I'm not sure how the idea came to me, but it did.

I make a neat little homemade chocolate cheese from scratch (heat the milk and cream, add lemon juice to curdle, strain, drain, and mix in cocoa and sugar... that easy). I was trying to think of a dessert I could make from it and came up with the following idea.

Make the cheese (possibly with some ground chocolate chips mixed in to make it a little more gooey when hot). Form the cheese into balls and then chill. Take a chilled ball, dip it in drop doughnut or funnel cake batter, and deep fry. Let drain, then skewer three or four balls together to make a kebab. Drizzle the kebab with a chocolate sauce that's been kicked up a notch with a little salt and some fresh ground pink peppercorn.

So, who dares me to actually make this (as my wife shakes her head and begs me to just say "no")?

A bacon-infused liquor is a novelty. It's not something you'll probably drink regularly, but its perfect for making up cocktails for a party. With that in mind, I set out to make bacon vodka and bacon bourbon for a New Year's Day brunch I was planning.

For both, I tried the "fat washing" method. This is where you mix bacon grease into the alcoholic beverage in the belief that many of the fat-soluble flavor compounds are also alcohol-soluble and will transfer. Give them some time to transfer flavor, then strain out the fat. While most of the infusion recipes suggested putting slices of cooked bacon in a jar of alcohol and storing it in a dark cool place for a week or two, the fat washing recipes said to pour the fat in, let it sit a few hours, freeze to solidify the fat, and strain.

First I tried the bourbon and followed a recipe I'd seen that said to wash it for 4 hours, then freeze for 90 minutes. It also mentioned that keeping it at a slightly elevated temperature would help the fat get the most contact with the alcohol.

I tried this with a fifth of Jim Beam and 3 tablespoons of bacon fat from my bacon jar (yes, I save bacon grease in a jar for cooking), that turned out to be about 2 ounces when warmed up. I stirred it in with a spoon and let the booze and grease have 4 hours together, repeatedly giving the jar warm/hot water baths and occasionally shaking it. I froze it for 90 minutes, strained off the fat, and made a bourbon old fashioned (2 oz bourbon, 1 tsp maple syrup, 2 dashes bitters).

I'd read that the bacon flavor wouldn't hit you up front, but come in as a smoky note on the back end. It did that on the first sip, but then the bacon flavor dwindled and it just tasted like bourbon and maple syrup. In a later taste of the bourbon, I didn't get much bacon at all.

So, for the bacon vodka, I went "whole hog" (please excuse the pun). I oven baked a pound of Cloverfield hickory smoked bacon...

• line a baking pan with foil
• line that with bacon
• set oven to 400 degrees
• put bacon in while the oven preheats
• cook 20-30 minutes until done to your liking

Starting the bacon off in a cold pan in a cold oven ensures you'll render the maximum amount of fat.

After the bacon was cooked, I drained off the hot fat (about 2.5 ounces) and whisked it into my room-temperature Vodka, then sealed the jar. Periodically I would heat the mixture via either a hot water bath or 40 seconds in the microwave, then give it a good stirring with the whisk. But instead of letting it sit for 4 hours, I let it sit for 26, and I let it freeze overnight. The vodka that was produced had a much more pronounced bacon flavor and smell. This is what I expected bacon vodka to taste and smell like.

So, if you're planning to fat wash some booze, here are my tips.

1. Use fresh cooked bacon fat right from the oven.
2. Use the renderings from a pound of bacon per 750 ml of liquor
3. Whisk the fat and booze together rather than stirring.
4. Periodically warm and re-whisk
5. Let it sit at least 24 hours before freezing

My Facebook friends read about my adventure trying to find tri-tip last Friday morning. I started at Fred Meyer, but they were out. I'd seen Albertson's advertising a special on it, so I went there, but they were out. So I went to the closest Safeway, but they were out. Knowing Costco seems to always have tri-tip, I went there. I'd avoided Costco because I knew I'd have to buy more than I needed, but I was at the end of my rope.

I got a 2-roast pack, took it home, marinated it, oven-roasted it, and served it with sweet potato pancakes and a salad of chopped roma tomato and English cucumber tossed with a little olive oil and salt. But I ended up with a lot of leftover tri-tip.

It's been my experience that roasted meats don't re-heat well. They get an odd flavor. I tried steaming some thin-sliced tri-tip by wrapping it in a wet paper towel and nuking it for 30 seconds for a flatbread wrap, but the odd flavor was there.

Then I tried making French dip sandwiches, letting the tri-tip warm to room temperature for an hour and then dipping it in a simple beef broth jus before putting it on toasted french rolls with butter and swiss cheese. That was okay, but still far from "good".

So I'm putting out the question to my friends and readers: Do you have any tips for making something tasty with leftover tri-tip?

Made this up last night for the wife and boys. For the baby, I pureed some of it and mixed it with some overcooked Acini de Pepe pasta (teeny, tiny little pasta) that he could eat with his five teeth. The wife loved it and said it reminded her of when her dad would make a big casserole dish of chili mac and send the leftovers back to the dorm with her when she was in college. The oldest boy just quietly cleaned his plate.

Chili Mac - Chile Con Carne + Macaroni

1 jalapeno seeded & finely chopped
2 yellow onions diced
2 tbs bacon grease
1 large carrot diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small bunch cilantro chopped

2 tbs ground coriander
2 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs caldo de res (beef bullion)
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp ground sage
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp madras curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon

2 lbs ground beef
2 7 ounce cans diced green chiles
1 quart water
1 28 ounce can crushed tomato
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar
22 ounce bag macaroni

Start sauteeing the onions, carrots, and jalapeno in the bacon fat. After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and cilantro and sautee about a minute more.

Add in the spice mixture (second bunch of ingredients) and cook the spices with the veggies until fragrant. Add the water and bring to a boil.

Put in the ground beef and mash everything up with a potato masher to break up the meat. Add the tomatoes and chiles, bring back to a low boil, and simmer covered for 30-45 minutes.

In another pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni just a little underdone. Reserve 6-8 ounces of the pasta water and drain.

Put the macaroni pot back on the stove. Put in 6-8 ounces of the chili broth and the reserved pasta water, pour the drained pasta back in and mix everything together for about a minute over medium heat. Add the chili to the pasta pot and cook everything together for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the sour cream and cheese, mix well, remove from heat, and let cool for about 10 minutes. Scoop into bowls and serve.

Enjoy!