Bacon Basil Garlic Bread

Bread machine style hearty bread.

Makes one big ol' loaf.

1½ tsp active dry yeast
3½ cups flour: either white, or up to half white & half wheat.
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP milk powder
1½ tsp salt
3 TBSP bacon grease (yes, bacon grease!)
1⅓ cup water, cool to tepid. NOT warm. Filtered is better.

Set the bread machine on normal and fire it off. When it stops to let the bread rise, add:

½ pound bacon, fried crispy and crumbled, cooled
½ head (5 or 6 large cloves) of garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped, browned in bacon grease, cooled.
½ cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped, tossed in with the garlic for the last minute and fried until well wilted.

Serve it sliced thick and hot out of the bread machine (or oven) or slice it thin and toast it. Either way, enjoy it with enough butter to scare Weight Watchers! I like it with a glass of milk for a snack. it goes well with stew or barbecued steak or chicken as well.

Review: This came out nice and golden, very well raised. It's not too light, not too heavy for homemade bread. Surprisingly, it is not a heavy bread, provided it rises well (and mine rose very well with these proportions): the flavors are still relatively mild. Next time, I think I'd increase the bacon content (probably not as far as a pound) and at least double the fresh basil. I might add some Parmesan to the mix as well.

Supplemental: I made toast of this the next morning, and topped it with eggs scrambled with cheese (cheddar plus Parmesan) cooked in a tiny bit of bacon grease. Oh my! It was superb.

Overwhelming Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 6 or 8

Ingredients

• 6-12 heads garlic, peeled and smashed: make it a lot.
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• butter and olive oil (equal parts) to fry them in. Don't be shy.
• 2 lbs lean hamburger, cubed
• 1 lb sage sausage, cubed
• 2-3 TBSP dried oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground black pepper, maybe more.
• 1 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp powdered cumin
• 2 tsp (or 2 TBSP) Tabasco chipotle sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 2 cans cooked and diced tomatoes.
• 1 jar, bottle or can, prepared tomato sauce, any flavor

Preparations: heat large (preferably cast iron) skillet. Heat oil and melt butter. Fry garlic and onion until transparent. Add cubed hamburger and sausage. Cover and cook until meat is cooked all the way through. Add the dried oregano. Yeah, I know it's a lot. Add the other spices too. Stir well.

Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid; add to meat and stir well while frying. When they're hot and spicy, add tomato sauce and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil, stirring. Adjust spices, which mostly means add more of this or that. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta. Enjoy! Don't count calories!

Review: This is not wimpy diet food. Ya gotta eat this meal with a fair bit of gusto! And it's so rich and flavorful that gusto is not hard to come by. Some garlic bread, Caesar salad, and a bold hand-made brew(Alaskan Amber is an excellent choice!) make a good meal for a bunch of good friends.