Applewood smoked bacon and Port reduction Crustini

Funny story… I was preparing this hors d’ouvre for my class at Sur La Table… I was sautéing the bacon on the stove top, when I began to notice a very smoky smell permeating the room. I was impressed at the quality of “Applewood smoked bacon.” I thought to myself… “they certainly are not kidding when they say, ‘smoked.’” Lo and behold, my notes for the class had actually caught on fire and the “smoked” smell was the paper burning.

Fail.

Regardless, it made for a hilarious story!

First, sauté Applewood smoked bacon until crispy. Be sure to remove any papers so as to not catch them on fire. Remove bacon from the pan and add chopped (fine chop) onions to the rendered bacon fat. Allow the onions to caramelize (low and slow… on medium heat to prevent burning… about 30 minutes until no longer crunchy). Deglaze with Port wine (about ½ cup). Add 2 cups Pino Noir, 2 cups beef stock and juice of ½ lemon… reduce (boil) on high until ¼ cup of liquid is remaining… remove from heat and add chopped up bacon (cooked earlier) and fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, tarragon). Season with salt and touch of cayenne pepper. Serve with freshly toasted crostini (toasted French bread with EVOO, salt and pepper in small bite-size slices) and a pungent blue-cheese. Perfect combination of savory flavors will melt in your mouth.

Love y’all!! ♥