The past week, I’ve been whining on Facebook about the lack of pepper jelly in my town. I searched here & there, near & far…but woe was me. No pepper jelly on the shelves. “Sold out,” I was told. “No longer stocked,” they said. How could I make my appetizer, Spicy Salami Rolls, for Thanksgiving dinner without the star-of-the-show?
Folks kindly supplied shopping suggestions beyond my preferred grocery stores. I scanned World Market, but missed Trader Joe’s, got personal help at Tuesday Morning & at T.J. Maxx, where I found some Bacon Pepper Jelly. Hmm. What about mixing bacon with salami? Could the salami handle it? I mean, it was bacon, for pity sakes! There’s a lot of truth in the saying, “That’s too much bacon – said no one. Ever.” But, being a doubter & also a purist, I passed on the bacon-enhanced, pepper jelly.
The day before Thanksgiving, I finally found two jars of Tabasco brand, spicy, pepper jelly at Walmart. Hallelujah! (That was close.) And made what I hoped was a drool-worthy appetizer. For me & for many of those at our gathering, it met the goal. If you want to try it, here’s my take:
Cathy’s Spicy Salami Rolls
Ingredients:
Package Dry Italian Salami slices (as much as needed for large crowd)
1 – 10 oz jar pepper jelly
1 lb cream cheese (softened @room temperature)
Directions:
Lay slices of salami out on a work surface. Top each salami slice with swipes of cream cheese across the diameter. Add 1 tsp pepper jelly & spread over cream cheese. Roll & secure with a (fancy) toothpick. Refrigerate until time to serve.
*Variation 1:
Tame Salami Rolls – For those who don’t care for pepper jelly (or in my case, for grandgems who don’t care for any kind of jelly) – roll up with only cream cheese filling. I made a plate for the kids at our Thanksgiving gathering (with green toothpicks as a “go for these” hint) & they were a hit.
*Variation 2:
Figgy Salami Rolls – Tame, but with a bit more flavor, give that roll a holiday twist by substituting fig jam or preserves for the pepper jelly. Yum.
I enjoyed making those appetizers for the big dinner this year. They present well & were well received. Plus, they make good snacks the day after the event! (And the day after that.)
SOURCE: The bacon saying quoted was printed on a reusable shopping bag sold on Café Press. Just one among many cute bacon sayings & great gifts.
Crafting Mysteries & Suspense 