Okay you guys.

I’ve done something. Changed something. Opened some sort of magic box, some secret portal to a new world. And now that I’ve glimpsed the other side, I rather doubt I’ll be the same again.

It all started with an innocent breakfast suggestion. On my recent winter escape to Oregon, all we wanted was a place to eat one misty Wednesday morning in Portland. Instead, we ordered a plate of food that, rather than fading from my memory as most meals do, has haunted my daydreams ever since.

It was praline bacon. And within moments of eating it, I knew that I wanted to, nay, that I must!  try to recreate it at home. This weekend I finally had the time, the health, and the daylight. It took four failed attempts, but I finally found the balance I was looking for. And the best part It’s so absurdly, ridiculously easy.

Obviously, we start with bacon. Then we have pecans, maple syrup, brown sugar, a little salt, and some cayenne pepper.

THAT IS ALL, PEOPLE.

Instead of pan-frying the bacon, I baked mine. It helps the bacon stay flat (necessary for topping with sugary pecans later) and the excess fat drains into the pan below. I may actually start making all of my bacon this way.

While the bacon cooks, chop up some pecans. I’ve seen some versions where the pecans are food-processed into oblivion, but I prefer a larger cut. Smaller than a rough chop but bigger than a fine chop, does that make sense About the size of a tooth (Is that gross?)

With the pecans, mix in the brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper, and salt. I know, it sounds crazy to add a little sea salt to a mixture that is going to be slathered across notoriously salty bacon, but I really thought it helped to balance out the sugary-sweetness of the topping.

After about 20 minutes in the oven, the bacon won’t be done but it will be ready for its glorious topping. Don’t be tempted to let the bacon cook to completion before you add the pecans, though: if you do, you’ll have nothing but rock solid strips of bacon-flavored cardboard topped with sticky pecans.

Past this, you will only have to wait a few more minutes. I baked my bacon for another eight minutes or so, just enough to toast the pecans and cook the sugars a bit.

The finished product is unbelievable. Slightly chewy, slightly crunchy from the pecans, salty, sweet, rich… it’s just everything. It’s quite delicious warm, which is how we ate it that fateful morning in Portland. But I’ve found I like it even better at room temperature or even cold. And it you want to pretend that you’re not eating half a pound of bacon all my your onesie, chop it into pieces and put it out for your colleagues like an honest-to-god bowl of candy.

It will not last long.

Maple Praline Bacon
Inspired by a delectable meal at Screen Door

Note: I am hesitant to call for “thick-cut” bacon here. In this age of bacon obsession, I’ve seen bacon nearly half an inch thick marketed as “thick-cut”. On the other hand, this is not the time for cheap, lunchmeat-section bacon so thin you can barely pull it apart. I recommend getting your bacon from the butcher or meat counter for the perfect happy medium.

8 strips thick-ish bacon
3/4 c pecan halves, chopped fairly small
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1/3 c maple syrup + additional for brushing
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Lay the bacon on the cooling rack with a bit of space between each piece and bake for 15-20 minutes. The fat should not be completely rendered by the time you remove it from the oven.

While the bacon cooks, chop pecans and combine them in a bowl with the sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, and cayenne. Mix well. If the mixture is crumbly, add a bit more maple syrup until it forms a thick, liquidy sludge of deliciousness.

Remove pan and flip each piece of bacon over. Brush each piece of bacon with maple syrup, then flip the strips back over. Carefully spread the pecan mixture on each piece of bacon. Return to the oven for 5-8 more minutes.

Serve hot. Or at room temperature. Or cold, it’s REALLY good when it’s cold. Serve it in whole strips, or cool it down and chop it into squares to serve as candy.

And it’s not just for dinner! I’ve now become quite obsessed with using corn in breakfast. In this particular one, it joints a few other mid-summer veggies (also bacon) as a really, really good hash.

The corn, green onions, and bacon provide a nice crunch against tender new potatoes, and a soft-cooked egg truly make this a meal worth eating.

So pretty, so tasty, and so much excellent summer flavor!

Le sigh. I just want every morning to be a slow summer morning that starts with this.

Corn & Bacon Hash
Adapted, just a smidge, from Smitten Kitchen

6 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound red potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the corn
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat until the fat is rendered. Once it is crisp, use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Leave the fat in the pan and add the potatoes.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle potatoes with half of the salt and pepper. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork and are golden-brown on the the outside.

Add the corn to the skillet and bump the heat up just a bit. Cook the potatoes and corn together for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the corn browns a bit.

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter and crack an egg into the skillet, taking care not to break the yolk. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip the egg to cook the other side. Cook for a minute more for an over-medium egg. Remove to a small plate and repeat with the second egg.

