Superbowl Sunday Snacks

by {Morgan}

The morning of the Super Bowl I turned to my 'Eat' Pinterest board to look for a treat to make and take to the big football party.
Naturally, when I saw the ' candied bacon' my stomach started doing a happy dance. I hadn't yet had a reason to make these, and the Super Bowl seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Beer Candied Bacon
{from Tide and Thyme}

1 lb thick-cut, high quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp beer {I used Kona Big Wave}

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar and beer in a small bowl, whisking well to form a thin syrup. Set aside.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top. Place the pieces of bacon on top of the rack, overlapping if necessary. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush one side of the bacon with the beer syrup. Flip, and coat the other side with the syrup as well. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and repeat process another time or two more, until bacon is crispy and browned, and you’ve used all the glaze.

Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving.

I was expecting the bacon strips to be more firm/coated like the picture appears on Tide & Thyme. They were not, so I put them on skewers.
The verdict: DELICIOUS. Great flavor. Would be awesome in a bloody mary!

As you can see in my picture, I also had  Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Nordstrom. These are seriously THE BEST. Worth every penny. I had a box of 20 and needed them to leave my house before I ate them ALL! I decided to pair them with some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Clementines. Dipping clementines into melted chocolate is one of my favorite evening snacks. This recipe from Versus from my Kitchen kicked them up a notch.

Dark Chocolate-Covered Clementines with Chili-Sea Salt
{from Versus from my Kitchen}

Dark Chocolate
Clementines 
Sea Salt {I added red pepper flakes}

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler {I used a glass bowl & pot} then dip clementine fragments half way deep and rest them on a parchment lined sheet. Sprinkle each chocolate-smothered piece with chili salt. Slide it into the fridge for 15 minutes to rest and you're done. 

The verdict: TOO SALTY. My clementines were very small, and the sea salt was just too much for them. I loved the chili-salt, but a crystal or two of salt would be plenty. The chocolate/clementine/salt combo is a favorite, though!