Pig Week: Bacon Wrapped Fruits

Ok, maybe the focus of this dish is not necessarily the pig, but when a dish includes bacon, you have to count it !

Over the years, I have learned that you can wrap pretty much anything in bacon ( bacon wrapped tater tots , bacon scotch egg ) and end up with a great final product. OK, I have not tried ice cream yet, but anything is possible in the future !

Very simple to make and prepare in a hurry, this is a perfect starter for many a meal, and is great for cocktail parties as well.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces thin sliced smoked bacon
• 1 large red delicious apple
• 1 large ripe bartlett pear
• honey (for garnish)

Halve the apple and pear from top to bottom, then quarter it, and finally slice into eighths. Remove any seed or pulp from the center part of the sections.

Tightly wrap each section of fruit with a slice of bacon. Placed the bacon wrapped fruits on a wire baking rack, and place in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the bacon is golden brown. Note that when the top of the bacon is browned, you may want to flip the fruit over so the botton side browns equally well.

To serve, place on a platter or small plate, and drizzle with a little honey. For mine, I also prepared a simple smoked Gruyere dipping sauce, as follows:

Ingredients

• 6 ounces smoked gruyere cheese
• 5 ounces dry white wine
• 1 ounce cooking sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon groung nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon flour

Grate the cheese into a bowl, and add the tablespoon of flour. Toss the cheese to throughly coat it with the flour.

In a small saucepan, heat the wine and sherry until near boiling. Add the white pepper and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium low, and begin adding the grated cheese, a litlle at a time, stirring to allow the cheese to melt and incorporate with the wine. Continue adding cheese until the desired consistency is achived – not too thick, or the sauce will re-solidify too quickly after it is placed in a bowl for serving. When the sauce is ready, pour it into a bowl and using it for dipping the bacon wrapped fruit.