In all things, timing is everything. Timing is a balance between an event which is completed on schedule and the quality of its delivery.
The cook in my house is often last to the table.
The making of Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avacado (BLTA) sandwiches is a good example of why this lateness of the cook to the table occurs.
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Timing is everything with BLTAs. It all begins with cooking the bacon.
I cut the package of bacon in half with scissors. Half a package of half pieces of bacon fit perfectly in a large frying pan. Preheat the frying pan and start arranging the bacon in the pan so it does not overlap.
Fry the bacon at medium heat. Too cool a flame and the bacon will be rubbery. Too hot and the bacon burns.
When the bacon is almost done start turning pieces from the center of the pan outward. When the last piece is turned it is time to turn them again – center outward. During the third pass some of the center pieces get tonged onto a paper towel as they are ready.
The first half of the bacon is done. I pour the excess grease into a coffee can then arrange the second half of the bacon in the pan.
Now is the perfect time to eat a BLTA. The bacon is hot and so is the toast. The toast? Luckily I have a sous-chef.
When I started cooking the bacon my wife Paula started preparing the rest. She washed and broke the lettuce into pieces. She sliced the tomatoes. She sliced the avocado. She got out the jar of mayonnaise and a butter knife.
During the second turn of the bacon my sous-chef put the bread in the toaster to cook. About the time the bacon was going onto the paper towel the toast pops.
This is the perfect time to eat a BLTA. The bacon is hot and so is the toast. Bacon loses its scrumptiousness incrementally with time.
Paula makes her sandwich, takes it to the table and begins to eat it. Yumm.
I am still cooking. That is OK.
I will make my sandwich after the second batch of bacon is done.
This way we both get to eat a BLTA at the perfect moment.
I am late to the table, but my timing was perfect.
