Jalapeno Poppers and John

When I accepted a sales manager position in Sacramento, CA, it was late fall and my life became a bit of a wreck. I didn't know how I was going to make my relationship work when John was working as a flight attendant, temporarily based in Tunica, Mississippi and I was relocating to Northern California.... Luckily, things worked out, but I spent many hours on the phone, in tears, wondering if I had made the biggest mistake of my long, retail career. There were few glimmers of happiness over the holiday season that year. I didn't really have any friends there and John and I agreed to celebrate our Christmas over the New Year holiday weekend. We saw each other sparingly, for a few days over every 4-6 weeks. All of our belongings were still living with our pets, in our apartment in Las Vegas. Everything I had in Sacramento was what would fit in my beautiful new Saturn- a box of books, DVDs, a coffeepot, a frying pan, a saucepan, a few utensils and some clothes I could wear to work.

During my few weeks at my new store, I had already begun to share with my peers that I loved to cook and bake, but would not be able to until John and I figured out how to get all of our things (including him) to Sacramento. This didn't happen until the Spring. So of course I was extremely disappointed that my boss announced that there would be a Christmas party at her beautiful downtown home and there would be a cooking contest with prize. I immediately chose not to participate and stopped at Trader Joe's and bought a tray of cookies. I told everyone at the party that the following year, I would win the contest, hands down. They all rolled their eyes, either thinking I wouldn't be there the following year or there was no way to outdo their cooking skills. After I saw the presentation of the dishes, I certainly was afraid to compete and thought, perhaps I had spoken too soon.

My moment finally came. The following year, John and I were all moved in when Karen Hamilton announced the party and cooking contest. She had chosen the theme- Mexican food. Uh oh. I don't really cook much Mexican food. Having lived in Santa Fe, this is one cuisine that I was surrounded with and it was always much easier to order this food in a five-star restaurant rather than cook at home. I immediately began to brainstorm and was leaning toward making a dessert, as I always do. I had a few weeks to mull it over. During those weeks, my friend Leah informed me that she would be bringing chips and salsa to the party. Salsa from a jar. I volunteered to make her dish too- this, truly, giving me two opportunities to win the prize, which was a Macy's gift card.

For Leah, I had already decided to make a margarita cheesecake with a salty pretzel crust. It came out beautifully and it was perfect for Leah's dish, as she always enjoyed a good margarita. This dish was definitely a hit and I'm sure tallied several votes. It did not win.

John had reminded me of a dish that his Mom made for us when I was visiting his family in Albuquerque. Jalapeno poppers. Of course! I don't know why I hadn't thought of them, it was the perfect dish that would stand out on its own. He convinced me that this was the dish to make, but I was also afraid to make them since I have never made them before. He agreed that he would make them the night before and I could heat them up in Karen's oven when I arrived at the party. The jalapeno peppers are cut in half sideways, stuffed with pineapple cream cheese, wrapped in bacon and baked until golden brown. People always ask, "Why pineapple cream cheese? I don't like pineapple." I don't like pineapple cream cheese either, but unless I had told you there was pineapple in it, you would never know. The slight taste of sweetness with the spice of the pepper and smoke of the bacon makes them so delicious, you cannot stop eating them. I promise you.

I couldn't find pineapple cream cheese at any of the three grocery stores I searched. I had no choice. I bought regular cream cheese and cans of crushed pineapple and whipped it together in my trusty KitchenAid mixer. It worked perfectly. We actually decided that we liked it better than the store bought kind and vowed we would always make them this way from now on.

Needless to say, the jalapeno popper was the hit of the party and they disappeared off of the tray instantly. I won first place, got my gift card and redeemed myself from the Trader Joe's cookie tray. If you have not tried these, it is the perfect New Year's Eve finger food. Find extra large peppers, as this makes it easier to stuff and wrap. Make your own pineapple cream cheese and use a good bacon. It takes a while to brown in the oven, you know you're not done yet if you haven't seen smoke pour out the sides of the oven door. Take it from a prize winner- every single person at your party will fall in love with them and ask you for the recipe. Luckily, I was offered a position in Albuquerque before having to top them at the following year's Christmas party.