Four words: Bacon. Jam. In one.
If that doesn’t make your lips smack, it should. When a pork-happy colleague of my husband’s happened to mention how much he loved a most unusual spread called Bacon Jam, well, I just had to spring for a jar to see what the fuss was about.
It’s made by Skillet Street Food of Seattle, which was founded by Joshua Henderson, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park. Turns out working in restaurants wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. So, Henderson took to the streets — refurbishing an old Airstream trailer with a full commercial kitchen to rev up to office parks and farmers markets to sell freshly made bistro-style food. Consider it a cooler, retro version of the taco truck.
Bacon Jam, a concoction that Henderson has been making for years, tops the burgers he creates. Thankfully, he started selling this magical stuff in jars for those like me who aren’t in Seattle.
It’s almost like a thick, ropey ragu in texture, with wonderful smokiness and the sweet-tangy flavor of a relish. Henderson renders bacon, then adds onions, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar, before letting it all cook down for six hours until it’s concentrated and jammy.
My husband’s colleague, Bruce, enjoys Bacon Jam slathered on Triscuits. It was a great addition to a spinach and cheese omelet I made one weekend. Now, I’m dreaming of it in a tart with crumbles of blue cheese.
An 8-ounce jar is $12. A 1-ounce serving has 140 calories, 120 of which are fat calories. But don’t think about that. I know I won’t as I reach for one more little spoonful.
And now for the winner of the pair of VIP tickets to “Toast of the Town”:
As you recall, I held a contest to give away a pair of VIP tickets to that upcoming food and wine extravaganza, which will be held in San Francisco on April 22. Contestants were asked to answer the question, “What gets you most enthusiastic about wine?”
The winner of the tickets, who gave the best answer, is Carol (CG the Foodie), who wrote: “Love the question, perfect after a day of tasting in Paso Robles! Wine is community. You can ask friends and colleagues to meet over a glass of wine. You welcome people with a glass of wine (at least I do!) when they come to your home. You celebrate life with wine.You don’t have to be an expert to love wine. It is accessible and inaccessible all at once because it is subjective. Which means it is also a topic of conversation. That brings me full circle in my analysis that wine is community because even if you have nothing in common with the stranger next to you, you can create community by sharing your thoughts on wine.”
Congrats! And thank you to everyone who participated.
