Today is the first day of October, and even though it's still hot as a mid-July day outside, this means we're officially beginning the season of Fall and Winter festivities! It's time to start planning meals for Holiday parties, ranging from Halloween to Christmas, as well as football games (especially Homecoming!) Finger foods like these are the perfect appetizers for any social event: they can be held in one hand, and you can eat them in one bite, making it easier to eat while mingling with other people! At the very least, you'll be able to eat with a drink in your hand ;)
You may be wondering, "What makes these BLT bites 'Bluegrass?'" Underneath all of those toppings, there is a spoonful of the award winning pimento cheese from The Mousetrap, a fantastic deli in Lexington, Kentucky. This pimento cheese is placed on a Filo dough cup, and is topped with chopped leafy lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and homemade bourbon brown sugar bacon. That's right: BOURBON BROWN SUGAR BACON. It doesn't get more Kentucky than mixing Bourbon and bacon with a cheese spread from a locally owned shop! The crisp fillo shell topped with savory pimento cheese, sweet bourbon bacon, and fresh lettuce and tomatoes hits so many flavor profiles, I think they could be a hit at any event!
This sweet and savory bite-size appetizer is my entry for the Mousetrap Pimento Cheese Challenge, and you can enter too! The mousetrap is hosting a challenge for the public to participate where people get their pimento cheese & create a recipe with it. Post your creations on Instagram, share your recipe, tag @mousetrap_ky and use #mousetrappimentocheese! For a facebook entry, make sure to send it in a message to the Official Facebook Page. The contest ends on October 20th, and the winner will be announced the week of Oct 21st,. The winner’s dish will be featured on the Mousetrap menu all November, and the winner will also receive a $50 mousetrap gift card!!! You now have 3 weeks to think about what to make, don't let this awesome opportunity pass you by!
Ingredients:
- 16 oz container of Mousetrap Pimento Cheese (You will probably have leftovers, great for snacking!)
- 8 to 10 peices of bacon
- 2 tbsp of Bourbon
- 3 tbsp of light brown sugar
- 15 small cherry tomatoes, halved length-wise
- 1 cup of finely chopped leafy lettuce (romaine would also work)
- 30 filo/fillo/phyllo shells, I used this brand.
*Note: If you wish to create your own fillo dough, or buy the uncooked frozen dough from the store, that would also work. In that case, you would make the shells before beginning the rest of the recipe*
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then line bacon strips on top.
2. Brush a tbsp of bourbon on the bacon, spread evenly. Then sprinkle one tbsp of brown sugar on the bacon, and brush the strips again, mixing the bourbon and brown sugar together. Flip the pieces over with tongs and repeat the process with another tbsp of bourbon and a tbsp of brown sugar.
3. Once oven is preheated, put the strips in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, take the strips out, flip them over, and then spread more brown sugar on them. (Most of the first layer will run off the bottom in the oven, so doing this ensures both sides will be coated in sugar).
5. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes. It is crucial to keep an eye on them at this point, because one minute too long will result in burnt bacon.
6. Once bacon is finished, place the strips on another plate lined with paper towels and let them soak and cool off.
7. Line another pan with parchment paper, and bake the filo shells 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees in order to make them a little crispier.
8. While the shells and bacon are cooling off, chop the lettuce and slice cherry tomatoes in half.
9. Take kitchen scissors and cut the bacon into pieces about an inch in length.
10. Time to assemble: Fill the shells with pimento cheese, but do not put so much that they will over flow. Next, stick a peice of bacon on the back side of the shell. Then place the small lettuce strips on one side, and the tomato on the other side.
*Note: You can arrange the toppings any way you choose*
I hope you enjoyed my recipe featuring the Mousetrap's pimento cheese! How would you utilize it in a recipe? Let me know in the comments or email. Or better yet, enter the contest yourself! It's anyone's game!!
