Revisiting my Favorite Sin!

Hello holidays.  I missed you.  I think about you sometimes; your yuletide awesomeness.  As much as I hate freezing my ass off, I am enjoying an actual season change.  It helps me believe in the whole "white Christmas" possibility.
Can you think of a  better way to welcome December than fattening up a la Ol' Saint Nick?
.....Me either.

I went ahead and got the fat train moving with this little number.
Mac & cheese, deluxe!
Once you have the basics down for a cheese sauce, you can get creative and go nuts, which I did here.  I started the bechamel base with bacon fat, naturally.  But that was out of pure resource- I had just fried bacon, and I wasn't about to waste!

A mix of five cheeses went in, including an amazing 10 year cheddar and brie.  After a little (or a lot) of heavy cream, we were in business.  I baked the whole number, and topped it with a mix of fried onions, panko bread crumbs, bacon and Romano cheese.

 Ding dong.

Shameless.

My mother's voice pulls me through again....

"Everything in moderation, and you'll be fine!"

Cheers mom, really.

So, with a light vegetarian breakfast, I can move onto a more glutonous dinner.  (My favorite sin, of course!)

Yes, that is a jar of bacon fat...fresh from my refridgerator.  Although I stand by oil olive, using bacon fat now and then adds a certain something.....Something besides fat.  There is a smokey element that is really nice when added to vegetables, or the base of a soup.  Even eggs cooked with with bacon fat get a rounded flavor without breaking out a big breakfast spread.

Don't worry, mom said it will all be okay.