What are your plans for the weekend? I fully intend to take approximately 7000 naps, fold the laundry (yaaaaawwwwwwning already), get maximum outsideness when not napping or folding, OD on Dateline, Primetime, 20/20, and 48 hours tomorrow night, maybe see a movie and, of course, eat as many Stuffed Jalapeños as the Chef grills up. He made them last weekend as an appetizer (along with those Bacon Wrapped Dates mmmmore please) and they were just incredible. If you don't like spicy peppers you can either grill them a little longer to reduce the spice or purchase alternate peppers. All the information will be contained within this post. I have to say they are the perfect compliment to any barbecue plans you may have. They're not overly filling and are a pleasant addition to any plate.
Here is the recipe and how-to...please enjoy!
Shrimp and White Cheddar Stuffed Jalapeños
Ingredients
6 jalapeños halved and scooped
4T cream cheese softened
6T white cheddar grated
1/2C shrimp cooked and cut 1/4 inch dice
2ea scallion sliced
salt & pepper to taste
paprika sprinkle for garnish
First gather your jalapeños, lightly rinse them, halve and scoop out their seeds. The idea is you want to have nice clean little empty canoes that will be filled with the shrimp mixture.
*note the less than clean edge of my counter containing raspberry stain. mortified.
Once halved and cleaned, set the peppers aside and gather the ingredients to make the filling. Chop, dice, slice, and grate accordingly until you have this:
sans the shells that snuck into this picture
Transfer your chopped ingredients to a bowl and mix with the cream cheese and half of the white cheddar until you have a mixture with approximately this consistency. Be sure to reserve half of the white cheddar (3T) to top the stuffed jalapeños.
Next gather your jalapeños, lay them out and begin filling with the mixture.
Take the reserved white cheddar and gently pack it on top of
each pepper in order to hold the mixture in during grilling.
This process is called "crusting". Thanks Chef!
Repeat the fill and crust process for each pepper until complete.
Place on a medium heat grill and cook until cheese is melted (7-10 min). The longer the pepper is cooked the more its natural spice will decrease.
To finish sprinkle with paprika.
The sun went down and we were eating by candlelight!
*Note: When picking out the peppers select the straightest ones; they are easier to fill and will hold the mixture best. You can also use banana peppers or red jalapenos for less scoville units. (That's Chef talk for less spicy peppers - he's so technical sometimes. Love it!)
Enjoy your weekend everyone!! Let us know if you try the peppers and how they turn out. We love getting your feedback.