Bourbon Bacon Mac & Cheese

Hi again, lovely people. It's been on the dreary side here lately, so I've been craving comfort food... And mac and cheese is my go-to in that department. Today, I worked on a nice bourbon glazed bacon, which is goooood on some homemade mac and cheese.

I'm not kidding when I say this stuff means business. 

INGREDIENTS

• Bacon
• Bourbon (we used Jim Beam Maple)
• brown sugar
• Pasta
• milk - 1 3/4 c
• butter - 3t
• flour - 3t
• shredded cheese - 1 3/4c  (you may use any kind you like)
• salt

PROCEDURE

I made a glaze for the bacon using the brown sugar and bourbon.  The amount you need depends on just how much bacon you're cooking.  Regardless, the glaze is about four parts bourbon to one part brown sugar.  I doused each strip of bacon in the glaze before cooking in the frying pan.

You can cook the pasta according to its directions ahead of time, or after the bacon is done.  

To make the cheese sauce, start by melting the butter in a frying pan.  Then, whisk in the flour.  When totally combined, add the milk, whisking slowly.  Then, add the cheese, and mix until fully melted together.  Add salt to taste.

Comfort food doesn't get much better than this!

Again, you can really use whatever cheese you fancy.  This time, we tried white cheddar and colby jack.  Next time, (yes, we've already decided) we're going to use sharp cheddar and the white cheddar for that more traditional mac & cheese flavor.  Really, most cheese is good by me, so it all works...  The bourbon makes the bacon nice and smoky, which is soooo good with cheese.  And, it's all caramelized from the glaze, and ugh...  so good.  Just trust me on this one.

Let us know how this one works out for you!