Bacon Bomb!

The food star of our Beachy Blues Buffet event, was our son's infamous Bacon Bomb! We didn't have a pit dug to roast a pig, which would have been a lot of fun, so we asked Alex if he would make his "Bacon Bomb"!  A few of the neighbors who were attending had heard about this concoction and always wanted to try it.  Alex wouldn't tell me all of his secret ingredients but he agreed to let me photograph the steps involved!

First, Alex wove a mat of bacon using strips that are similar in length, width and thickness.  Then he spread ground pork over the woven mat of bacon.

 He sprinkled spices which included dry mustard, onion powder, garlic salt, steak seasoning, 

and other secret spices over the pork mat.

Alex cut long chunks of sharp cheddar cheese and lay them in the middle. He topped the chunks of cheese with his secret cranberry/ bacon bit reduction sauce and was ready to roll!

 

Carefully, he pulled the far side toward him . . . 

 . . . and rolled  and rolled until it was all tight.

He secured the ends with toothpicks

He prepared four bacon bombs for our buffet, 

using the sharp cheddar cheese in two, and crumbled blue cheese in two.

 Next, the top chef in the making deglazed the pan from the cranberry/bacon bits, 

using apple juice . . .

. . . to make a sauce to spread over the bombs.

The 'bacon bombs' cook with indirect heat in a smoker.

After six hours in the smoker, the 'Bacon Bombs" are done!

Just slice and serve - succulent!

How could they be anything but good with all those ingredients?!

We served some rolls in case some guests wanted to make a sandwich out of the pork creation, with tropical fruit and mixed greens salads.

We figured we needed to round out the meal with something light and healthy! 

Everyone agreed the "bacon bombs" were 'the bomb'!!

Before and After: Patio Table

Sometimes 'repurposing' just means "using in a different way" instead of "refinishing or redoing"! Try to think outside the box when creating your event tabletops.  Look around your home for things you can use to create different heights to create vertical interest as you design your buffet.  I recently had a bridal shower for my niece and had a dessert and drink buffet.  This patio table was the perfect diameter and height to sit atop my dining room table.

First, I centered a 54" black and white tablecloth over a 120" pink damask tablecloth on my dining room table and placed the patio table at one end.

I placed a crystal basket of flowers, gathered from my yard, on the table and surrounded it with crystal champagne flutes, wine stemware and some high ball glasses.  Crystal wine charms and a darling high heel bottle opener were also placed on the table.  My silver punchbowl was filled with champagne, wine, and pink lemonade bottles, topped off with ice and placed next to the glassware table.

Finally, I gathered the black tablecloth and loosely tied a bow with pink sparkle tulle for a finishing touch. Now the patio table is all dressed up and worthy of a bridal affair!