bacon-tastic

As you've probably guessed, Andrew got me a digital camera for Christmas.  I'm still figuring out how to use it properly, but I'm not one to go read the manual - no, no.  I need to learn by trial and error.  It's just how I operate.  So while my photography skills aren't the best, aren't you impressed that I'm no longer uploading pictures from my phone?? So am I.

Over the weekend I was a participant in a bacon party, hosted by some friends who do this sort of thing annually.  I had no idea what I was going to make until Friday night when my family came over for dinner.  Then it hit me; with one delicious bite, I knew what to do.

Most of you know I'm living life gluten-free these days.  I've said this before, but it's pretty effortless if I'm cooking for myself.  There are a lot of foods that don't have wheat in them.  I barely notice the change.  But then I start craving pizza, bagels, pasta, and cake.  I haven't had good luck with gluten-free baking in the past, but then I came across a recipe for gluten-free biscuits.  I replaced half of the rice flour with tapioca flour so that it would have a more doughy texture than a grainy one.  My first shot at these was the night my family came over for dinner.  I figured it would be a gentle crowd if they didn't go so well.  Lucky for me, they were AMAZING.  There was no hint that these biscuits were sans wheat.  They were just light, fluffy, and delicious.  I served them with homemade cherry jam that my friend Kori had given me as a birthday gift this past summer, and the crowd went nuts.  I knew at that moment I had to modify these in a bacon sort of way and take them to the party Saturday night.

The problem is, my kitchen is minuscule.  It's so small that two people cooking in there does not work.  Any baking project destroys the kitchen.  See?  No counter space either.

 I threw in some bacon crumbles and some shredded cheddar to the dry mix and then poured the buttermilk (or in my case, lemon juice with fat-free half-and-half) overtop and stirred that baby up.  The recipe made 3 dozen little gougere-style biscuits.  They don't puff up really, so what you see is what you get.  Before they went into the oven, I sprayed the top of the biscuit with cooking spray and then sprinkled some bacon salt over them.

 

 When they came out of the oven, they looked like this:

 

I wanted to eat them all.  But I didn't.  I knew there were going to be some fantastic dishes at the party, so I practiced a little restraint.  I'm glad I did, because when I got to the party there was a plate of bacon-wrapped filet mignon bites.  Helloooooo.