Over a Blue Moon Roasted Red Pepper Polenta and served with Blue Moon BBQ Sauce
This Blue Moon-inspired appetizer is featured on the Berghoff Restaurant’s dinner prix fixe menu for Chicago Restaurant Week 2011.
Serves 12
Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
Ingredients:
- 12 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 6 bacon strips
- 12 toothpicks
Directions:
Rinse shrimp, remove tails and pat dry. Slice each strip of bacon in half, making 12 strips. Wrap one bacon strip around each shrimp. Skewer each wrapped piece with a toothpick to secure. Grill over medium heat until cooked through (approximately 10 minutes).
Blue Moon Roasted Red Pepper Polenta
Ingredients:
- 4 cups onion soup
- 2 bottles Blue Moon (reduces to half)
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Directions:
Bring onion soup and Blue Moon to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly add cornmeal, stirring constantly. Cook on low heat 15-20 minutes or until mixture begins to pull away from sides of pan, stirring frequently.
Fold in all other ingredients (red peppers, cheeses, parsley, butter and heavy cream), stirring frequently, until cheeses are melted and blended.
Let cool in pan or transfer to a large baking sheet to cut into squares or rounds (using cookie cutter).
Blue Moon BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 tsp garlic, chopped
- 3 bottles Blue Moon (reduces to half)
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ginger, chopped
- 1 pcs clove
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ¼ Berghoff Intelligentsia Coffee Beans, grounded
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup of your favorite traditional BBQ sauce
Directions:
In a large saucepan, lightly sauté garlic and cinnamon in oil. Add the Blue Moon and reduce to half. Stir in vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, allspice, ginger, cloves, pepper, cilantro, lime juice and coffee grounds. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in honey and prepared BBQ sauce and simmer until thickened.
Add barbecue mixture to a blender and puree. Pour into a jar or bottle and let cool. Store in refrigerator between uses.
TO SERVE:
- Prepare BBQ sauce
- Prepare polenta
- Prepare shrimp
- Spoon the polenta (from pan) or place cut round/square (from baking sheet) onto each dish
- Top with bacon-wrapped shrimp
- Drizzle barbecue sauce over top or place a dollop on the side
- Serve