Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Mushrooms

I live in a beautiful 120 year old house and I adore all the unique details it sports compared to a newly built home.  The gorgeous trim, the original wood floors, a beautiful stairway and banister….all these little architectural gems make my home a place I love.

Of course, being a 120+ year old home, it also has its downsides….such as no central air conditioning.  Luckily for us in Minnesota, we only really need A/C a few weeks of the year, so we shove some big ugly window units on each of the three floors and call it good.  I hate these big ugly monsters.  Yes, hate.  They are loud, block the views out my windows and keep me from opening up the window at night to allow the cool summer breezes to blow through my home.

Every summer, my hubby and I battle over when to put in the window A/C units.  He wants them in as soon as the temps hit 75 degrees (May) and I want to hold out until we absolutely have to install them….like 5 days in a row of 90 degree temps, which usually doesn’t happen until mid July.  If I have any chance of delaying the dreaded installation day, I have to be very conservative with my use of the oven and stove which leaves me doing most of my cooking on the grill for about 8 weeks.
When I made these gorgeous little bacon-wrapped gems, it was actually pouring down rain so it was quite the site trying to cook them and also photograph them in the rain 🙂  Thank goodness for some helping little hands who were willing to get wet while holding the umbrella for their crazy mom.  I’m sure my neighbors think I am officially loopy out there in the rain…with my camera.

These grilled, stuffed mushrooms were outstanding!  My, oh my were they good.  If you aren’t a blue cheese fan, then don’t hesitate to substitute feta cheese instead.  They are delicious both ways.  The addition of the siracha sauce gives them a nice gentle heat for one perfect little bite hot off the grill.  You could assemble these a few days ahead of time and grill them right before serving!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 12 medium portabella mushrooms, insides scraped clean
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 ounces blue cheese or feta cheese
• 1 Tb finely minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 tsp siracha or hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 slices of bacon, cut in half

Instructions

1. Heat the grill to high.
2. Mix together the cream cheese, blue or feta cheese, parsley, siracha, pepper and salt. Do not warm the cream cheese to mix it or it will be too warm for the grill.
3. Fill the mushrooms with the cheese mixture and then wrap each mushroom cap with a half slice of bacon, securing it with a toothpick. Once the grill is very hot, turn the heat down to low and place the mushroom caps, cheese side down on the grill. You need a very hot grill to sear and crisp this side of the bacon quickly before the cheese begins to melt and drip out.
4. Leave the mushrooms on the grill face side down as long as you can before the cheese begins to drip out and then turn over. Close the lid and cook for another 4-5 minutes to crisp the other side of the bacon. Serve hot!

Notes

You could also make these in the oven under the broiler instead of outside on a grill.