Jalapeno Poppers

With homemade jalapenos! Mike found these huge babies in the garden yesterday afternoon, and I was in the mood for something spicy. I love this recipe: the sweet of garlic, cilantro, and cream cheese with the spicy of jalapeno and cayenne pepper, the softness of cheese and crunch of Japanese bread crumbs come together for a great appetizer. I was just playing around, so this recipe is very small: serves only two.

3 large jalapenos, split in half and seeded
2 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces shredded cheese of your choice (mozzarella, cheddar, stilton, whatever you want)
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tablespoon cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
hot sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon milk
1/2-3/4 cup Japanese bread crumbs

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• For a more soft pepper, blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling water, then transfer to ice water. If you want a crunchier snack, shorten the blanching time or skip altogether.
• In a small food processor, combine well the cream cheese, other cheese, garlic, cilantro, and peppers.
• Wisk together the egg, how sauce, and milk in a medium-sized bowl.
• Put the Japanese bread crumbs in a bowl next to the egg mixture.
• Stuff the cheese mixture into the peppers.
• Dip/dredge the stuffed peppers into the egg, then place in the Japanese bread crumbs and toss crumbs on top. Shake excess crumbs off and place onto baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes; until the crumbs are golden brown.

Sure, it's a labor of love, but dang, is it good. I've also heard of wrapping the stuffed peppers in bacon and grilling them until the bacon is done (omitting the dredging and Japanese bread crumbs), but that's for another day and another post.