A breakfast ‘fit for a dinner’

When my daughter was a youngster, she would always ask if we could have Breakfast for Dinner. Pancakes, French toast, Scrambled Eggs with Velvetta Cheese and, Yes, don’t forget the bacon! Here is a slightly more adult twist on Bacon and Eggs. We will be making Egg Clouds and Candied Bacon. But for the Tried-and-True Bacon Lover, let’s just call it “Million Dollar Bacon.”

Here is your shopping List for the Bacon:

1. 1.25 lbs. of thick sliced bacon

2. Mike’s Hot Honey (or any other hot honey brand)

3. Light Brown Sugar

4. Course Ground Pepper

5. Maple Syrup (for dipping)

Here is your shopping list for the Eggs:

1. Extra Large Eggs (1 or 2 per person)

2. Hot Pepper Bacon Jam

Parchment paper

Let’s start out with the bacon. I always use a baking method that ensures more even cooking and without the bacon curling. Parchment Paper! This keeps the bacon grease from splattering in the oven and smoking up the house as well easier clean-up.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Take a baking sheet lined with foil and place parchment paper on top. Take a cooling rack that fits inside the rim of the baking sheet to lay the bacon. Take the Hot Honey and brush on top each slice. Bake about for 15 minutes or until you see the bacon start to brown and stiffen slightly. Remove from oven and turn the bacon over. Take the light brown sugar and sprinkle Generously over each slice followed by the course ground pepper. Bake another 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is a darker brown. The bacon will be a bit flimsy as it is still hot from the oven. Let it cool so that when you pick it up it does not fold over. There are the “burnt bacon Lovers”. For that, you can always take the final cooked bacon and place on a plate in the microwave to cook even longer for that crispier texture.

While the bacon is setting, you can start on the Cloud Eggs. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Crack each egg and separate the yolks from the whites. Take a hand mixer and whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a large spoon, take the egg whites and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and form into any size cloud that you’d like. Take a gravy spoon and make an indent in the middle of the cloud so that you can add an egg yolk to each one. Bake until the egg whites start to brown and the yolks have set a bit. The yolk should still be runny when you cut into the cloud. Put some of the Hot Pepper Bacon Jam in a small microwave safe bowl and heat just a bit to a consistency that you can drizzle over the Cloud Eggs.

Serve with toast or bagels on the side.

Thecia DeLap is not only a successful mortgage lender for VanDyk Mortgage Corporation, but is also an Italian culinary artist who knows her way around the kitchen and has experience cooking, catering, entertaining and planning for large corporate events as well as smaller gatherings. To reach her, you can email her at thecia1@hotmail.com or message her at: http://www.facebook.com/vandykmortgagethecia