When French Toast Met Pancakes...And Fell In Love!

Ingredients

• 4 whole Large Eggs
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla (optional)
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon, Optional
• 12 slices Bread (you'll Want Something Thick And Hearty To Stand Up To The Heavier Batter)

 

In a large bowl, add the eggs and beat ‘em until they’re light and fluffy.




Next, we’re just going to add all of the ingredients (minus the bread) one at a time. First, the milk …




The baking powder …




The vegetable oil …




Vanilla extract (having fun yet?) …




Brown sugar …




All-purpose flour …




And lastly, the cinnamon.




I sliced up the bread and then cut the slices in half.




Now for the fun part. Let’s dunk!




Gently submerge the slices in the batter and lift, allowing the excess batter to run off.




Transfer to a buttered skillet and cook on both sides until golden brown.




For some added deliciousness, top with a pat of butter, dust on some powdered sugar and add a few pieces of fruit.
And then … take a bite. See the dreamy crust? That’s what looove looks like!
 

Onion and Bacon Marmalade

  Ingredients

• 4 slices Thick Bacon
• 4 pounds Yellow Onions, Halved And Sliced To 1/4"
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Apple Cider
• ¼ cups Sherry Vinegar (white Wine Vinegar Is Fine)
• ¼ cups Brown Sugar
• 10 sprigs Thyme, Leaves Stripped From The Stem (about 2 Tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper   

 
Place the bacon in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon is just crisp. Remove from the pan, drain on a piece of paper towel and set aside. Do not discard the rendered fat in the pan.




This recipe uses 4 pounds of onions. That may seem like a lot but they will cook down significantly. And, believe me, you are going to want as much of this marmalade as you can get your hands on.




Cut the onions in half, peel them and cut into ¼-inch slices. Keep a tissue nearby for the inevitable running-of-the-mascara and burning eyes. Ahh, but it is worth every tear.




Add the onions and salt to the fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and cook until the onions are soft, about 15 minutes.




Chop the bacon finely and add it to the pan.




Add the apple cider …




Brown sugar …




Fresh thyme and black pepper.
Stir well and cook, uncovered, until the liquid is almost completely reduced, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.




Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are a deep brown color, about 10 minutes. If the mixture begins to looks dry, add water, ¼ cup at a time.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Serve on crostini, in sandwiches, on pizzas or mixed in with roasted veggies.





 

Bacon Jam

The recipe calls for onions, garlic, brown sugar, maple syrup, cider vinegar, pepper, some strong coffee, and of course, bacon. Three whopping pounds of bacon will be needed. It sounds like a lot but this makes a lot of jam!

• 3 pounds Bacon
• 4 whole Large Yellow Onions, Peeled And Thinly Sliced
• 8 cloves Garlic, Smashed And Peeled
• 1 cup Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 1-½ cup Very Strong Brewed Black Coffee
• ½ cups Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper   

With a sharp knife, slice the bacon into one-inch pieces.




In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon in its own drippings until crispy and fully cooked.




In the meantime, thinly slice up the four onions. Rebecca’s recipe calls for yellow onions, but I had a big sack of sweet onions so I used those instead. But either type of onions will work in this recipe.




Smash and peel eight cloves and garlic. Lots of garlic equals lots of flavor!




Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon once it’s golden.




Drain it on a plate lined with paper towel.




Spoon most of the bacon fat into a heat-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and once the drippings have cooled, store it in the fridge. To quote Rebecca, “That’s too much flavor to trash!” Agreed!




After most of the bacon fat has been removed, place the Dutch oven back over medium-high heat and add in the sliced onions and smashed garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook low and slow, stirring occasionally.




You’ll want to continue to cook the onions down until they are pretty translucent and soft. While that was going on, I made the glorious cooking liquids.




In a large bowl measure and add in the cup of brown sugar.




Pour in a cup and a half of strong coffee.




Then the cup of cider vinegar.




Measure and add in the 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup. This is the real-deal PURE maple syrup kind, so please none of that artificial stuff!




Season with a teaspoon of black pepper. And that’s it!




Give it a good stir to get the maple syrup and brown sugar mixed well together.




And then just pour it over the onions and garlic and give it a good stir as well.




Then I just brought the mixture up to a hard boil for about two to four minutes before adding in the bacon.




Then I reduced the heat down to low to simmer, with the lid off, until the sauce was thick and the onions started melting. It takes a good hour to an hour and a half for this all to happen. But my house filled with a smell I can only describe as a bacon-y barbecue smell which I hope heaven will smell like.




When all is said and done and the liquid has reduced, this is what it should look like. Fabulous! I could’ve stopped here and ate it all by spoonful.




But instead I added it all into my food processor, placed the lid on tight, and pulsed it until it resembled jam.




You could keep going for a smoother consistency but I like texture. So I stopped right here.




After it cooled, I stored it in jars in my fridge.






My favorite way to eat bacon jam (besides by the spoonful) is to heat a little up and spread it over whole grain toast with a fried egg (over medium) on top. Oh, it’s to die for! Really, my life is forever changed!