RED POPPERS RECIPES

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• Italian zesty dressing: Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl until blended.
• For the duck poppers: Slice each duck breast, horizontally, into 3 slices. Cover the slices with plastic wrap and lightly pound until thin. Put 1 jalapeno pepper slice, 1 onion slice and 1 tablespoon Cajun cream cheese on 1 end of each slice. Roll up and wrap in a piece of the bacon. Secure the roll with a toothpick to hold the bacon in place. Add them to the zesty Italian dressing and marinate for 2 hours.
• Preheat a grill pan or grill over medium heat. Add the duck poppers and cook just until bacon is done!
• Remove them from the grill, transfer to a serving platter and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, then top with a wire rack.
• Halve jalapeños lengthwise. (Do your best to halve them through their stems for added visual appeal.) Using the tip of a small spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Set the halved jalapeños aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, cilantro, scallions, garlic and lime zest, if using; season generously with salt and pepper.
• Season the inside of each halved jalapeño with salt and pepper, then fill each with about 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture. (Fill until there’s a slight dome on top.) Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with 1 piece of bacon, setting one tip of bacon on top of the cream cheese filling, then wrapping the bacon under and over the popper at an angle, so the bacon covers the filling on top in two layers. (The bacon will shrink as it cooks, so you want to make sure the top of the popper is well covered.) Arrange poppers evenly on the wire rack, nestling each popper between two parallel wires to keep it upright so the cream cheese doesn’t spill during baking.
• Transfer to the oven, and bake until bacon is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Broil on the rack closest to the broiler until crisp, about 2 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve warm.