Five Best Bacon Wrapped Appetizers

Five Best Bacon Wrapped Appetizers

Unless on a special diet, most people love bacon. Wrapping things in bacon is a logical step when looking for appetizer recipes. With the sure knowledge that bacon goes equally as well with savory as with sweet, the filler combinations can switch from chicken to dates, crackers to water chestnuts. Party appetizers should be simple, able to make or assemble ahead, and with not too much last minute oven time. Here are some very simple appetizers, all with bacon wrappings, to tempt your party guests.

Bacon Wrapped Barbecued Chicken
Use skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut into 1 inch cubes. This is easier if the chicken is only partially thawed. Use center cut bacon, and slice in half across the width. Wrap one half slice of bacon around each chicken cube, securing with a toothpick. Brush a little of your favorite barbecue sauce onto the wraps. Place them on a rack of a broiler pan to catch the drippings. Bake these at 375 for 25 to 35 minutes, or until bacon is done. At about mid baking time, turn the bites over and brush with more barbecue sauce. If needed, broil to achieve desired doneness. These can be wrapped ahead, without the barbecue sauce. Brush on the sauce once ready to bake. Or, bake ahead and reheat in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Bacon Wrapped Buffalo Chicken Bites
Using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pound them out thinly. If the chicken pieces are very wide, cut into strips about 3 to 4 inches wide. Place blue cheese crumbles in a line down the length of one section and roll from a long edge, enclosing the cheese. Slice the rolls into about the width of a slice of bacon. Using half slices of center cut bacon wrap one piece around each chicken roll and secure with a toothpick. Place on the rack of a broiler pan and sprinkle on some hot sauce of choice. Bake at 375 for about 25 to 30 minutes, until bacon reaches desired doneness. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing and hot sauce on the side. These can also be made ahead and reheated as above. Best if not completely cold when served.

Half Poppers in Bacon
If jalapeno poppers are something your crowd enjoys, wrapping them in bacon is just that next step to greatness. Cut jalapeno peppers in half, lengthwise. Wearing gloves, remove seeds and membranes. Place a small portion of cream cheese into the jalapeno half. Cut center cut bacon in half across and wrap one half slice around each jalapeno, securing with a toothpick. Set these with the cheese upwards onto a rack of a broiler pan and bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bacon is done. Broil for a couple of minutes more, if needed. These are best served right away, but can easily be filled and wrapped a day in advance and baked when required.

Bacon Cheese Hot Dog Bites
For these, I prefer to partially pre cook the bacon. Use center cut bacon slices and fry them until about half done. The hot dogs do not need long baking time to cook through, and you do not want to lose the cheese filling. Using any regular hot dogs, cut a slit down the length of the hot dog, without cutting all the way through. Using a sliced cheese such as American, Swiss or pepperjack, cut the cheese slice in half. Take each half slice and fold these in half lengthwise forming a long, thin piece. Set one of the folded halves of cheese into the opened slit in the hot dog. If the cheese does not reach the end of the hot dog, add in part of another piece of the cheese. Cut the hot dog into 3 pieces, or about the width of a slice of bacon. Wrap a slice of partially cooked bacon around each piece of hot dog and skewer with a toothpick. Bake these at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. These are best made last minute, but can be filled, wrapped and stored a day ahead.

Bacon Wrapped Dates, Water Chestnuts, Pineapple Chunks
Wrap a half slice of center cut bacon around pitted medjool dates, chunks of pineapple or water chestnuts and skewer with a toothpick. Place onto the rack of a broiler pan. Bake in a 500 degree oven, about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and turn each bite over. Bake for another 4 to 6 minutes, or until the bacon is done. These may be wrapped a day ahead and kept until needed.
All of these appetizers are easy to make and many can be rolled in advance and kept until needed, or reheated when necessary for a short time. The aromas wafting through the house will entice guests even more.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped you along your own culinary journey

About the Author Chris Rawstern
My name is Chris Rawstern and I have been on a cooking and baking journey for 42 years. Many people have asked what "A Harmony of Flavors" means. Have you ever had a meal where the visual presentation was stunning, the smells were incredible, the taste was so remarkable that you ate slowly savoring every bite, wishing the experience would never end? Then you have experienced what a truly harmonious meal can be like.
My passion is to teach people how to create a "Harmony of Flavors" with their cooking, and help pass along my love and joy of food, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own.
Visit my Web site http://www.aharmonyofflavors.com/ my Blog at http://www.aharmonyofflavors.blogspot.com/ or my Marketplace at http://www.a-harmony-of-flavors-marketplace.com/ Let me know, and I will send you a copy of my monthly news letter full of recipes the latest tips.


Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/five-best-bacon-wrapped-appetizers-6448008.html

Guatemalan Enchilda

A Whole Other Kind of Enchilada. A Guatemalan Treat

Author: Chris Rawstern
In the US we become accustomed to a food that goes by a particular name. Enchiladas are known everywhere here. But, just like the way the US has regional foods, the different countries in Central America also have foods that are quite distinct, though bearing the same name. Enchiladas are a completely different thing in Guatemala, where I lived for 12 years. I was accustomed to Guatemalan enchiladas, so when coming back to the US and seeing what passed for an enchilada here, I was amazed, and not necessarily in a good way.
I am not intending to put down what some know here as an enchilada. We all have ways of eating different foods. There is no right or wrong way. What I was accustomed to eating under that name was a nicely fried corn tortilla, with some thickness, so when fried it would support all the toppings. The process for making Guatemalan enchiladas takes at least a half day, or better still, a whole day. The reason for this is that there are many vegetables that go on top and each vegetable is pickled a little bit, in a vinegar and water solution, much as beets are pickled.
Preparing the Vegetables
The vegetables used are always beets as the basis, with other vegetables such as cabbage, green beans or carrots in varying amounts. Some places make cabbage the main vegetable, with just a little bit of beets, giving the color. Some places used only beets, and sometimes a combination of some of all these vegetables was used. The vegetables are shredded, or in the case of green beans, sliced very thinly. Each vegetable is cooked separately, to maintain flavor and color. Once cooked, each vegetable is soaked in a light vinegar, water and salt solution to give a pickled flavor. This is best done a day ahead, though it can be done early the same day for serving later on.
Preparing the Meat
Meat is generally a part of the assembly, and is always chopped finely. I use a brisket and cook it for 2 or more hours until tender in water to cover, with salt, one bay leaf and a whole onion. I find brisket to be most flavorful, and it makes a great addition to the enchiladas. Once cooked, shred and chop the meat finely. It may be put into the food processor very briefly. It should be finely chopped, but not a wet clump. Chop one onion and fry in oil until golden brown. Add in the meat, with more oil if needed, and fry to a nice crisp brown. Add salt if needed. Save the broth left from cooking the meat as it is extremely flavorful and makes a fantastic soup or soup base. Freeze for later if not used right away.
Make a Tomato Sauce
In a dry skillet, roast some Roma tomatoes, tomatillos and garlic. Once blackened in many spots, place into a blender. The tomatoes, tomatillos and garlic can also be placed under the broiler to blacken a bit if preferred. Fry another chopped onion. Once nicely translucent, add them to the blender and puree until smooth. Pour back into the pan and cook for a few minutes to bring together the flavors.
Other Ingredients Needed. Finalizing the Enchiladas.
A few hard boiled eggs will be needed, sliced about 1/4 inch thick. Chopped parsley and lettuce leaves and grated Cotija cheese will round out the whole thing. Once ready to make the enchiladas, make sure everyone is assembled because if they set for a bit, the tortillas will get soggy and unable to support the toppings. Drain all the vegetables and toss together to combine.
The first thing needed for the enchiladas is the fried tortilla. Spread a little of the tomato sauce on the fried tortilla. Place a leaf of lettuce on top of the tomato sauce. Place a large spoonful of the vegetable mixture on top of the lettuce leaf. Sprinkle on some of the meat mixture. Place one slice of hardboiled egg on top. Sprinkle with Cotija cheese and parsley. Repeat with as many tortillas as needed.
These are generally picked up with the hands to be eaten, though I will warn that they are messy.
I have never had a recipe for these wonderful treats, so at present there are no precise measurements. If you need a lot of these delicious enchiladas, make more of each ingredient. Even those who dislike beets have enjoyed this mixture of ingredients. I hope this will inspire someone to try these out, because these are a whole other kind of enchilada and well worth the effort.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and helped you along your own culinary journey.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/a-whole-other-kind-of-enchilada-a-guatemalan-treat-6442409.html
About the Author
My name is Chris Rawstern and I have been on a cooking and baking journey for 42 years. Many people have asked what "A Harmony of Flavors" means. Have you ever had a meal where the visual presentation was stunning, the smells were incredible, the taste was so remarkable that you ate slowly savoring every bite, wishing the experience would never end? Then you have experienced what a truly harmonious meal can be like.
My passion is to teach people how to create a "Harmony of Flavors" with their cooking, and help pass along my love and joy of food, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own.
Visit my Web site http://www.aharmonyofflavors.com my Blog at http://www.aharmonyofflavors.blogspot.com or my Marketplace at http://www.a-harmony-of-flavors-marketplace.com Let me know, and I will send you a copy of my monthly news letter full of recipes the latest tips.