Baconsgiving 2014

We love bacon.  Who doesn't really?  I can list a lot of people that don't eat bacon.  But let me just say that even my vegan and vegetarian friends always list bacon as the number one thing they miss about meat.

In honor of this great love of the best cut of pork, this year we decided to turn Thanksgiving into Baconsgiving.  The challenge was to add bacon to every dish.  I know what you're thinking, that's not hard.  And it wasn't, for the most part.  I made my signature bacon lattice for the turkey, threw some bacon crumbles into the mac'n'cheese casserole and the green bean casserole.

The challenging part was the drinks, and the pie.  Our friend Will took care of the drinks, and brewed his own Maple Bacon Beer.  (*disclaimer* it was delicious)  That left pie.  I happened across a recipe for a Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie, and my mind was made up.  I've never been a huge fan of pecan pie, I've always been in the pumpkin pie camp.  But bacon and bourbon are two of my favorite food groups, so I had to give it a shot.  I should also preface this by saying, I've never made a pie before.  Ever.

I referenced several different recipes, all of which were pretty similar.  I used this particular recipe most heavily, solely because it was the one with the most bourbon.  I was a bit put off by the time involved - mix ingredients, chill for 2 hours, roll dough, chill for 30 minutes, boil ingredients, let cool for 40 minutes, BAKE FOR ANOTHER 55 FREAKING MINUTES, let sit for a few hours.  I started this process around 5:30pm and removed the pie from the oven at 11pm.  I had to sleep at that point, so I kindly (okay, maybe insistently) asked my husband to put the pie in the fridge after an hour or so.  We had a bit of a debate about whether or not pie can sit out overnight and be okay.  Ultimately we decided to go with refrigerating it overnight.  The reason is that I spent five and a half hours baking this beautiful, boozy pie and was not about to chance it.  I let it sit out for an hour or so before we dug in, and it was perfect.

This pie is, in a word, bacon-tastic.  The sweetness of the pecan, syrup and sugar is balanced by the smokiness of the bourbon, and nuanced by the saltiness of the bacon.

Recipe credit goes to fancyfoodfancy.wordpress.com
-specifically this post 

https://fancyfoodfancy.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/bacon-bourbon-pecan-pie/