While the eggs finish cooking, add the drained bacon and the green onions to the corn and potatoes and mix well. Turn off the heat and season to taste with the remaining salt and pepper.

Serve a couple scoops of hash and top with one of the eggs.

And yet a week ago, my heart was full with summer. And so was my pantry. I’d harvested the last batch of tomatoes from my garden, and after celebrating some of them with some BLT sandwiches, I wanted to try them in a different configuration: as a salad!

This salad is inspired by one that Brad and I usually split at one of our favorite restaurants, and it’s simple enough that I’m frankly stunned I’ve never attempted something like it at home.

It starts with iceberg lettuce.

Now I know that iceberg lettuce gets a lot of flak these days. With the popularity of arugala, mesclun, baby greens, micro greens, and more, the old head of watery lettuce is somewhat of a black sheep. And it’s true, it does have little to no nutritional content. But for it’s shape, there’s nothing better for making a wedge salad.

So there’s the wedge. Then it’s um, really really easy to finish the salad part.

Bacon, parmesan, tomato, green onion, and ranch dressing dress up this wedge of iceberg for a night on the town.

A variety of textures, flavors, and colors make this salad a lot of fun to serve, and even more fun to eat. The saltiness of the bacon plays nicely against the cool and creamy ranch, and the tomatoes work in tandem with the bacon just as well here as they do on a sandwich. Make sure you serve it on a big plate with a sharp knife though… it turns out there’s a lot of lettuce hidden in that wedge!

BLT Wedge Salad
Inspired by Brio Tuscan Grille

Makes two salads

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
half a head of iceberg lettuce, cut into two wedges
1/2 c ranch dressing
1/3 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
one green onion, chopped
one small tomato, diced

Cook bacon and soak up any additional grease on a plate lined with paper towels. Chop bacon into small pieces and set aside. Remove the outer leaf of the half lettuce head, chop off the dense core, and chop into two wedges.

Place each wedge on a large plate with the peak of the ridge facing up. Drizzle half of the ranch dressing over each wedge. Sprinkle half of the bacon, parmesan, green onion, and tomato over each wedge.

Serve immediately. Make sure to grab a sharp knife to chop your salad into delicious bits!

I try to post recipes on this site that are seasonally appropriate for my locale. There are a few oddballs, but for the most part, strawberry dishes hit in the spring, tomatoes are featured in the summer, and pumpkin treats fill the fall.

You might be wondering, then, why I’m giving you this pizza that (at least to me) screams “Summer!!” as we leave the last vestiges of autumn behind and move full-steam into the winter holiday season.

In truth, I feel a bit seasonally confused. I spent the last week in Florida with my family visiting magical places, seeing magical sights, and enjoying 70-degree weather surrounded by palm trees while Christmas carols blared from speakers across the parks.

So in celebration of this confusion, I give you this! Barbecue, Bacon, and Toasted Corn Flatbread Pizza. It’s a shout out to the last summer produce, the last summer cookout, that many of us celebrated months ago. I used the tail end of the summer’s corn to make this pizza, but you can also easily use a can of corn that has been drained.

Also, this pizza crust is my go-to recipe for quick, easy pizza crust. My favorite crust is still this one, using from the whey leftover from making fresh mozzarella, but I frankly can’t make my own cheese every time I want a pizza crust. This crust is quick to make, doesn’t require much time to raise, and tastes fantastic. I use it primarily to fashion thin crust pizza, but you could also roll it thicker to produce a thicker crust.

I love using barbecue sauce as a base for pizza. The smokiness of the sauce pairs wonderfully with the bacon, and the onions and corn provide a delightful crunch in every bite. I also abandon traditional mozzarella for this pizza and use a bright orange cheddar. This is not a super-cheesy pizza, mind you. A little bit goes a long way here.

If you can’t make a trip to balmy, beautiful Disney World to trick yourself into a summery mood, give this pizza a shot. It’s warm, smoky, and it’s a great way to feel the warmth of summer in the cold winter months that stretch ahead.

Barbecue, Bacon, and Toasted Corn Flatbread Pizza

Makes two 10-inch flatbreads or one 14-inch thick-crust pizza

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T instant dry yeast
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c warm water

2/3 c barbecue sauce
8 oz bacon, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
1 1/2 c red onion, sliced into rings, quartered, and separated
2 ears fresh corn or 1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese

If you’re using a pizza stone, place it on a center rack in a cold oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Sift together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add water and mix with a fork until a dough is formed. You may have to abandon the fork and switch to using your hands before a dough is fully formed. Dough should be slightly sticky. Knead lightly on a floured surface for about five minutes. Form dough into a ball and cover with a damp cloth while you prepare the rest of your pizza ingredients.

