Summer: Alfresco Meals & the Bacon Caper
I love alfresco dining and today was the perfect day to enjoy breakfast outside. Banana blueberry pancakes made by my daughter, crispy bacon, a big bowl of fresh berries and mangoes (another reason to love summer), and yogurt with homemade granola. Perfect! We set up outside in the garden, wait, forgot the coffee, back inside, grab the pot. Back outside….WHAT? Sammy our dog, who has never, ever, ever eaten anything off the counter or table (a point of pride for us); who will sit in a car surrounded by food including banana bread, egg rolls, fried chicken wings AND not touch any of it; HAS EATEN THE ENTIRE PLATE OF BACON, in a matter of seconds gobbled up 10 slices of bacon and licked the plate clean. I’m still mad at him…..
Well, we still have pancakes. I will share the easiest way to cook perfect bacon despite not having a photo of said bacon, just the dog who ate the bacon.
Oven Cooked Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound of thick cut bacon
- Variations:
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2-3 T maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1.4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set wire rack on top. Lay bacon slices on rack. Do not overlap slices. Place in oven and bake 15-20 minutes until desired doneness. The bacon cooks perfectly, lays flat and best of all you don't have to stand at the stove watching it fry! Clean up is relatively easy, especially if you line your pan with foil.
Variations:
- For a sweet bacon, sprinkle bacon with brown sugar and bake as directed, spice it up by adding cayenne to brown sugar and sprinkling on bacon.
- Brush with maple syrup , bake as directed.