Most of us have a signature recipe. You know, that one thing we know we’re good at making, which we can bring to a party and rest assured will be gobbled up in seconds. I’m thinking of my Aunt Barb’s southwestern dip, my friend Eve’s roast beef & yorkshire pudding, my mom’s “Death By Chocolate” concoction.
I have more of a signature ingredient: bacon. My friends tease me for incorporating the heart-clogging ingredient into nearly everything I make. I’ve stated here before that I firmly believe bacon makes everything better, and I’ve yet to be proven wrong (though a friend once led me to an article mentioning the bacon martini, which could be the lone exception to the rule). One day, my all-bacon cookbook will fly off the shelves at Barnes & Noble.
The easiest (and probably most popular) bacon dish I can always throw together at the last minute is rumaki, one of the few dishes my mother passed down to me that I haven’t tinkered with aggressively. It’s ridiculously simple, and despite water chestnuts not being an ingredient the general populace is usually clamoring for, I bet 10-to-1 you’ll have party guests complaining you didn’t make enough of these one-bite treats.
Rumaki
Toothpicks
*1 can whole water chestnuts
1 package bacon
soy sauce
honey
brown sugar
Soak toothpicks in water for ½ hour. Set oven to broil,
Drain can in water chestnuts (if you want, you can slice them in half if you like a less chestnut-heavy taste). Soak in soy sauce while working. Slice bacon pieces into thirds. Brush honey onto bacon, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Wrap chestnuts in bacon. Add a bit more soy. Stick a toothpick through each wrapped chestbut. Broil until bacon is crisp. Sprinkle with a bit more brown sugar and serve.
*I’ve seen recipes which substitute chicken livers for the water chestnuts, but I can’t see that being an improvement.
6 Responses
We’re on the same page about bacon. My theory is that whatever bacon doesn’t make taste better, hazelnut does.
Anything bacon or hazelnut doesn’t improve is not worth eating.
Of all the dishes I make, people continue to request the caramelized onion dip. My theory about signature dishes of the home cook is that they have to have a level of trashiness to them to establish they are homemade. My grandmother’s signature dish was flan, steam of old (and thoroughly washed) Campbell’s soup cans. When she would stay with us, we owuld start eating soup every day to save up cans for her flan.
A similar, yet probably more sinful idea, is to slice open figs, insert pineapple, then wrap in bacon and broil. It is at once a hideous and delicious item.
Good news! Your cookbook idea has already been done. It’s called: “Everything Tastes Better With Bacon: 70 Fabulous recipes For Every Meal of the Day” by Sara Perry.
On Amazon.com its http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0811832392/qid=1122919454/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1961246-8276625?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
It’s a great cookbook for us bacon lovers. YEAH!
I’m not sure if that’s good news or sad news that I’ll never realize my dream…
Thanks for the tip!
My mom always used to make Rumaki for parties when I was a kid, but for some reason I never would have guessed that others had heard of it. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll try it sometime!