What's more fun at a party than bite sized food? Believe me, you're going to want to grab a few of these Mushroom and Bacon Polenta Bites before they're all gone!
These little appetizers are great for fall and into the holiday season. I mean, their colors just scream Thanksgiving, right?
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I took a little shortcut here and used pre-cooked, tubed polenta. Have you ever tried it? It's perfect for an appetizer like this because, since it's already in log form, you can easily just slice it into disks! You'll need to bake or fry the polenta disks to make sure they get nice and crispy. For this recipe, I lightly brushed both sides of each disk with the reserved bacon fat (yum) and baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes and then broiled them quickly to make sure they were nice and crispy.
You can finish making the mushroom bacon mixture while the polenta is baking in the oven. When they're done, spread a little goat cheese on each polenta round and then pile on the mushroom mixture. I like to sprinkle a tiny bit more minced sage on top for a little color!
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Mushroom and Bacon Polenta Bites
Ingredients
- 1 16 Ounce tube polenta sliced into ½ inch disks
- 4 Slices bacon bacon grease reserved
- 1 Shallot thinly sliced
- 1 Pound mixed mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ⅛ Cup white wine
- 5 Fresh sage leaves minced plus more for garnish
- Goat cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp; about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon on a paper towel lined plate and then chop. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease into a small bowl or ramekin and save for later use.
- Lightly brush both sides of the polenta slices with the reserved bacon grease. Bake the polenta for 20 minutes and then broil for an additional 5 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
- Add the butter to the pan with the bacon grease and heat over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until well browned; about 10 minutes. Add the shallots and the sage and cook another 5 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom. Add the chopped bacon back into the pan and cook until warmed through; another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spread a small amount of goat cheese on each polenta round and then top with the mushroom bacon mixture. Garnish with minced sage.
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