Baking Bacon

(Not my picture)

My parents taught me how to cook bacon in a pan, on top of the stove.  I always thought this was the ONLY way to cook bacon…until I saw a show in the Food Network (might have been Alton Brown).  I first thought, “Baking bacon?  WTF?!?!?”  I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it’s the best technique, EVER.

It’s not only easy to do, but it also strangely prevents the bacon strips from curling up so that you have flat, evenly cooked slices.   All you do is place the strips of bacon onto a sheet pan fitted with a rack and place into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Remove from rack and drain on paper towels. Enjoy.

Easy peasy.  Try it and you’ll never go back to stove-top cooked bacon.

Agave Nectar: Good or Bad?

I’ve seen several posts on tastespotting.com and foodgawker.com with recipes substituting sugar or honey with agave nectar.  I haven’t fully converted because I’m not sure if the taste and consistency would be the same and I haven’t really researched into the benefits of it myself.  (This website claims agave nectar is good for the glycemic index.)  I just assumed it was supposed to be a healthier alternative, but I just ran into an article on the Kitchn (and no, i did NOT spell that incorrectly) that made me re-think using agave nectar.  Maybe I’ll stick with honey for now.