Friend and occasional mentor Ed called the other day, just back from a business and redfish trip to South Carolina.
The weather wasn’t perfect though they did pretty damned well fishing with a guy out of Charleston; in his early 80s now (we think so anyway, given the best evidence available), Ed tends to run out of gas late in the morning after putting the boat in at dawn. At that point he just likes to sit in the captain’s chair, drink beer, and heckle whoever is up front sight casting at reds.
He’s surprisingly sharp tongued for an old geezer and at times can be a colossal pain in the ass distraction, particularly if you pay him any attention or dare to engage in some version of pithy dialogue with him.
Anyway, back to the food story. Ed attended some party at a business partner’s home and his food discovery of the trip was – for those of us raised in the South – a old (and in my case sorta forgotten) classic – these Retro Brown Sugar Bacon Bow Ties.
I first had these in the home of a high school girlfriend decades ago; her mother grew up in Louisiana and remembered eating them at family get togethers when she was a child.
Back it the day it was just half a slice of bacon wrapped around a club cracker and slowly baked (on a rack of course). Really fancy folk added a bit of kraft parmesan cheese right out of the green cardboard cylinder and maybe dusted ‘em with a bit of brown sugar too. The bacon constricts ever so slightly as it cooks and cools, often leaving the cracker in the shape of a classic Southern bow tie.
Deprived of historical exposures to dandy treats such as these, having grown up in Northern climes, Ed was a bit disappointed when I told him that he’d not discovered the next appetizer rage to sweep the country.
He did inspire me to grab some club crackers, shave off a bit parmesan from the block sitting in the cheese drawer and wrap a few of these up. Try ‘em with differing combinations of parmesan (or any cheese you dare for that matter), brown sugar and something to provide a little heat too.
You’ll be a hero at your next soiree; just be sure to bake them on a rack to let the excess fat drip off.
Bacon still makes everything better.
1 sleeve club-style crackers
3/4 pound thin-sliced bacon (maybe a little more or less)
Parmesan cheese shavings (or grated)
Option: Brown sugar, red pepper flakes
Line a baking sheet with foil and drop a rack on top.
Lay out the crackers and cover each with either: a) a few shavings of real by-damn parmesan, b) about 1 tsp grated parmesan, c) about a tsp of brown sugar, d) none of the above, and e) all of the above.
Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes on 4 or 8 of them just for grins.
Cut the bacon slices into thirds and wrap each cracker with a section; make it snug but not too tight. If you’ve not put brown sugar on the inside, consider a light dusting on the top of the bacon.
Place on the rack and slide into a preheated 250 degree oven for 2 hours (plus or minus 15 minutes – these usually smell so damned good they’re out cooling at an hour 45 min at our place).
Let cool to make sure the crackers recrisp; serve slightly warmed or at room temp. You’ll wish you’d made more…
Enjoy.
