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BLB's Mini BLTs

Source of Recipe


From "The Best American Recipes 2003 - 2004"






List of Ingredients



• 16 slices Pepperidge Farm or Arnold white sandwich bread
  
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
  
• 1 lb. sliced bacon
  
• 1-1/4 lbs. ripe yet firm tomatoes (about 3-inch-wide tomatoes)
  
• 3 to 4 Tbsp Hellmann's (or in Western states, Best Foods) Real Mayonnaise
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  






Instructions



1. Preheat the oven to 450º F. With a rolling pin, flatten each slice of bread to cardboard thinness. Cut 4 rounds from each slice of bread with a 2-inch cookie cutter. Press the rounds into mini-muffin pans to form shallow cups and bake until colored, about 6 minutes. Cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let cool to room temperature. (These can be stored in an airtight container for several days.) Their texture should remind you of toast: crisp yet slightly soft on the inside, without being tough or brittle.
   
   
2. Choose the largest and most perfect lettuce leaves. Cut out the toughest ribs and cut the leaves into strips 3/4-inch wide. Piling up a few strips at a time, cut them crosswise into fine shreds about 1/16-inch wide. Stop when you have 1-1/4 cups. Fry the bacon until very crisp and drain; crumble it into pieces the size of peppercorns. Core the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and juice, and cut the flesh into 1/8-inch cubes. You should have 1-1/4 cups.
   
   
3. Combine the bacon, lettuce and tomato cubes in a large bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, adding a little more if needed to bind the mixture; too much makes the filling soggy and unbalances the tastes. Season with salt and 8 to 12 turns of the pepper mill. Fill each with a generous teaspoon of the BLT mixture and serve immediately.
   
   Makes 64 canapés.
   
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   COOK'S NOTES
   
   * Pepperidge Farm makes a white toasting bread, which is not what you want for this recipe -- it's much too thick.
   
   * You'll need mini-muffin pans to make these into cupped canapés, but you can also make the flat ones (on a baking sheet) -- they'll still taste great, but they won't look as pretty.
   
   * Cherry tomatoes are great in this recipe, and definitely extend the season for these delicious morsels.
   
   * Although this recipe seems like simplicity itself, its success depends on finesse: Cut the tomatoes really finely, don't upgrade the lettuce to romaine or you'll lose the crunch, and be very careful not to add too much mayonnaise.