“Bacon is a spice,” insists Kamala Harris, who was at that time a U.S. Senator, cooking bacon-fried apples in Diedre DeJear’s kitchen. Harris learned the recipe from her mother and was sharing it with DeJear in an annual cooking episode the now-Vice President posts on YouTube. The 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee has lots of cooking videos, from preparing tuna salad sandwiches on Instagram with Mark Warner to visiting comedian Mindy Kaling at her home to prepare her favorite South Indian breakfast dish Masala Dosa.
Advertisement
Perhaps Harris shares these videos to form stronger bonds with the people who support her and work on her campaigns. Perhaps she wants to emphasize the valuable lore passed down in families through the maternal line, from mother to daughter to granddaughter and so on. Most of all, it seems that Harris shares these glimpses into her past through cooking to show she’s a person like any other, one who cuts up apples and cooks bacon just like the rest of us.
Making and using bacon-fried apples
The recipe Kamala Harris shared basically consisted of two ingredients — apples and bacon. Cut into about inch-long pieces, the bacon is fried up until crisp and removed from the cast iron pan. Then she tosses unpeeled apples, which have been cut into bite-sized chunks, into the hot bacon fat and cooks them until they get tender, but not mushy. She adds a little nutmeg, cinnamon and a splash of Bourbon to offset the sweetness in the apples, but these ingredients aren’t set in stone. Try adding a little butter, or brown sugar (if you have a sweet tooth) and see what happens.
Advertisement
What’s so wonderful about topping recipes is their versatility. In the video, Harris and Diedre DeJear put the bacon-fried apples on top of pancakes, but the possibilities are endless. You can stuff it into pork chops or pork loin, spoon it on top of vanilla ice cream, add it to a batter to make fritters or just eat it right out of the pan.
