The Lettuce "Unwrap"
My brother calls this mouth-watering appetizer "Romaine Gone Orgasmic". Other people simply ask me to make "those lettuce thingies". My neighbor recently commented that it's like a "bacon-cream cheese-lettuce party in my mouth". No matter what you want to call them, you'll have people gobbling them up, one after another, and asking, "What is this?" or saying, "I've never had these before. They are so good!!"
What is wonderful about serving this appetizer is that it arranges so beautifully on a plate. Place them in a circle around a large, round serving dish and they end up looking like a big, colorful flower on the dining table. Another great thing is that they are inexpensive and easy to make. And pretty easy to transport when you're bringing food to holiday parties this year. You will absolutely love all of the questions people ask, the looks of delight on their faces, and all of the "Mmmmmm" and "Yummmm" sounds that you'll hear after their first bite!
Ingredients:
2 heads of Romaine lettuce (pick the prettiest leaves)
2 8oz. packages of 1/3 fat cream cheese
1 lb. bacon
8 stalks of scallions (approximately)
Remove cream cheese from refrigerator and set aside. Rinse leaves of lettuce and pat dry. Fry bacon until crispy and blot with paper towel to soak up excess fat. When cool, break bacon into small bite size pieces (I tend to tear off the larger fatty parts of the strips and throw them away). Set aside. Chop scallions into semi-thin slices. Set aside. In medium bowl, place the two packages of slightly thawed cream cheese. Add bacon bits and chopped scallions. Mix ingredients with a wooden spoon or large spatula. Take a Romaine lettuce leaf and spread mixture straight down the stalk (mixture amount is dependent on the size of leaf and preference). Leave a few inches at the top of the leaf where the stalk thins out. To eat, fold the top of the lettuce leaf toward the center and fold sides a bit.
