Apricot Blue Cheese Pecan Bites

The mix of salty blue cheese and sweet apricots topped with toasted pecans makes the perfect bite for happy hour.  Enjoy these with a glass of crisp dry white wine or an ice cold beer. 


Here’s the thing.  I love salty stuff.  I’d choose a piece of bacon over a slice of chocolate cake any day.  But if you add salty to sweet, I’m still in.  The idea for these apricot blue cheese bites came to me in a flash of inspiration when I was using canned apricots in muffins.  They are the perfect little vessel for melted cheese!  I used blue but if that’s not your favorite, try Brie or Camembert or even a goat cheese.  Don’t have pecans?  Top them with toasted walnuts.   No matter how you make them, I’d like to come over for the party!

Ingredients
1 can (14 1/2 oz or 410g, net weight) apricot halves
3 1/2 oz or 100g blue cheese
1 oz or 30g whole pecan halves – one per apricot half so your weight may vary slightly.
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Method
Drain the juice or syrup out of your can of apricot halves and put them on bed of paper towels to absorb any moisture.   Count how many there are and count out that many pecans plus a few spares.  My can had 17 apricot halves.

Toast your pecans in a non-stick skillet over a medium flame.  Toss or stir them frequently to avoid scorching.  When they are browning nicely, remove the hot pan from the stove and sprinkle in the sugar.

Toss the pecans around quickly to coat them with the sugar which will begin to caramelize immediately as it hits the hot pan.  There may be smoke.  Just keep tossing.  Set aside to cool.

Wipe out the non-stick skillet and pop in the apricots.  On high heat, cook them quickly until they are browned or a little charred on both sides.

Put the apricot halves in a baking pan, hole side up.

Cut your blue cheese into small pieces and put some in each apricot.

Put the pan under the broiler or grill in your oven and cook for just a few minutes or until the blue cheese is melted and bubbly.  Some of the cheese may melt out onto the pan but as it cools, you can scoop it up and put it back in the apricot.

Top each with a toasted pecan.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Sharing with your helper is optional.  But, frankly, not really recommended.

Baby Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Quick appetizers made from asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or Parma ham are perfect finger food for parties.

I first tried these beautiful morsels on my birthday last year, exactly one year ago today, made by the lovely Nicola.  That night was the first time we became reacquainted since we all lived in Abu Dhabi back in the late ‘80s.  During this past year we’ve have spent much time in Nicky's company, enjoying the warm hospitality of the home she shares with our dear friend, David.  As another birthday rolls around and I take stock of my blessings, David and Nicky are up near the very top of the list.  They gave me my birthday gift early since they are traveling this week and it almost made me cry.  This photo was from the olden days, more than 25 year ago.  They had it scanned and improved from an old print.  Then framed it.  Isn't that the best gift?!

Me and my sweetie, Abu Dhabi, circa 1988

Baby Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Prosciutto crudo is ham that has been cured and aged, so while technically it is uncooked, it is safe to eat, not to mention delicious. If it comes from the right region of Italy, it can also be called Parma ham but any prosciutto will do here. You can substitute thicker asparagus and use only one or two in each roll, but I prefer baby asparagus because they cook more quickly so they are done by the time the prosciutto is golden and crispy. Plus, look how pretty! You are going to love these wrapped asparagus!  So easy and so delicious!

Ingredients
100g or 3 1/2 oz baby asparagus
120g or 4 1/4 oz thinly sliced (raw cured, not dried) prosciutto
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Cut the tough dry ends off the bottoms of your asparagus.

Separate the slices of prosciutto and slice them each in half lengthwise.

Prepare your cooking pan by drizzling it all over with the olive oil.

Here’s where you are going to have to do a little math on your own.  Determine how many half slices of prosciutto you have.  My package had 10 slices so I had 20 long halves.

Now count your asparagus spears and figure out how many you can put in each roll.  You may have a few remainders, as we used to say in long division.  I had 86 spears, divided by 20 = 4.3.  So, for me, each roll could have 4 spears and six of those rolls could have five.  Take out the thinnest spears to be your remainders so you can add them in to the last however many rolls.

Okay, ready to roll?   Starting near the top of the asparagus spears, roll them up as tightly as you can in the prosciutto.

Go once around the top and then start angling the roll so that you finish near the bottom.

Place the rolls in your prepared cooking pan and turn them over in the olive oil to coat.

The broiler or grill in my oven has a very narrow range so I lined mine up so the prosciutto was in the middle.  If yours works better, you can spread them around the pan.

