Baked Buttered Bugles

One day my husband told me that his grandparents used to make baked buttered bugles and that they were delicious warm from the oven, served with a glass bottle of coke (not a can). It became clear as he reminisced, that this was a very happy, childhood food memory for him. My response was something like "They did what?! They put butter on bugles? That's ridiculous. It's totally unnecessary. So they're the ones who started the childhood obesity epidemic." Chuck just shrugged and said it tasted good. Of course it tasted good. I was just incredulous at his revelation.

I filed this news away in my brain under absurd and things to make Chuck for his birthday. Because even though the whole idea of buttering bugles is preposterous to me, I love a good food memory and surprising my husband. Unfortunately I didn't think it through because my daughter had some (and of course loved it), so now I've inadvertently turned this into a food memory for her too. Which either makes me evil or the best mom ever. Since I'm leaning towards evil, my advice to you is don't butter your bugles. Which I probably don't have to tell you because you live in 2012 and get your cholesterol tested regularly and can see for yourself that it's totally superfluous, preposterous and borderline irresponsible (not to mention buttery, warm and crunchy).

BAKED BUTTERED BUGLES

1 (14.5 oz.) bag Bugles

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1.      Preheat oven to 300° F.

2.      Spread the bugles out on a sheet pan.

3.      Melt the butter, pour over the bugles and mix.

4.      Bake for about 45 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes, until dry.

melted butter

pouring butter over the bugles

buttered bugles before baking

It just wouldn't be baked buttered bugles without
a glass bottle of coke to wash them down. For some reason
I'm picturing Chuck at his grandparents' house sprinkling
pop rocks over his captain crunch, followed by a
refreshing candy cigarette and a rousing BB gun fight.

It's not easy to find coke in a bottle these days. I found
this one at Wegmans in the International aisle (it's
Mexican coke made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup).

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Grilled Clams with Lemon-Ginger Butter

photo by Jamie Stanek

Not only are these clams easy to make, but they're probably unexpected at most cookouts (which automatically makes them more fun in my book). The lemon-ginger butter is so fragrant and flavorful; it makes a fantastic dipping sauce for the grilled baguette (which I did make, but forgot to take photos). If you're having this for dinner, you can always trade in the bread for pasta or rice and use the extra butter as your sauce.

So consider surprising your friends with grilled clams at your next cookout - but have a few hot dogs or hamburgers at the ready, because in my experience, people are either totally enamored with clams or completely repulsed by them (I like them, but I can see it).

GRILLED CLAMS WITH LEMON-GINGER BUTTER AND GRILLED BAGUETTE

Makes 2 servings

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 teaspoons minced shallot

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

6 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal baguette slices

1/4 cup white wine

2 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed

Special Equipment: 13” x 9” x 2” disposable aluminum baking pan

1.      Preheat barbecue (high heat).

2.      Blend together butter, shallot, parsley, ginger and lemon zest in small bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.      Thinly spread lemon-ginger butter on 1 side of each bread slice.

4.      Place the remaining butter mixture and white wine in disposable aluminum pan. Arrange the clams in single layer in the pan. Place pan on grill, cover barbecue, and cook just until clams open, 8 to 10 minutes (discard any clams that do not open).

5.      Transfer grilled clams to 2 shallow bowls. Pour the pan juices over the clams.

6.      Grill bread until slightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve clams with bread.

slightly adapted from Bon Appétit, August 2009

butter, shallots, parsley, ginger & lemon zest

lemon ginger butter

clams on the grill

I know, I crowded my pan. I just didn't feel like
getting out another one. But they all opened.

If you don't have a grill, you can steam the
clams in a pot on the stove until they open.

grilled clams with lemon ginger butter

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Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Cream Cheese & Roasted Garlic

It should come as no surprise that anything wrapped in bacon is a huge crowd pleaser. I've made plenty of other bacon wrapped goodies and they're always a big hit. But these bacon wrapped dates are in a league of their own. The sweetness from the dates with the saltiness of the bacon is just the beginning. When you add the creaminess from the cheese along with the slightly pungent (yet mellow) roasted garlic...it's game over. All the other hors d'oeuvres might as well pack up and go home. I think I actually let out an audible gasp when I tried the first one. Then I watched my friends. One by one they popped them in their mouths and their eyes widened. When I heard several oh my god's being uttered, that confirmed it...these kick ass.

Side note #1: Special thanks to Jamie & Ellie Stanek for stuffing and wrapping these bad boys. They came over a little early (and I was running way behind). So they happily went to work for me and did a great job. They rock (almost as much as these bacon wrapped dates)!

Side note #2: I'm taking a break from the blog for the next few weeks (I'm working on a special project and just won't have any spare time). I recommend you make these while I'm busy and let me know what you think. (If you're having a party, you will want to double or triple the recipe. Trust me.)

BACON WRAPPED DATES STUFFED WITH

CREAM CHEESE AND ROASTED GARLIC

Yield: 36

36 pitted California dates (about 8 oz.)

6 oz. cream cheese (I used neufchatel)

36 roasted garlic cloves (2-3 heads)

12 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thirds

1.      Preheat the broiler. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2.      Slice each date down the side and stuff with roughly 1 teaspoon cream cheese and 1 garlic clove (or 1/2 clove if very large).

3.      Wrap 1 piece of bacon around each date and arrange dates seam down (and 1 inch apart) on baking sheet.

4.      Bake for 6-8 minutes (until bacon begins to crisp). Using tongs, carefully turn dates over and bake until bacon is crisp on both sides, about 6-8 minutes more (cooking time depends on thickness of your bacon).

5.      Drain on paper towels.

6.      Insert a toothpick into each date. Serve hot (but not piping hot, otherwise the cheese is like hot lava). 

I've seen so many versions of this recipe (using many different cheeses), that I couldn't possibly credit any one person with creating it. The only original twist I put on it was the addition of roasted garlic. And even though I thought of that all by myself, I wouldn't be shocked if someone else out there already did too (if you see a previously published version, feel free to let me know).

raw garlic drizzled with olive oil

To roast garlic: Preheat oven to 375° F.  Slice the top off each garlic
head (so you can see just a little of each clove). Place in a small baking
dish (or on a piece of aluminum foil) and drizzle with enough olive oil to
coat all the cloves. Wrap completely with aluminum foil. Bake for about
45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cloves are brown on the edges and
the garlic is soft. Cool and squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves.

roasted garlic

The roasted cloves pop out very easily when squeezed
from the bottom (I forgot to take a photo of that).

stuffing and wrapping
(brought to you by Jamie & Ellie Stanek)

You can just open the dates from the side and
stuff them that way. It's a little messy, but it works.

wrapped in bacon

broiled

I know, it looks like a hot mess, but just wait until you try one.
You can stick them with toothpicks before broiling,
but the toothpicks might get a little scorched. We put
toothpicks in ours after they were broiled.

bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cream cheese & roasted garlic

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