Tag: appetizer

Recipe: Prosciutto Involtini

There’s a local pizza joint/brew pub that makes a killer appetizer called Prosciutto Involtini.  In fact, when my bride and I eat there, we often have a salad and this appetizer and call it a meal.  This dish is basically pizza dough topped with, mozarella cheese, and prosciutto.

A few weeks ago, she came up with the notion to try to make these at home.  Her first attempt was a homerun, so I decided to make a batch for the Superbowl.  We cheat a little a use a premade mozarella & prosciutto roll that we slice and lay over a ring of pizza dough.

Here’a a photo journal of the process.

Pizza dough laid out sort of like a pretzel

The Prosciutto and Mozarella Roll

A slice on each loop of pizza dough

The final result I didn’t get a shot of these on the grill.  But I setup my Big Green Egg for pizza cooking/baking and grilled these at 425 degrees until the pizza dough began to get brown.

These were a big hit at the Superbowl party and are great with marinara suace for dipping.  I’ll definitely do these again (and again).

Cheers,
Braddog 

Recipe: Pig Shots

With football playoffs underway, I wanted to try something different to share with friends while watching the NFC playoffs on Saturday.  I’d seen this appetizer a couple of different times recently, so I decided to give it a shot.

Basically, pig shots are formed with a slice of sausage wrapped in a piece of bacon on it’s edge.  This forms a “shot glass” that you then fill with whatever you choose.  I used a mixture of cream cheese and green chillies.  I applied a spicy BBQ rub and also topped them with brown sugar.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

Kielbasa & Bacon

“Shot Glasses”

Filled with cream cheese, green chillies, and topped with brown sugar 

The finished product

Here is the stey by step process:

  • cut sausage (I used Kielbasa) into 3/8″ discs
  • wrap 1/2 piece of bacon (on edge) around each disc and secure with a toothpick
  • combine 8 oz. block of cream cheese (softened) with 1/2 can of green chillies
  • apply bbq rub
  • pipe or spoon cream cheese mixture into “shot glasses”
  • top with brown sugar
  • cook indirect at ~300* for 45-60 minutes or until the bacon is finished to your liking

*Note:  I cooked indirect on the Big Green Egg with platesetter in place (wrapped in foil of course)

If I do these again, I think I’d add some grated cheese to the cream cheese mixture and experiment with a different type of sausage, Boudin maybe?

What’s on your menu for football playoff season?  We all need a killer dish for the big game in a few weeks.  

Cheers,
Braddog 

Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

It’s playoff time in the NFL and that means I have a lot of chances to get together with friends for football on the weekends. I don’t do this all that much during the regular season, but after the holidays it seems like folks aren’t as busy and we enjoy getting together.

But I digress. I get tired of the same old snacks that I’ve done for gatherings like this. So, I was looking for something different when I came upon a reference to bacon-wrapped chicken bites. Sounded good to me, so I gave it a shot on Sunday.

I cubed 2 large chicken breasts and wrapped each cube in a half a strip of bacon. I then rolled them in brown sugar and hit them with a little bit of spicey rub. That’s all there was to it.

I fired up the Big Green Egg and set it up for indirect cooking. However, I ran the temp up to about 350 degrees. The chicken cooked for 45 minutes to an hour. The only problem I had was judging the doneness of the chicken, as I couldn’t really see the chicken through the bacon.

There are a couple of things I’ll do differently next time.  First, I won’t panic and switch to direct cooking half-way through.  That was a mistake (and why there are no “after” photos).  Second, I think a little more brown sugar and a little more heat would be good.  I will try to punch up the flavor next time for sure.

Conference championships are coming up this weekend so you’ve got time to perfect your game time grub before the Superbowl.   Leave a comment and let me know what you’re going to cook for the big game.

Cheers,
Braddog