BLT – Finally

After dreaming of it for so long, I finally made my first BLT last week. And how was it? Pretty darn good. It also felt good to finally satisfy this craving. It’s unbelievable how something so unassuming can rise to such heights. I may be getting a little dramatic, but the fact that I’ve been thinking about this BLT all summer, is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Like most of everything I made this summer my BLT took a little planning, namely remembering to buy bacon and eating it before it got moldy. I thought about making a gourmet version that a friend had recommended after I blogged about my moldy bacon last time, but I didn’t remember to check the recipe before I left for the store.

I also didn’t remember to check my mayonnaise supply and my BLT was almost thwarted this time because of the lack of this sandwich spread. I was able to scrape enough out of the jar for my first two before I ran out. For my third – I ate them three days in a row for lunch, not in one sitting – I substituted jarred green goddess salad dressing. This is the one flavor of store-bought salad dressing I haven’t made on my own, so I usually have a jar in the refrigerator. It tastes particularly good on a taco salad, but it turns out, not that great on a BLT.

I’m not a huge fan of standing over a stove dodging splattering grease, so I usually make bacon in the microwave. It’s easier, but it comes out chewier that I like it. This time I decided to try making it in the oven as I remembered a friend doing. I baked it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, which was just a few minutes too long. Since I didn’t have to tend to the bacon over the stove I was able to get some other work done around the house while it cooked. I checked it at 15 minutes and decided it wasn’t crispy enough so I put it back in the oven for five more minutes, which turned out to be a little too long for the pieces on the end. They were pretty well done, but they still tasted good. This was still bacon, after all.

After a summer of trying some pretty crazy things (beet burgers come to mind) returning to the classic BLT just as summer ends seems just about right. I have some bacon left in the package and, if I don’t eat it for breakfast, I will revisit this classic again. I just need to remember to get mayonnaise from the store. For this old classic, it’s the only dressing that will do.