[2] Homemade bacon jam (photo © Grognar | CC BY 2.0 license).

You’ve got time to whip up a batch of bacon jam, either to serve at Christmas breakfast or to give as a special gift.

This recipe is from chef Johnny Gnall, who teaches us that….
 
 
JAM + BACON DRIPPINGS = BACON JAM

“Sure, pork loins and roasts may get slathered or served with a fruity condiment,” says Chef Johnny. “But cured pork like bacon, guanciale, pancetta and prosciutto, used sparingly, makes a great accent and can steal the show, even in scant amounts. When you cook salt pork products or pork chops, simply save the drippings and make bacon jam!

“I keep a jar of bacon drippings in my fridge, adding to it each time I cook bacon. One of my favorite uses for the bacon fat is when I drop a tablespoon or so into a small sauce pan and add a few spoonfuls of whatever jam I happen to have on hand.”

Here’s the easy and inexpensive recipe (you don’t use expensive bacon, but the by-product from cooking it):
 
 
RECIPE: EASY HOMEMADE BACON JAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOK the bacon. Whisk together the bacon drippings and jam in a small pot over medium heat. Heat just enough to melt the bacon fat and blend together, and add the chopped herbs to taste.

2. CHOP the cooked bacon and mix in.

At this point, all you need is a thick slice of toast to make a very delicious and indulgent breakfast on the go. You could top it with an egg.

You could top it with arugula and cherry tomatoes for a Christmas appetizer or hors d’oeuvre, as in the photo. Or you could…

The origins of sweet leavened breads date back to Roman times. By Medieval times, different regions of Italy had created signature holiday breads. Best-known, and available in the U.S., are:

Dip panettone cubes into chocolate fondue. Photo courtesy Zabars.

PANETTONE DESSERT

Most panettone is accented with raisins, candied orange peel, citron and lemon zest. Some modern versions add chocolate, which was not available when the recipe originated; others are plain, like pandoro.

For a dessert or a snack, the classic panettone accompaniment is a sweet hot beverage or a sweet wine such as spumante or moscato (any dessert wine will do). Some Italians add a side of crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, and amaretto (or you can substitute zabaglione, a sherry-flavored custard sauce).

But you can Americanize it into chocolate fondue with seasonal dippers. Here are recipes for chocolate and white chocolate fondues. Consider a white chocolate version with panettone and green and red fruit dippers—very Christmassy.

You can also slice the panettone into layers and fill them with whipped cream (how about bourbon or rum whipped cream); then top with berries.

Cakes, Cookies & Candies

 
Fruits

 
PANDORO DESSERT

The star shape of a pandoro enables creative cooks to cut the cake into horizontal layers, then stack them in a offset layers to create a Christmas tree effect (see the photo above). You can decorated the tree with red and green candied cherries, or raspberries and and mint leaves.

Alternatively, layers can be sandwiched with whipped cream or zabaglione. Whipped cream flavored with amaretto, Irish cream liqueur or chocolate liqueur is especially festive. Follow this recipe for Bourbon whipped cream (there’s also a recipe for salted caramel whipped cream).

Find more pandoro recipes at BauliUSA.com.

For wine lovers, an excellent stocking stuffer is Pod and Vine, a box of four bonbons. The pod refers to the cacao; the vine is the wine that infuses the ganache.

It’s not just any wine: It’s Cabernet Franc from Virginia’s highly regarded Barboursville Vineyards.

Four boxed bonbons are $8.00 at GearhartsChocolates.com; nine pieces are $20.00.

We’re also fond of the Pistachio Toffee, eight pieces of buttery toffee with roasted pistachios, enrobed in bittersweet chocolate ($8.00).

For a full-size gift, another great gift is a Top Pick From Last Year, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pups. That’s pups, not cups: The pieces are decorated to look like dog heads.

The milk chocolate bonbons are filled with silky chocolate ganache, which is lightly infused with handmade peanut butter.

And they’re guilt-free: Five percent of sales of Peanut Butter Pups is donated to Companions for Heroes, a not-for-profit organization that matches rescue pets as companion animals to our nation’s wounded veterans.
A box of nine pieces is $22.00 at Gearharts’ online store.