These Zingers from The Grain-Free Family Table by Carrie Vitt may be tiny, but they sure do pack a lot of power! Carrie uses apricots, bacon, and jalapeño in her zingers for the perfect sweet and salty combination with a kick. We’re hooked! The Grain-Free Family Table is a cookbook full of recipes for delicious dishes and realistic advice for a workable grain-free lifestyle—an approach that takes gluten-free to the next level.
Carrie is also offering a special bonus for anyone who pre-orders the book. If you pre-order, you’ll receive a free 3-month meal plan subscription and a New Grain-Free Holiday Baking companion eBook that she created specially for holiday baking, as a bonus gift with your purchase of The Grain-Free Family Table. Head over to Carrie’s website to get the details. You must pre-order your book before it’s on sale on November 18 to qualify for the gift-with-purchase.
Zingers
If you’re going to make anything in this book, make this recipe. My mom, owner of The Festive Kitchen, in Dallas, Texas, is the creator of these little bites and sells thirty thousand pounds of them each holiday season. The apricot has a melty-sweet quality, there’s a small bite from the jalapeño, and it’s all wrapped in salty bacon. It’s truly the ultimate appetizer.
MAKES 20 APPETIZERS
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
20 dried apricots
20 jarred jalapeño slices
7 bacon slices, cut into thirds
20 strong toothpicks
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and adjust the rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
2. Using a paring knife, cut a slice horizontally down an apricot. Cut almost but not all the way through, so that it will open like a book. Place a jalapeño slice inside the apricot, wrap the apricot in a piece of the cut bacon, secure it with a toothpick, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Using a pair of tongs, flip the zingers and bake for 10 minutes more, or until the bacon is golden brown. Serve immediately.
NOTE: You can make these ahead of time and freeze them, unbaked, in an airtight container. No need to thaw them—you can bake them straight from the freezer. Just increase the baking time to 25 to 30 minutes.
