maple bacon jam - 2013 style

1 pound sliced bacon
1 sweet onion
1 cup strong coffee
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brunoise parsnìp
1/2 cup brunoise carrot
2 sprigs thyme
pinch of all spice
pinch of black pepper
pinch of salt

cook sliced bacon in oven at 35OF until completely crispy, let drain on paper towels. dice onion and sauté in pan using a teaspoon of reserved bacon fat til translucent, then add brown sugar, thyme, all spice, black pepper and salt, allowing sugar to melt into onions. next, add sherry vinegar, maple syrup and coffee and allow mixture to cook over medium heat til thickened and syrupy. crumble bacon into mixture, bring to a boil and pull off heat and transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse til just  combined. put mixture back in pan and add carrots and parsnips and bring back up to a boil. pull off of heat when carrots are al dente. when cool, jam is ready to eat. maple bacon jam will be thick and pasty and is great with anything from simple bread and butter to garnishing a cheese plate to topping vanilla ice cream!