Confession time: I never like bacon.
I know that’s tough to digest. But up until about a year ago, I wanted nothing to do with the cut of pig. I’m not a big pig-eater in general, but I mean, it’s bacon. At every family event my brother and I have a breakfast special: scrambled eggs, french toast and bacon—hold Devon’s bacon. But then last year, after skipping the Christmas bacon, we met for brunch on New Year’s Day to cure a couple of hangovers. There were eight of us at the table and our waiter didn’t write down any of orders. Ego check: I ordered roasted vegetables for my side, he brought me bacon. BACON. Bacon is not the same as roasted vegetables. Not the same. At all.
Pretty much all of our orders were wrong, but we were also all pretty hung over and all very hungry. (I’m also secretly afraid of sending anything back for fear of eating someone’s saliva when the food is brought back.) So I ate the bacon. I don’t know if I was just hungover, or if my taste buds had had an epiphany, but I liked it. Then I started eating it on vacation and at restaurants and now I even buy it at the grocery store sometimes—gasp!
So this holiday season when I was looking for appetizers to bring along to all the holiday parties (you can read about my struggle with this here), I saw some leftover bacon in the fridge alongside some fresh mozzarella, pulled some inspiration from my favorite happy hour spot in Phoenix (if you live in the area, go to Postino on Monday or Tuesday after 8, get a bottle of wine and a board of bruschetta for $20 and make sure to order the bacon burrata) to come up with this twist on my mom’s bruschetta. Her traditional version had tons of juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, onion, garlic and olive oil served on top of crispy slices of bread. She made it for so many parties and my brother and I always made her leave some behind for us. This version combines all that delicious, aromatic flavor with the awesomeness that is bacon and mozzarella cheese.
- ½ pound bacon, cooked crispy and chopped
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, roughly chopped
- 4 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
- ½ of a small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped or chiffonade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 french baguette
- Combine the bacon, cheese, tomatoes, onion, garlic and in a medium-sized serving bowl. Toss together, then coat with the oil and salt and toss again. (For a better appearance you can layer the ingredients and then combine them when serving—mix the tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil and salt in the bottom of the bowl, then top with the chopped cheese, followed by the crumbled bacon and finished off with the basil.)
- Set in the refrigerator to allow flavors to meld for about 30 minutes up to a day or two.
- Before serving, slice a french baguette into about 1-inch thick slices. Lay on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden.
- Surround the bowl with the slices of bread and allow each person to scoop the toppings onto a slice of bread and enjoy!
A bowl of this served up with some crisp french baguette slices (gluten free or not!) makes the perfect New Year’s Eve party companion. Trust me, this appetizer and I got very friendly at a holiday party where the conversation options were either a) marriage or b) fertility doctors. “I’ll just be over here by the wine and bacon if you need me.”
