Candied Bacon And Yam Appetizers
by Marjan
Who doesn't like maple candied bacon and yam? This year for my Thanksgiving appetizers, I will marry these two ingredients into a beautiful ceremony with crunchy notes of pecan and fragrant cinnamon for a sweet decadent delight guaranteed to create festive memories.
Maple syrup, cinnamon, pecans, and yam truly celebrate the flavors of the season. For me personally, enjoying these ingredients during fall and winter months gives me plenty of reason to be thankful. Having served these scrumptious bites at my last gathering, I can guarantee your guests will also be thankful for your friendship and party platter! Make certain to have one serving platter hidden for later, as these bites will disappear in a heart beat! For your vegetarian guests, you can simply omit bacon crumbles; each bite will still be crunchy and sweet.
To gather those I love and serve them warm flavors of autumn during Thanksgiving makes this my personal favorite time of the year. Hope you and your family have many reasons to be thankful and celebrate.
If you are looking for an easy to make recipe for appetizers or cranberry sauce, check out our post pomegranate and cranberry salsa. It can be prepared days in advance and it is tangy, sweet, and crunchy with pronounced flavors of the season. Serve this salsa as a side dish or appetizers, both guaranteed to compliment your parties preparations. Happy Thanksgiving!
Serves 12
Mashed Yam and Puff Pastry
1 lb. yam
1 package of puff pastry
crumbled maple candied bacon (recipe below)
6-8 toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Peel and roughly chop yam. In a medium size pot, bring to boil 4 cups of water; add yam and a pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat. Drain water from pot; add unsalted butter, cinnamon and mash into a silky smooth mash. Mashed yam can be prepared in advance and stored in fridge. Defrost puff pastry and cut them into equal squares of 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Follow packaging instructions for baking puff pastry; cool. Using a sharp knife, split open puff pastry in half using only the bottom half. Discard the top half or use as a crumble in other dishes.
Candied Bourbon Maple bacon
8 strips of bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 or 3 tablespoons of Bourbon ( Cognac, Grand Marnier, or Brandy work equally well)
Bacon can be prepared hours in advance as well.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. On a baking sheet, place bacon strips next to each other making certain strips do not touch one another. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, over medium heat, in a small sauce pan dissolve brown sugar in maple syrup and Bourbon. The alcohol content should be burned off (5-6 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from the oven and discard as much of the bacon grease as possible. With a brush, glaze strips of bacon with Bourbon mixture. Place back in the oven and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Repeat again with an additional layer of glaze, this time reducing oven heat to 200 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Remove strips of bacon and crumble while hot.
Thirty minutes prior to serving, place yam in decorative icing bags utilizing large opening tip. Place mashed yams into bag. Place tip onto top of puff pastry (slightly puncturing pastry with tip to secure yam on top of pastry) and decorate each square with about a teaspoon amount of yam. Continue with remaining yam. Sprinkle on top of each yam square a little pecan and bacon crumble (omit bacon for a vegetarian option.
Who doesn't like maple candied bacon and yam? This year for my Thanksgiving appetizers, I will marry these two ingredients into a beautiful ceremony with crunchy notes of pecan and fragrant cinnamon for a sweet decadent delight guaranteed to create festive memories.
Maple syrup, cinnamon, pecans, and yam truly celebrate the flavors of the season. For me personally, enjoying these ingredients during fall and winter months gives me plenty of reason to be thankful. Having served these scrumptious bites at my last gathering, I can guarantee your guests will also be thankful for your friendship and party platter! Make certain to have one serving platter hidden for later, as these bites will disappear in a heart beat! For your vegetarian guests, you can simply omit bacon crumbles; each bite will still be crunchy and sweet.
To gather those I love and serve them warm flavors of autumn during Thanksgiving makes this my personal favorite time of the year. Hope you and your family have many reasons to be thankful and celebrate.
If you are looking for an easy to make recipe for appetizers or cranberry sauce, check out our post pomegranate and cranberry salsa. It can be prepared days in advance and it is tangy, sweet, and crunchy with pronounced flavors of the season. Serve this salsa as a side dish or appetizers, both guaranteed to compliment your parties preparations. Happy Thanksgiving!
 |
| cranberry and pomegranate salsa |
Serves 12
Mashed Yam and Puff Pastry
1 lb. yam
1 package of puff pastry
crumbled maple candied bacon (recipe below)
6-8 toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Peel and roughly chop yam. In a medium size pot, bring to boil 4 cups of water; add yam and a pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat. Drain water from pot; add unsalted butter, cinnamon and mash into a silky smooth mash. Mashed yam can be prepared in advance and stored in fridge. Defrost puff pastry and cut them into equal squares of 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Follow packaging instructions for baking puff pastry; cool. Using a sharp knife, split open puff pastry in half using only the bottom half. Discard the top half or use as a crumble in other dishes.
Candied Bourbon Maple bacon
8 strips of bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 or 3 tablespoons of Bourbon ( Cognac, Grand Marnier, or Brandy work equally well)
Bacon can be prepared hours in advance as well.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. On a baking sheet, place bacon strips next to each other making certain strips do not touch one another. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, over medium heat, in a small sauce pan dissolve brown sugar in maple syrup and Bourbon. The alcohol content should be burned off (5-6 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from the oven and discard as much of the bacon grease as possible. With a brush, glaze strips of bacon with Bourbon mixture. Place back in the oven and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Repeat again with an additional layer of glaze, this time reducing oven heat to 200 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Remove strips of bacon and crumble while hot.
Thirty minutes prior to serving, place yam in decorative icing bags utilizing large opening tip. Place mashed yams into bag. Place tip onto top of puff pastry (slightly puncturing pastry with tip to secure yam on top of pastry) and decorate each square with about a teaspoon amount of yam. Continue with remaining yam. Sprinkle on top of each yam square a little pecan and bacon crumble (omit bacon for a vegetarian option.
