Since you already know that cheese burgers are my favorite food, I might as well go all the way and tell you about my little addiction to pig products. And high on the list of porky type foods I find the most delectable is bacon.  And at the top of my list of favorite uses for bacon is Bacon Jam. And I do know what you are thinking. How in the name of all things porcine, can anything taste better than a perfectly cooked (your definition) slice of bacon? Well you are right. There are very few foods tastier than bacon, unless of course you are thinking about Bacon Jam! (In my opinion, Bacon Jam is so delicious it should be its own food group!) And this recipe, which is a slight variation on the Bacon Jam recipe I found on the Internet site Leite’s Culinaria, is really good. I love to serve Bacon Jam on hamburger sliders. Place some warm Bacon Jam on the bottom of a lightly grilled slider roll. Next add some arugula, a nicely seasoned grilled burger pattie and a thin slice of Cambozola cheese. Add the top half of the slider roll and prepare for an amazing taste treat. (This is the basic recipe for the Bacon Jam Burger served by Seattle’s own mobile diner Skillet.) Another good way to serve Bacon Jam is slathered on brie and baked until the cheese is soft and gooey.  But, if you can keep a secret from Mr. C., I’ll tell you the absolute best way to eat Bacon Jam. Some dark moonless evening, just past midnight, sneak into your kitchen and scoop up a bit of the jam on a spoon and place it directly in your mouth. Don’t chew for a full minute. Just savor the flavor and texture rolling around on your tongue. Heaven, I’m tellin’ you – pure heaven! (Sneaking food in the middle of the night is wonderful fun to begin with, but sneaking Bacon Jam lifts the whole experience to the ‘winning a trip to Paris’ level!)

• 1 lb. lean pepper bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 ½ large onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c. cider vinegar
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 3 T. real maple syrup
• ½ c. strong black coffee
• freshly ground black pepper

Place bacon in a medium sized fry pan. Fry the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, drain, and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. (I actually save my bacon grease in the refrigerator. You never know when a small amount of bacon grease might come in handy.) Add the onions to the pan and sauté until just starting to soften. Add garlic and cook another couple of minutes. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, syrup, coffee, and a few grinds of pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the reserved bacon and simmer gently until the onions are very soft. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when the liquid is thick and syrupy.  (Add a small amount of water if needed to keep mixture from burning while the onions soften).  Let stand a few minutes. Using a food processor, pulse the very warm mixture a few times until the jam is of a spreadable consistency. Don’t over process. You want little chunks of bacon in the jam. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one month. Delicious served cold, room temperature, or warmed.