Christmas Party Season

So last night was out annual company Christmas party and we always have it at the bosses house; mostly due to the fact that there are only thirteen employees but also because we like an intimate homey setting. And even though every year we say that we are going to tone down the food that is served, there is always too much left over. This year I decided to try out something new, Candied Bacon. Seriously who doesn't love bacon, except the two vegetarians we have on staff, it is salty, smokey goodness and when you add sugar and spce it gets even better.

For best results try and get your hands on some slab bacon cut a little thicker than what you normally get in the packages of bacon. So I took my pound of bacon, layed it out in a single layer on a baking rack set on top of a sheet pan. For easier cleanup cover that bottom pan with tin foil to catch all the grease that will collect in the pan. Mix together a third of a cup of brown sugar, two shakes of cayanne pepper, two shakes of chili powder, one shake of cumin, two or three shakes of cinnamon and a little black pepper. Rub this onto one side of the bacon and then place the tray under the broiler and cook until it looks good to you. I personally like my bacon a little crispy, but it is all personal preferance. Serve this hot and watch it dissappear.

Our Chiristmas party always has a few traditional foods. like shrimp cocktail and my mothers Christmas meatballs. I don't have her recipee but I can tell you that the little meatballs are a Jewish style Christmas meatball due to the Manaschevitz wine in the recipee. Last night one of the employees brought her new favorite dip which was also a huge hit, Amy's Sausage Dip.

Amy will tell you herself that she is not a cook, but she has a homerun in this dip. Saute one of those logs of sausage until well crumbled and add one drained can of Rotelle tomatoes. Cook this down so that everything is broken up and hot before mixing it up with two packages of room temperature cream cheese. Spread it all into a small baking dish and cook at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.

Our annual Christmas party is always a lot of fun, we have a blast with our Yankee gift swap. For those of you who don't know what that is, everyone brings a gift valued between ten and fifteen dollars, wrapped but not labled. All the gifts are placed in a pile in the center of the room and names are drawn. When your name is picked you grab a gift from the pile, if someone else has something you want then you can swap with them. We go through everyone's names twice and it never fails that there is one gift that everyone really wants. This year the Playboy cologne gift set was popular with the teenage boys; I seriously doubt that smelling like Heff is going to help get them the ladies, but more power to them. On a persoal note for the first time in nine years I ended up with what I wanted out of all the gifts, funny thing is that it was the gift I brought!



Candied Bacon
1 lb. bacon, slightly thick cut
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 shake cumin
2 shakes cayanne pepper
2 shakes chili powder
2 shakes cinnamon
black pepper

Lay out the bacon on a rack over a baking tray. Combine the remaining ingredients and rub onto one side of bacon. Broil until done to your liking.



Amy's Sausage Dip
1 pkg. bulk sausage
1 can Rotelle tomatoes, drained
2 pkgs. cream cheese

Saute the sausage until well crumbled, add the tomatoes and cook until everything is well combined and broken down. Combine the sausage mixture to the room temperature cream cheese, pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.