The wife and I are doing Christmas dinner at our house this year, and I’d like to do a couple of interesting appetizers/starters that people can nosh on before the meal while visiting. We’ll be providing the protein, starch, and vegetable. The 15 guests (family) will be providing additional items (rolls, salad, etc.).
If the menu matters, we’ll be doing a soup course which will be a jalapeno bisque, and the main course will be horseradish encrusted prime rib roast on the rotisserie, mashed chive/garlic potatoes, and bacon-wrapped asparagus. We’ll have wine with dinner, beer and gin martinis before dinner. We’ll probably have a relish tray, but I wanted one, or maybe two more appetizers.
We have no dietary restrictions, and the guests tend to like spicy, well-seasoned foods.
And just to be a good sport, I’ll offer up an appetizer that I tend to do that people seem to really like. I used to make the traditional fried jalapeno poppers stuffed with cheese, but these are a bit easier and in my mind they’re healthier:
Grilled jalapeno poppers
Take some whole, fresh jalapenos and cut off the stem end. Clean out the seeds and ribs. I use a potato peeler for this. The long, pointy kind, not the Y shaped kind.
Stuff with cooked sausage (I usually buy links, cook 'em, and cut 'em lengthwise) and a good sharp cheese.
Now, I have a jalapeno rack I bought; it’s basically a piece of stainless steel with 21 holes in it that are about the size of a half-dollar (google 'em, you’ll find 'em). Put the jalapeno’s in the holes and skewer them with a tooth pick (they’re going to shrink and soften when cooked, and if you skip this step, they can fall through the holes when taking them off the grill - plus, people eat them off the toothpicks).
Take some raw bacon, and cut in about one-inch strips. Top jalapeno hole with bacon piece. Grill at around 400 degrees until soft and done, about 20 minutes or so. When the bacon starts to cook, all the greasy goodness slips down the side of the jalapeno and it takes on a bit of a char, and they sweeten up a bit. If you don’t have the rack, I’ve heard of people wrapping the entire stuffed jalapeno in bacon, and just grilling them on skewers, but I’ve never done it.
I’ve also done these stuffed with whole shrimp, pineapple, and glazed with teriyaki sauce.
They can have a little heat, but mostly they’re pretty mild. My sister and mother tend to be a little wimpy on the spicy foods, but they love these.
So, does anyone have an idea they’d like to share?