Serendipity in the Kitchen

I rarely use recipes, certainly not for everyday foods.  I like to think of my own mind as a sort of cookbook, capable of synthesizing ingredients into masterpieces.  I’m not sure if that’s a special talent or something that can be learned from years of cooking, maybe it’s a little of both–my 18-year-old son can do it.
Anyway, sometimes I’ll look in the refrigerator and my mind will start going and before I know it there’s an idea I have to try.
Our refrigerator is pretty close to empty at the moment, and that sort of challenge always seems to kick my creativity into high gear, as I try to come up with a use for seemingly unrelated ingredients that will harmonize into something more than only edible.
Tonight’s experiment was a success!
At this time of year we always have a log of Brie in the refrigerator (at least until we eat it all!).  It goes on sale at Kroger for half-price just before Thanksgiving and stays that way until the New Year (which is when we stop buying it!).  At the moment we also have quite a bit of bacon on hand–I bought a little more than I needed for the turkey.   Then there was half a can of cranberry sauce (the jelled kind) that my son had been eating all by itself.  So here’s what I did:
I fried up some bacon (three slices is all I ended up needing).
I placed 8 saltines (that’s all I had–something fancier might have been better, but those were fine) on a cookie sheet.
I sliced half a Brie log into 8 rounds (about 1/4 inch thick) and placed those on the crackers.
I broke the bacon into portions (about two inches each) and placed those on the Brie.
I put a spoonful of cranberry sauce on top.
I popped the cookie sheet under the broiler for about two minutes–just long enough for the Brie to get warm but not long enough to melt.
Et Voilà!

They were delicious!