Blue Cheese Bacon Wrapped Dates

This is my favorite appetizer of 2010 hands down, and I have the Happy Hours of the Sunset Strip to thank for the idea. All the bars on the strip are overpriced but there's a little loophole that stingey 20-somethings like me take full advantage of: Happy Hour! Almost all the bars on the strip have half-off Happy Hours, which is the only reason why you would ever catch me throwing caution to the wind with my American Express Aluminum in hand with the few others lucky enough to have their early evenings free. Would I have paid $12 to for 6 bacon wrapped dates? Probably not. And I woulda really missed out. But $6 is just in my budget. So now, Hushpuppie blog reader(s), I can bring this to my home as well as yours.

Recipe:

1 pkg. good bacon
1 dozen dates
1/4 lb. blue cheese

Gently remove pits from dates and pack inside of dates with blue cheese. Tightly wrap each stuffed date with one entire slice of bacon--maybe if you have fancier bacon you can only use half a slice, but FUD brand at my store doesn't pack enough to allow for that. Bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon looks just right. Serve when warm. The dates turn into caramel, and the salt from the cheese and bacon blend to make it a very well-rounded appetizer.

The generic brand of ice cream at my grocery story this summer released Coconut-flavored ice cream. Yeah. They did. And it's as good as it sounds. That's why I sliced up my bacon-wrapped dates and ate them with it. Yeah. I did. And it was as good as it sounds.

Shrimp Brushetta

I stole this idea from a restaurant/bar in my northeast LA neighborhood, The York--because it's what I get every time I go there--and reproduced it for my family for my dad's and his twin sister's birthdays. The prep time for me was about an hour, but when these snacks were served it took all of 20 seconds before they were completely consumed by each of my family and extended family members. Everyone was asking for more.

Ingredients:

French bread or baguette (sliced)
canola oil
1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined)
shrimp/seafood seasoning of your choice
1 bunch/pkg. micro greens or arugula

for Tomato Bruschetta:
3-4 large ripe tomatoes, diced (more if smaller)
1/2-1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
3-4 basil leaves, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
black pepper to taste

for White Wine Butter Sauce:
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. white wine
3/4 c. chicken broth

First, prepare the tomato bruschetta: combine diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper in bowl or tupperware and refrigerate. This may be made in advance (or I suppose you could get pre-made bruschetta, but it won't be as good).

Next, prepare toast: preheat oven to 450 degrees, slice toast and arrange onto cookie sheet. Do not place in oven yet.

Then, season and prepare shrimp. I use a seafood seasoning that I created: http://bellavistafoodsnob.blogspot.com/2010/01/erics-cajun-seasoning.html. Also, to spread the measly one pound of shrimp over the whole appetizer I sliced each shrimp down the middle to create two halves. Set aside in fridge.

Now the next ten or so minutes is gonna happen fast and be kind of busy. The more kitchen help you can get the better. Toast bread for about 3-4 minutes and remove to cool slightly. Move on to sauce.

White wine sauce: whisk together 3 tbsp. butter with 1 tbsp. flour in a small saucepan on low-medium heat. Once smooth add 1/2 c. white wine and 3/4 c. broth. Stir until blended and continue to cook on medium heat until begins to bubble, then reduce heat to let thicken.

But wait! While you or someone else in the kitchen stirs the white wine sauce until it bubbles you must cook the shrimp.

Heat a heavy skillet with several tablespoons of canola oil on medium-high heat. Once fully heated toss in shrimp and spread evenly over the skillet. After about one minute (assuming your heat is high enough) flip shrimp with metal spatula. After about one more minute gently flip shrimp again and continue to toss and flip them for another 45 seconds to a minute until shrimp appear to have been cooked thoroughly. Be careful not to overcook them.

Finally, layer greens over toast then bruschetta, then shrimp, then drizzle with wine sauce. Serve immediately.

As you can see mine never made it off the cookie sheet onto plates or a platter. The minute I turned to set down the white wine sauce half the toasts were eaten. And seconds later they were all gone. Yum.

Orange Slice Bars

Man these orange slice bars are good, and I'd bet if you're not from Texas or a family of diabetics you've never even seen one. Mom posted this recipe on her blog, Bella Vista Food Snob, and I made them recently and took a picture. So good--especially because of all the pecans in it, too. Yum.

http://bellavistafoodsnob.blogspot.com/2009/12/orange-slice-bars.html

Thanks, Ma.

Easy Fish

I'll have to thank the beautiful Kay Tiller for the following easy fish recipe. A few weeks ago I spent an evening with my Aunt K-K and Uncle Leo, and they served me the best from the Gulf of Mexico (yes, pre-oil spill): wild caught fish with a spicy, creamy tomato Alfredo sauce.

My blog has always been centered around recipes that anybody on any budget with any amount of cooking expertise can whip up and call their own. I think this fish dish represents just that. If you think Rotel and Alfredo sauce sounds like an unusual combination to serve with fish you should now begin to open your mind and free yourself from all of your eccentric food inhibitions then close your eyes for a real winner.

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1-2 lbs. filleted white fish (Basa, Tilapia, snapper, catfish, etc)
favorite seafood seasoning
lemon
mixed greens

In a medium-sized saucepan dump Rotel and Alfredo sauce and turn on medium-low heat and cover with lid.

Grill, roast, or pan cook fish.

For grilling: preheat grill to med-low heat, season fish with season and squeeze of lemon season, and sear fish on each side for about 5-6 minutes closing lid in between.

For roasting: coat fish in seasoning and lemon and place on cookie sheet at 450 for 8-10 minutes (less if cooking less quantity of fish).

I pan cooked my fish because I think it is the easiest: heat a heavy frying pan with about 3 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil (or any other that can get hot enough, i.e. not olive oil) to medium-high heat. Sear seasoned fish on each side for about 2 minutes (if your pan is as hot as it should be).

Remove and squeeze lemon. For each method I would just flake off a piece of fish when you think it might be done to check its progress. You definitely do not want to overcook the fish.

Place fish over a layer of greens or with rice or any other creole tasting side dish of your choice and top with tomato Alfredo sauce and serve. I usually think of fish being paired with white wine, but his would be a good red wine fish meal I think--even if it's from a box.

The Bella Vista Food Snob

Hello to all my reader(s). I'll have to apologize for not posting anything recently, but I now have strict competition in the food blog world with the creation of my mom's new food blog. She's only been posting for a couple months now, and she's already got me outnumbered with delicious recipes.

Please check it out. She does a phenomenal job explaining the meals and preparation and has a palate suited for only those who think of themselves as 'food snobs'.

bellavistafoodsnob.blogspot.com