Breakfast for Dinner Potluck

Last night we had a bunch of friends over for a Breakfast for Dinner potluck.  I love throwing themed parties (check out my posts about the Tropical Luau party and 4^th of July party), and this one turned out amazing because everyone brought a different breakfast food! 

We had egg casserole, monkey bread, bacon, various waffle flavors (including cookies & cream!), donuts, fruit, hash browns, gluten-free french toast, pumpkin bread, mini quiches, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and mimosas (I may even be missing some things on the list…there was that much food). 

My contribution to the potluck was a Bloody Mary bar.  When I was at the UF Homecoming game last year, a family friend had really elaborate Bloody Marys at his tailgate (see below).  I saw an article recently about insane Bloody Mary recipes (most of them were way too ridiculous for me to try...with garnishes like whole cheeseburgers and pizzas).  I also read about a pub in Milwaukee that serves theirs with a whole fried chicken.

Mine wasn’t anything that crazy, but I did make beer-candied bacon as a garnish.  Here’s the recipe:

Beer Candied Bacon (adapted from Tide and Thyme)

Ingredients:

·        1 pound quality bacon

·        ½ cup brown sugar

·        ¼ cup + 2 tbsp beer (I used Sam Adam’s Octoberfest)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on top of it. 

3. Place pieces of bacon on top – it’s best if they don’t overlap much.

    

4. Cook bacon in the oven for 10 minutes. 

5. While bacon is cooking, whisk together the brown sugar and beer in a small bowl to make a syrup.  When the bacon has cooked 10 minutes, remove from oven and brush with the syrup.  Flip and coat the other side as well.  You can enjoy the remaining beer while your bacon cooks!

6.  Cook 10 more minutes and repeat process until the glaze is used up.  It may take several rounds for the bacon to get crispy (mine took about 35 minutes). 

7. Cool on a wire rack before serving. 

Bloody Mary Bar

Ingredients:

·        1 T basil

·        1 T celery salt

·        ½ tsp sea salt

·        ½ tsp garlic powder

·        ½ tsp smoked paprika

·        Dash of salt and pepper

·        Olives

·        Pepperjack cheese, cubed

·        Pepperoni, sliced

·        Lemons and limes, sliced

·        Celery (leafy)

·        Various hot sauces

·        Worcestershire sauce

·        Beer candied bacon (see above recipe)

·        Zing-Zang brand Bloody Mary mix

·        Mr. & Mrs. T’s Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary Mix

·        Vodka

·        Wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients (spices) on a plate to rim the glasses.  Dip your glasses in water (or rub the rim with lime juice) then dip in the spice mixture.

2. Mix your Bloody Mary in a pitcher – combine 2 parts Zing Zang mix, 2 Parts Mr. & Mrs. T’s mix, and 1 part vodka.  Stir well. (You can use just one of the mixes and do 4 parts mix to 1 part vodka if you'd like, but this combination was recommended by the guy who does them at tailgates).

3.  Line your various garnishes up so people can create their own!