Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Bacon Appetizers


What do we do when we’re short on time like I am this week? We turn to our favorite easy recipes because we can pull something together and we can to do it fast!

Today I’d like to share with you two easy, easy bacon-based appetizer recipes. These are pretty enough (if you use fancy toothpicks) to serve at parties, but easy enough for home when the family sits down to play a board game together.

My family loves to snack. I think we like snacks better than full meals, to tell you the truth. And sometimes I make party appetizers just to keep in the fridge for general snacking purposes. With our crazy schedules there seem to be fewer and fewer times we can all sit down as a family.

Some of our favorite appetizers have made the leap to “side dish” in this house. I’ll bring more of these to the blog in the coming weeks. They’re ridiculously easy, which is why I like them, but they’re also so delicious, which is why we keep serving them.

Bacon-wrapped Water Chestnuts

You can make as many or as few of these as you like. For each single appetizer, here goes:

1/3 of 1 slice of uncooked bacon
1 water chestnut
1 toothpick
Barbeque sauce

I usually use whole water chestnuts, but when I went to make these for the blog pictures, I accidentally opened a can of sliced. No problem. Instead of wrapping the bacon around one chestnut, I simply wove the toothpick through it and speared two or three sliced chestnuts along the way. Careful, though. Water chestnuts will crack if you shove the toothpick in too forcefully. When the bacon and chestnut are set, cover with barbeque sauce and bake at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet until the bacon is cooked and the sauce is bubbly.


Bacon-wrapped Olives

For each:
1 Large green olive with pimento
1/3 of 1 slice of uncooked bacon
1 toothpick

Wrap olive with 1/3 bacon strip and secure with toothpick. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees until bacon starts to crisp.
(These are super salty, but oh so addictive)


Ridiculously easy, just like I said, right? You may want to place the finished appetizers on a serving plate that is microwave safe. When I’ve included them on a buffet table, they sometimes get a little cold. Twenty seconds in the microwave and they’re great again.


Thank you, Blog Sisters: Avery, Jenn, Riley, Cleo, and Krista, for all your good wishes at Bouchercon!! I am so excited and can’t wait for this one. I leave tomorrow and I know that, win or lose (Barry Award and Anthony Award), I’m going to have a wonderful time. For those of you coming to Bouchercon, please say hello! I’ll be talking about Mystery Lovers Kitchen and my books (and offering a handout) at my Criminal Consumables panel on Saturday and at the Book Bazaar giveaway on Sunday.

Additionally, please stop by the Midwest Chapter MWA table to enter to win a ticket to sit down with some *very* Big Name authors. We are pulling names on site for a chance to join a small groups (about 10 people each) to chitchat with: Carolyn Hart, Lee Child, Charlaine Harris, PJ Parrish, Wendelin Van Draanen, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, David Morrell, and Sara Paretsky. This kind of program has never been offered before and you can only enter at the MWA-Midwest table. You don’t have to be a member of MWA to win.

Just bubbling with enthusiasm here….

Julie

Julie Hyzy’s White House Chef Mystery series features State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef, and Eggsecutive Orders (coming in January). All from Berkley Prime Crime.

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10 comments:

  1. Julie, I've got all my fingers crossed for you! Can't wait to hear how your trip went.

    And ridiculously easy works for me this week!!

    Riley/Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  2. I'm with Elizabeth, Julie, I have fingers and toes crossed for you!! I won't be there, but I'll be thinking of you!

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  3. Good luck, Julie! We're all pulling for you!

    I love these recipes. Quick and easy is always best for appetizers.

    ~Krista

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  4. Thanks so much Elizabeth, Shel, and Krista!

    And I hope you do try these appetizers. Super easy, super good.

    Julie

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  5. Mmm....you had me at bacon! Sending good thoughts and good karma to our Anthony-Award Nominated Sister in Crime! (You're a winner just to be nominated for this prestigious mystery writing award, Julie. Best of luck!)

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    "Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  6. Julie, I'll be there (or actually, am here, early for the SinC group and for my panel on Thursday about the long road to getting published), so I'll see you! Can't wait. BTW, bacon-based food is always a crowd pleaser, isn't it?

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  7. Too bad I just fried up the entire package of bacon I bought. I'd love to try the olive ones.

    Have a great time at Bouchercon!!!

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  8. Thanks Cleo, Thanks Janel! Those olive wrapped ones are dangerous. As I worked on this blog I ate almost the whole jarful....

    Avery (Daryl) - Looking forward to seeing you! Hope we have time to chitchat.

    Julie

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  9. Gotta say I'm not big on olives, but then again, I'll eat ANYTHING made with BACON! Woo hoo.

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  10. Abby - I *never* liked green olives (only black ones) until I tried this. Now I'm nuts about green olives. Weird, huh?

    Julie

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