. Season with salt & pepper and sauté for about 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms release their juices. Continue to saute about a minute or so longer, until most of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and set aside.
Grill bread slices for about 1 minute, then add the cheese mixture to each slice. If you are including ham, now would be the time to layer ham over the cheese. Cover and allow the steam to melt the cheese for around 1-2 minutes. (A shallow rimmed baking pan about the same size as your griddle works well. Just place up-side-down over the griddle to create a “lid”).
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