Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato

Today, we went to Launceston to do some shopping.  Although we have a supermarket here in Deloraine, we like to go into Launceston and do our bulk meat shopping and also visit the Chemist Warehouse where drugs are almost half the price of what you can get at regular chemist shops.  I was also looking for a jacket or scarf or something to go over the dress that I am wearing for my daughters wedding.

Once sometime ago we discovered this neat little cafe called Bon Apetite.  It is so busy at lunch time that you can't really get a seat unless you grab a table as soon as someone is getting ready to leave.  We have now settled on going there most times we go to Launceston.

They make THE BEST BLTs ever.  Here is a recipe I like to use when I make these.  I found it on the internet once and have used it a few times.  It's not mayonnaise with crumbled bacon, but mayonnaise made with bacon fat. The recipe makes only a small amount, about enough for four sandwiches. It's best to use it all up at once because any leftover mayonnaise must be refrigerated, and the bacon fat will turn it solid. This mayonnaise is good in any sandwich, especially those made with eggs, grilled vegetables, cooked shrimp or lobster. It is also good stirred into a warm potato salad, and I'm sure you can find other uses as well. You can use the fat from cooking the bacon for your sandwich, but since you can never be sure just how much fat your bacon will render, it's a good idea to have some extra bacon fat on hand. In a pinch you could add a tablespoon or two of lard, but no more, or you'll lose that special bacon flavour.  Not so sure what it does to your arteries though lol.  I would love to hear from you if you use this recipe.


Ingredients
For the sandwich
2 tbsp bacon mayonnaise
2 slices of your favourite bread
1 lettuce leaf
2 or 3 slices ripe, juicy tomato
freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 slices cooked bacon

For the bacon mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (125ml) liquid bacon fat

Method
For the sandwich

Spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Arrange the lettuce and tomato slices on 1 slice of bread and season well with pepper.

Top the tomato with the bacon slices and then the second slice of bread. Press together gently and serve.

For the bacon mayonnaise

Combine the egg yolk, mustard and lemon juice in the small bowl of a food processor or in a blender and process to mix. Season with salt and pepper.

Have the bacon fat liquid but not hot. With the machine running, gradually add the bacon fat until the mixture starts to stiffen and emulsify, about 2 minutes. Once it starts to emulsify, you can add the fat more quickly. If the mayonnaise is too thick, just blend in 1 teaspoon of boiling water to thin it. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Makes about 1/2 cup (125ml)

Recipe book

I haven't blogged for a while for a lot of reason which I will write about in my other blog which is is called Thoughts Deeds and Inspirations.

Suffice to say though I have done copious amounts of cooking.  I have had heaps of people contact me asking why I haven't written for so long, and I promised that I will be back.

I will start by saying that one of the things I enjoyed cooking recently was a Red Velvet Cake.  I am not a great baker but since coming to Tasmania I have ventured towards using the oven more often to cook sweets.

I promise to blog more often but my best excuse of all for not blogging is because I was actually writing a recipe book.  Heaps of people tell me I need to jot down my recipes. Most of the recipes that I cook are from the top of my head and it could be something I saw here, something I read there and as I cook I experiment.  Therefore, no recipe is ever the same.

My children always call me up and say 'how do you cook this or that' and I painstakingly try and tell them the ingredients, always ending up saying ' just taste it and add what you think it needs'.  My son Jason then said to me in exasperation the other day, 'you really need to write these recipes down and give it to me'.  This had me thinking and one day looking through the web I found a site that I can actually print a book. Self publish if you will.

I sat and wrote out recipes that the kids like to eat. The ones they call me up for the most, or tell me to cook the most. I thought 20 pages would do, but all of a sudden I found that I had more than 25 pages. Oops!  I checked the website and I could go to 40 pages for the next price bracket. This was getting to be expensive! Anyway, I finished it, proof read it, got my husband to read it and uploaded it.  Once, I was on there, the site suggested that I put the book up for sale !

Since, I knew a lot of my friends who really wanted my recipes, I decided to put it up for sale on the company's website and also send it to Apple Itunes for them to sell it.  So here is the link to the book if you are interested... and I will write again tomorrow.....

http://au.blurb.com/books/3633332