Jalapeno Poppers… Baked.. not fried…

So I’ve had this whole garden thing going on and I’ve been LOVING serving dishes that are full of things I myself watered. Tomato salads with fresh herbs, salsa that is all from my garden and now a new dish has made the grade.

I am an experimental cook. I will try random things that I think in theory should be good and I never want to hear how great or bad or mediocre it is… I just want to know if I should bother making it again or not.

I’ve had a few meals that will not be repeated. I’ve had a few that have been asked for more than once. (viva veggie lasagna!!)

Last night I modified an Emeril recipe to fit what I had in mind and baked up some stuffed jalapenos from the garden. It was a mess. It was time consuming. Instructions calling for “dredge in flour”, “dip in egg wash”, and “roll in panko” translates to “HUGE MESS IN KITCHEN”. I had modified the recipe, mixed my own seasonings, added bacon (of course I added bacon… duh.), baked two sheets at a time on convection instead of regular oven heat… it was a hotbed of open doors to disaster.

I nervously set the plate in front of my jury of family and friends and waited for spitting to occur.

They had a crunchy coating and a nice front of mouth heat that was not overwhelming, the cheese was not too runny and the flavor was satisfying without being obnoxious.
I have found a use for hundreds upon hundreds of hot peppers from my garden!!!!

Saved from overwhelming quantities of produce!!!

Says me.

***** Note to readers:

Please do not disregard the massive hint of sarcasm in my conclusion to this posting. There is no way that I am going to make a regular habit of destroying my kitchen over an hours worth of work and 30 minutes of heating up the kitchen with the oven just to find a use for peppers that are taking over my life in their massive levels of production.

The poppers were good though.