Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [35]
Spread the bacon strips on the prepared baking sheet. Brush them with the maple syrup.
Bake until golden and crisp, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bite-sized bits and serve with toothpicks.
Variations: Substitute ¼ cup honey mixed with 1 tablespoon hot water for the maple syrup.
Substitute 1/3 cup apricot jam or orange marmalade, stirred and melted in a small saucepan over low heat, for the maple syrup.
A road map for Bacon-Wrapped Anything
Everything may be better with bacon, but appetizers, most of all. You’ll need half as many strips of bacon as items you want to wrap.
Start with any of the following:
Sea scallops, halved into 2 disks, each sprinkled with a few drops of hot red pepper sauce
Medium shrimp (about 35 per pound), peeled and deveined, marinated in white wine in the refrigerator for 1 hour
Chicken livers, halved and marinated in dry sherry in the refrigerator for 1 hour or topped with a small dollop of bottled chili sauce
Large pitted dates, preferably Medjools, split open, stuffed with a blanched almond, and closed again
Very ripe plantains (the peel almost black), peeled and cut into 1-inch disks
Shucked oysters
Candied Garlic
Wrap as many of these as you want with
thin-cut bacon strips, each sliced in half the short way
The strips will go around the pieces just a couple of times.
Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Swirl in
1 tablespoon olive, canola, or vegetable oil
Add the bacon-wrapped bits, seam side down, and cook until the bacon is crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to a wire rack set over a large baking sheet to drain, then serve at room temperature.
Drunken Cucumbers
Since cucumbers pick up the taste of whatever they’re in, they ought to be in vodka. Makes about 12 servings
One 1-liter bottle vodka
2 teaspoons sugar
4 large cucumbers, peeled and cut into ½-inch rounds
1 to 2 serrano or Thai hot chiles, cut in half lengthwise
Stir the vodka and sugar in a large bowl, pitcher, glass container, or food-safe crock until the sugar dissolves.
Add the cucumber slices and chiles. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 days and up to 2 months. To serve, remove the cucumber slices with a slotted spoon.
Variations: Substitute any of the following for the chiles: 2 lemons, cut into quarters; ½ cup dried cranberries; 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves; 2 tablespoons chopped dill fronds; 1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns.
Serving Suggestions: Remove the cucumber rounds with a slotted spoon and serve them on crackers topped with a little smear of softened cream cheese or soft goat cheese. Or use a toothpick to spear a pitted olive to each slice. Or use slices as a garnish for a vodka cocktail.
Once the cucumbers are gone from the vodka, use it for mixed drinks or store it in the freezer for ice-cold shots.
Tomato Bruschetta
Make sure you buy the ripest tomatoes possible for these open-faced appetizers. Makes 30 bruschetta
One 16-inch loaf Italian bread or French baguette
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved the long way
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 plum or Roma tomatoes, chopped
8 basil leaves, shredded
1 small red onion, minced
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the broiler. Slice the bread into ½-inch-thick rounds, discarding the crusty ends.
Place the rounds on a large baking sheet and toast them on one side only, 4 inches from the heat, until quite browned and very crunchy, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes.
Rub the toasted side of the rounds with the cut garlic. (It takes about 4 pieces of bread to use up a halved clove. Don’t tear the bread, but do get the garlic oils and some of the garlic meat into the bread’s surface.) Lightly brush the toasted sides with the olive oil.
Mix the tomatoes, basil, onion, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium bowl. You can cover