Grate cheese, chop onions, and cut the corn kernels from the cob. Set aside. Cook your chopped bacon until fat has rendered, then set it aside on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess grease, leaving about one tablespoon of grease in the pan. Return pan to the heat and add corn kernels. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until torn is lightly toasted. Remove from pan and set aside.

Cut dough in half and, working with one half at a time, roll the dough out on a floured surface until dough is about 1/4″ thick. Each half of the dough should yield a rectangular flatbread about 12″x8″. Sprinkle corn meal on a cutting board without any grooves and gently lay the flatbread on the board. Spread half of the barbecue sauce onto the crust, leaving an edge of about 1/2″ all the way around. Sprinkle on half of the bacon, onion, corn, and cheddar.

Open the oven and pull out the rack with the pizza stone. Carefully slide the pizza from the cutting board to the stone using a flat spatula. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is browned around the edges. While first pizza is baking, roll out the remaining dough for the second pizza and repeat the topping process.

Remove pizza to a cutting board and slice into 8-10 pieces, depending on your preference. Bake the second pizza for 10-15 minutes.

Raise your hand if you like the following:

a) pancakes
b) cornbread
c) corn on the cob
d) bacon
e) breakfast

If you raised your hand for none of these things, I question your culinary sanity. If you raised your hand for all of these things, THIS, my friend, is a recipe for you.

Here’s how this happened. I had corn on the cob and bacon in my fridge. I recently saw a recipe for a breakfast hash featuring them, and wanted to make it immediately. Buuuuuuut I wondered: could I make it a little cake instead Like a latke Or wait! Even better… a pancake Or what about a cornbread?

Then it became clear: a cornbread-y pancake (the latke idea was cast aside for another day) studded with corn kernels and bits of bacon Couldn’t possibly be all bad.

Using my parents’ trusty pancake recipe, I swapped out white flour for corn meal, white sugar for brown, and of course added copious amounts of kernels cut from the cob and some positively miraculous bacon. The cakes would have had quite a bit more had I not nibbled at it generously while taking photos. Probably should have just cooked an extra piece for nibble protection.

Then, just like pancakes, the batter cooks gently in a frying pan (or on a griddle if you have one… I don’t) before being carefully flipped to the other side.

Do you know the rule for flipping pancakes Wait until the air bubbles on the top of the pancakes have all burst. And use low heat! Slow and steady is the path to a non-blackened pancake.

Then it’s breakfast! The consistency and warmth of cornbread in a pancake is delightful. You can eat them plain or could toss an egg on top for some extra protein. Or, in true pancake style, butter and maple syrup. And we all can agree, I think, that when those little bits of bacon do finally meet a drop of maple syrup, all is well with the world.

Sweet Corn & Bacon Pancakes
Adapted drastically from our family pancake recipe

Note: The pictures above only show about 1/4 pound of bacon. Uponcooking  the pancakes, I determined they would be improved with a larger quantity (what doesn’t improve with more bacon?), hence the increased quantity listed below. You can use your own preferences and add more or less of either the corn or the bacon.

2 ears sweet corn
1/2 pound bacon
1 c corn meal
1/2 c all purpose flour
2 T white sugar
2 T dark brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 c milk
3 T canola oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 tablespoons additional oil for cooking pancakes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently place shucked ears of corn in the water and boil for 5-7 minutes, then remove to a colander to cool. Meanwhile, slice up bacon into 1/2″ pieces and place in a small frying pan. Once bacon is in the pan, heat pan to medium and cook bacon until fat is rendered. Remove bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up extra grease.

Once corn has cooled, cut the kernels from the cob. I find the easiest way is to stand the cob on it’s end and slice from the top, cutting as close to the cob as possible. Continue all the way around the cob until the flesh of the kernels has been removed.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except the “additional oil” and mix well. Stir in the corn kernels and bacon.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat with 1 T of oil. Once oil begins to glisten, make sure it is spread evenly throughout the pan. Ladle the batter onto the pan in small circles, using about 1/3 c of batter for each pancake. Allow to cook undisturbed until all air bubbles that have appeared on the surfaces of the pancake have burst. Carefully use a spatula to flip the pancakes to allow the other side to cook. Cook second side until golden brown, then remove from pan to a serving plate. Continue until all batter has been used, adding more oil to the pan as necessary to keep the surface slick. While you are cooking, cover the serving plate with aluminum foil or another plate to keep the finished pancakes warm.

Serve plain or with butter and maple syrup. Pancakes will keep several days in the refrigerator, or you can bag them into sandwich bags and freeze them.