Amuse Bouche Pecan and Bleu Cheese Grapes

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I am going to come clean and admit that for the past two years, I have ordered the bulk of our Thanksgiving dinner from Metropolitan Market. The market prepares a beautiful array of side dishes (you can pick and choose which items you would like) as well as a free-range roasted turkey that is ready for pick up on Thanksgiving morning. I purchase the turkey, a double serving of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls and then fill in the blanks with my own creations. I usually bake two pumpkin pies but Met Market includes one with the meal so I decided to bake a second type of pie this year, which you will see in my next entry.

The only required preparation for the Met Market meal is a reheating process. Because preparation is so simple, I am able to focus on other aspects of the meal such as setting a pretty table and preparing hors d' oeuvres. This year, I decided to make a one-bite appetizer to serve in amuse bouche spoons that I purchased last month. When I saw the spoons, I knew immediately that I wanted to use them for Thanksgiving. By the way, an amuse bouche is a single bite-sized hors d' oeuvre that cannot be ordered off the menu but is instead designed especially by the chef. It is meant to be a tingler for the taste buds in preparation for the meal to come. Fun, right? I set out to find the perfect amuse bouche for the holiday and ended up finding this recipe for Pecan and Bleu Cheese Grapes. The recipe follows:

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese

6 ounces soft bleu cheese (I used Saint Agur Bleu)

20 seedless red grapes

2/3 cup pecans or walnuts

Toast pecans under broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Transfer to small bowl. In another small bowl, mix cheese together. Put in refrigerator, cover and allow to firm slightly; about 15 minutes.

Place one heaping teaspoon of mixture in palm of hand with grape and roll until grape is completely coated, then roll in toasted pecans. Place on plate in single layer without touching each other and chill for 30 minutes, or until coating is firm. Place each piece in serving spoon (amuse bouche spoon) and serve. Serves 20.

This is literally one of the tastiest bites I have eaten in the past number of months; which is saying a lot considering all of the dishes I have prepared. Grapes and bleu cheese are natural partners but the cream cheese and toasted pecans added important elements to the dish. The cream cheese mellowed the bleu cheese flavor and added a smooth quality to the bite. The toasted pecans were rich and provided the perfect crunch. This dish was so good that I am already planning to prepare it again for our New Year's celebration.

As a side note, I served several additional hors d' oeuvres including Greek olives, large black olives (the kiddos love to put them on their fingers :), Rollingstone Chevre Pistachio cheese and Rollingstone Herbed Chevre with La Panzanella Croccantini crackers, and almonds with cranberries, honey and sea salt by Sahale Snacks. We ate like kings and queens today!

Recipe Source:

yummly.com