Caramel-Glazed Apple Quick Bread

Coffee break time!

The transition between summer and fall is the time of year I love the most. Slightly cooler than summer, but not yet the blah grey drizzle of winter. Visions of sweaters, boots, and warm comfort foods dance around my head. Apple varieties appearing at the market is starting to grow as crops are harvested in the orchards.

Chocolate Covered Bacon with Salted Caramel

You had me at.. uh...bacon? Yes. Yes, you did.

Yup. You read that right. Bacon.

Chocolate. Covered. BACON. And, salted caramel.

Oh my Bacon.

(Fans self)

I made this unusual treat for my nephew, a Bacon Fanatic. He proclaimed it "weird", yet squirreled the rest of it away. We never saw it again! (I think he liked it).

This was my first attempt at this kind of candy. I liked it, but I don't think I cooked the bacon enough. I believe this would be more interesting if the bacon was crumbly instead of chewy. Also, I would use milk chocolate next time, instead of semi-sweet. I put a smear of caramel on the bacon and froze the slices before I dipped them in chocolate. The combination of the bacon and salty caramel was darn tasty! I would also like to try this with crunchy peanut butter instead of caramel.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Ingredients
1/2 package thick cut bacon
8 oz milk chocolate, chopped fine
Caramel sauce or crunchy peanut butter
1 oz white chocolate for embellishment

Method

1. Cook bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels, then lay flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cool in the refrigerator.
2. Chop milk chocolate (I chop mine in the food processor — so easy!). Melt chocolate in a large bowl placed over a saucepan with about an inch of barely simmering water. Stir gently with a spatula until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Spread each piece of bacon with a bit of caramel or peanut butter and lay each bacon strip back on the baking sheet. Place the bacon in the freezer for about 15 minutes to really firm up.
4. Dip each bacon slice in the melted chocolate. After dipping all the slices, put the bacon back in the fridge or freezer to firm up the chocolate. It doesn't take very long.
5. Decorate with squiggly lines of melted white chocolate. Or just eat 'em. (I did.)

Pink Lemonade Ombre Petal Cake

Pretty in pink: Pink Lemonade Ombre Petal Cake

What is “pink lemonade” anyway? The super-sweet, tart lemonade is a staple around our place in the summer! It quenches without being too sour. You can add things to it (soda, vodka, more vodka) to make it extra special. Try blending a couple of tablespoons of frozen pink lemonade concentrate with ice, Grand Marnier and vodka for a fancy pink frozen cocktail.