Honey Bourbon Bacon Peach Crostini with Burrata Cheese

This summer my new go-to entertaining cheese is Burrata!

Cheese has its own food group in our home. It is one of those weaknesses that can get you into trouble. All it takes is one "quick" stop to our local Wegmans Food Market to find over $100 in cheese in our cart and an hour in time passed away. Cheese & crackers can easily become a meal as the excitement sets in and we are eager to sample every kind of cheese on the table.

Cheese was the only thing my daughter requested the night she graduated from high school. The graduation was an hour away from home and we had family coming from out of state so it made sense to have a gathering area for friends and family to meet, get dressed and snack before the event. We rented a hotel room near graduation and I set up at 15 variety cheese bar in the room. It was an even bigger hit after graduation for folks to have a bit before heading home. It was something simple but I'm so glad that I did it because that cheese bar is still one of our best memories of the evening.

This past year for Christmas Eve family dinner at home we substituted doing a large traditional dinner for a large group of assorted cheeses for the main meal, with a side of Alaskan king crab legs & freshly shucked oysters. We included a large selection of cheeses for various taste palates. It was one of the best meals with everyone engaged in discussing their favorite cheese that they tried that evening, and everyone encouraging others to try a variety of cheeses and tell about their favorite. But there was one cheese that wasn't included that night in our assortment because it was still a little too new for me and I didn't quite know how to present it. It is not your typical cheese that you remove from the wrapper and simply place a knife next to and you're done.

Burrata first entered our home from one of Todd's spontaneous grocery shopping adventures where he finds himself driving past a grocery store and has the urge to stop in to see what new items have hit the shelf. I am later that day met with him at the door smiling from ear to ear, hands loaded with grocery bags, mind filled with anticipation of revealing his exciting new grocery store finds. Just writing about this experience brings a smile to my face. It is our common bond of cooking. It is the passion of the food we eat and sharing it with those that we love. It reminds me of the numerous times we use to run into each other at the grocery store, at that time living different lives, but having the same passion for shopping for fresh ingredients to make for our family dinners.

I have to admit the new mysterious cheese that Todd brought home last summer intrigued me. It has the appearance of fresh mozzarella. One of my favorite cheeses!! If you have ever had homemade mozzarella you know it's an experience. Once you have fresh mozzarella, it's hard to go back to a store bought version. I highly recommend taking a class on making homemade mozzarella if you can find one. One of our local bakeries here in the Poconos called Kitchen Chemistry offers classes regularly and gives you a great lesson on how simple it is.

So here is my first attempt last summer working in the kitchen with burrata. Todd & I paired it with fruit. The flavor combination really worked. I recreated it again this summer and I will warn you this might be addictive. Here's my version of the ultimate sweet & savory summertime burrata recipe. It starts with a freshly baked crostini, topped with burrata, arugula, fresh summer peaches wrapped in a honey bourbon bacon and then finished with additional honey bourbon sauce drizzled on top. Todd & I tested this recipe with 15 of these babies made up and we ate all except for two which I offered up to our pool man for a quick sample. Yes they are that good.

BOURBON HONEY BACON WRAPPED PEACHES WITH BURRATA CROSTINI

Appetizer serves 15 to 20 people

SUGGESTED PAIRING WINE: Riesling

INGREDIENTS:

2 packages Burrata cheese (4 total)

2 loaves of gluten free french bread, cut into 1/3" thick slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped

Fresh pepper

8 tablespoons salted butter

4 peaches

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup arugula

24 pieces apple smoked bacon

4 tablespoons Bourbon

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375

Slice gluten free Italian bread in 1/3" slices. Chop garlic cloves and place in small mixing bowl. Add butter and olive oil to mixing bowl with garlic. Spread butter garlic mixture on top of one side of the sliced bread and place with butter mixture side up on large silpat baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Place aside to cool.

In a small pot bring honey and bourbon to a boil. Let cool and set aside.

Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Place bacon on parchment paper and brush lightly with cooled honey bourbon sauce.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven lightly brush bacon with more honey bourbon sauce and bake for an additional 7 minutes. Let cool and cut slices in half.

Slice peaches into 1/2” slices.

Wrap each peach slice with a bacon slice.

To assemble:

Take crostini and place sliver of burrata on top. Place one piece of arugula on each slice of burrata. Top arugula with bacon wrapped peach.

Drizzle with additional honey bourbon sauce.

Garnish with freshly grated pepper.

Place on platter & serve.

Note:

If bacon is not properly wrapping around peach, insert a toothpick into top of bacon wrapped peach. Bacon should take form of the peach. I recommend removing the toothpicks before serving for presentation.