Hey there, strangers! Between a trip to the Kentucky Derby, a milestone birthday, two sets of house guests, and a trip back home, May has been a crazy busy month. As much as I love the adventure and the company, I’m hoping to bring in June with some semblance of a routine (and lots of cooking, of course!).
I made today’s recipe – BLT Bites – for last month’s gourmet club meeting. We each made recipes from our respective Junior League cookbooks: Louisville, Denver, and Omaha (mine!). Of the three appetizers I made, this one was definitely my favorite… Each piece was a little taste of heaven.
Creamy mayo, smoky bacon, juicy tomatoes - heaven!
There are some awfully similar recipes floating around online, but I couldn’t find the exact recipe I used anywhere else. Here it is:
BLT Bites
Makes about 14 appetizers
Ingredients:
14 large cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup romaine lettuce, shredded
2 tablespoons green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Method:
Cut an 1/8-inch slice from the bottom of each tomato with a serrated knife. Gently scoop out pulp and seeds from the cut end with a melon baller cutter or a grapefruit spoon; discard. Sprinkle tomato shells with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and invert on paper towels to drain. In a small bowl, combine bacon, lettuce, green onions, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture evenly into tomato shells and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Source: Toast to Omaha
Notes:
- I could not for the life of me figure out why the recipe wanted me to scoop out the pulp and seeds from the bottom of the tomatoes. I ended up cutting a thin sliver from the bottom of the tomatoes to help keep them upright, then I sliced off the tops and scooped out the pulp and seeds from there.
- I had five slices of bacon and couldn’t see throwing one lonely slice back into the refrigerator, so I used it all. How can more bacon be a bad thing?
- I used light mayonnaise, coarse salt, and plain dried breadcrumbs. (I bet homemade breadcrumbs would be especially fabulous.)
- Despite having two other appetizers on the table, I don’t think the 14 pieces this recipe made were enough for six people. We were calling dibs and wanting more.
Make these! You’ll love ‘em. They’ve definitely earned a permanent spot in my summer buffet rotation.
Holy cwap!!! I made these for a bbq and they were silly delicious! They were gone in about 10 minutes and I had three requests for the recipe!
As for cutting off the bottom of the tomatoes, the top forms a stable base, making them sit up straight!
Glad you enjoyed them as much as I did, Susan! Thanks for the tip on cutting the tops vs. the bottoms.
Awesome, I don’t think I’ve ever had cherry tomatoes as an appetizer before, but I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to have them than this. Thanks for the recipe!