Cook under the grill or broiler of your oven until they have cooked on one side, turn them over to brown on the other.  For some of you, this may happen quite quickly so don’t walk away and do keep a close eye on them.

When crispy on both sides, remove to a serving plate and sprinkle them with a generous helping of freshly ground black pepper.  These can be served immediately or later at room temperature.  I must confess that my husband was traveling when I made these and I munched on them all morning until they were all gone.

As when Nicky served them, these go great with a glass of Champagne.  Or whatever your favorite tipple.  Enjoy!

Here are a few other appetizer recipes you might enjoy:

• Bacon Jalapeño Poppers by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Cheesy Melt by Kiss My Smoke
• Turkey Meatballs with Blackberry Sauce by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Loaded Sweet Potato Waffle Fries by Food Done Light
• Bacon Wrapped Smokies with Brown Sugar by What's Cooking, Love?
• Almond Crusted Baked Eggplant by Je suis alimentageuse
• Crab Rangoon Dip by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Mustard and Gruyere Batons by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spiced Nuts by My Catholic Kitchen
• Crispy Cheese Twists by Life Off the Clock
• Baked Sriracha Bites by Organized Island
• Mini Pita Pizzas by Home Cooking Memories
• Slow Cooker Salsa Pulled Chicken Sliders by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Green Hummus by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Baked Mozzarella Sticks by Try Anything Once Culinary
• Low Sodium Cauliflower-Potato Bites by Cookerati
• Pickled Pepper and Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pizza/Pinwheels by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Sriracha Chicken Pockets by Lemons for Lulu
• Baby Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto by Food Lust People Love
• Crispy Baked Green Bean Fries by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
• Smoked Salmon Dip by Wonky Wonderful
• Low Carb Monster Fingers by Yours and Mine are Ours

Feta-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes with Shrimp

Feta-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes with Shrimp are exactly what they sound like: Cherry tomatoes filled with seasoned feta and topped with shrimp make one of the prettiest, easiest appetizers you can serve.

I'd like to tell you that I made this with football games in mind but, truthfully, it was a great snack for taking on the sailboat.  I popped them in a small container and put it in the cooler with the cold beverages. Finger food and appetizers are great for picnics or celebrations of any kind!

Ingredients
14 oz or 400g shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 14 medium sized)
Olive oil
14 cherry tomatoes
3 1/2 oz or 100g goat milk feta cheese
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
Small bunch green onions
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Gently sauté the shrimp in a drizzle of olive oil until just cooked.  Set aside to cool.  I cooked them with the tails still on then took them off.  It doesn't make a difference so you can just as easily take the tails off first.

Cut the tops off of your cherry tomatoes and run the knife around the inside to loosen the flesh.

Scoop the insides out.  I used my quarter teaspoon measuring spoon, which worked beautifully.  Discard the seeds.

Cut just a tiny slice of skin off the bottoms of the tomatoes so that they will stand upright.  Lay the tomatoes, hollow side down, on some paper towels.

Mince all but two or three of your green onions.  You'll need a few kept long for garnish.

Crumble your feta cheese in a small bowl, add in the yogurt, the minced green onion and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper.  Mix thoroughly.

Fill the tomatoes with the seasoned feta.

Cut your remaining green onions into short lengths.  Poke a piece of green onion into the feta.

Put one shrimp on top of each filled tomato.  Press gently to stick the shrimp down.

Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Visit all the other Appetizer Week Blogs for more Snack Time Deliciousness:

• Meatball Bites by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Gluten Free Onion Butter Pretzels by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Crawfish Dip by Call Me PMc
• Low-Carb Shrimp Guacamole by Yours and Mine Are Ours
• Bourbon Pulled Pork Sliders by Cooking in Stilettos
• Sun-dried Tomato Dip by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Sriracha Butternut Hummus by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Margherita Pizza Sticks by Makobi Scribe
• Chicken Parmesan Meatballs by Flavor Mosaic
• Feta-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes with Shrimp by Food Lust People Love
• Ham and Sauerkraut Balls by From Gate to Plate
• Cheddar Cayenne Crackers by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Baked Pickle Chips by Lemons for Lulu
• Cheddar Cheese Olive Puffs by Life Off the Clock
• Manchego and Roasted Pepper Stuffed Mushrooms by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Restaurant-Style Chipotle Salsa by Home Cooking Memories
• Mango Jalapeno Sausage Rolls by Food Done Light
• Ham & Cheese Mini Cracker Sandwiches by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Spicy Cheese Rounds by Try Anything Once Culinary
• Low Sodium Chicken Stuffed jalapeno Poppersby Cookerati

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