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Well, it’s been almost 2 months since I last posted. We’ll see if anyone is still following my blog or not, not that I blame anyone for giving up on Onceachef. I’ve been quite for so long and without an explanation or any indication that I would be back. Basically, what happened is that I felt that I was spending too much time on the computer and while I wasn’t about to give it up completely I did need to cut down my usage quite a bit. It didn’t start out as a decision I made, it just kind of happened organically and before I knew it I was cutting back my time on the computer.
It’s been a good summer. My daughter joined her first Tee-ball league which I had to take her to. It was well worth it for the entertainment value alone. Watching a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds trying to grasp the fundamentals of baseball is a recipe for mayhem and hilarity. There were kids that cried the entire time they ran the bases after hitting a ball, kids who couldn’t grasp the concept of running to first base after hitting the ball, firstbase men who missed every ball thrown at them while they talked to the runner on first, the list goes on and on.
My wife and I also bought new bikes this summer and I’ve rediscovered my love of bicycling. Looking at me now, you’d never guess that I used to do a lot of serious biking while in high school. I hadn’t realized how much I missed until I got back up on a bike again, after 20+ years.
While I’ve felt guilty about not doing much writing, I have to admit that I have really been enjoying my summer and all the time that I have spent with my daughter. It will be interesting to see what happens this Fall as she starts kindergarten full time. The school year means early bedtime so that leaves me with more time to write, but we are also looking at possibly signing her up for Fall Soccer League and more swim lessons. Since my wife’s job requires that she work most evenings that leaves me to do all the running around. While I would like to continue with this blog we will just have to see how life shakes out and whether this is something that I feel I can continue or not.
Until then, I hope to provide all my readers with plenty of great recipes like the one in tonight’s post. I love Jalapeno Poppers, but with all this heat I wanted something a little on the lighter side and something that wouldn’t require me to fire up a pot of hot oil, heating up the house. By skipping the breading and grilling the jalapenos, instead of frying them, that took care of those 2 requirements. Creating the shrimp stuffing elevates this dish from standard bar food to a great little dish that can be used in a number of settings, from casual to semi upscale.
Grilled Shrimp Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
makes 12 poppers
2 slices Bacon, thick cut, finely chopped
2 Tbl. Onion, finely minced
1 clove Garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/4 pound Shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and finely chopped
1/3 cup Co-Jack Cheese, shredded
2oz. Cream Cheese
6 each Jalapenos, medium to large in size
Place bacon in a saute pan set over medium high heat. Saute until bacon is crisp and most of the fat has rendered out. Remove bacon and reserve. Pour off all but about 2 tsp. of bacon fat from pan and add the onions. Saute over medium heat for 1 minute, add garlic and saute just until starting to soften, making sure not to burn the garlic. Remove from pan and place with the bacon. Allow bacon, onion and garlic to cool to room temperature. Combine this mixture with the shrimp and the cheeses. Mix until thoroughly combined and place in fridge until needed. Meanwhile, cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, keeping stem intact. Carefully remove the ribs and seed pod, with a knife, so you are left with a little “boat.”
Using about 1 1/2 to 2 Tbl. of the shrimp mix, stuff the jalapeno halves to overflowing. Depending on the size of your jalapenos you might have leftover stuffing to do even more. Allow to chill for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your grill. Place the jalapenos over medium low heat, cover and allow to cook until peppers are tender and stuffing is fully cooked, approximately 9-12 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the jalapenos.
Once done, if jalapenos aren’t nicely charred on bottom, place over high heat and cook just until the skin starts to blister and peel. Serve immediately topped with a bit of sour cream thinned slightly with a bit of half and half.
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Peter, these look and sound delicious. Do you start with raw or precooked shrimp? With the ribs and seeds out of the pepper, how hot (spicy) is the pod? I assume these are a 2-bite appetizer.
Start with raw shrimp. As to how hot the peppers will be, I can’t really answer that. There are a lot of factors that contribute to how variable the heat level can be in a type of pepper. I’ve eaten jalapenos that seem to have almost no heat to ones that ones that really had some kick to them. Cooking will often lessen the heat of chiles and removing the seed pod and ribs does quite a bit to lessen the heat as that is where most of the chemicals, that create the burning sensation, are produced and stored.
wow!!! these were GREAT! also for the people who do not like Jalapeños they are good on banana peppers just dont make them too long they get hard to handle.
Just found your blog. Hope you add more recipes this coming year.
These jalapeno pepper appys sound mighty good. Will have to give them a try next time we grill for company.