A Wedding in the family: Wedding Shower Part 1 – Jalapeno Poppers with Apricot Dipping Sauce

What kind of dad would Yes!Chef! be if he didn’t make all the food for his only daughter’s wedding shower?  Well, he would still be a good dad.  And his daughter would still love him dearly.  But he wouldn’t have as much fun and the food at her shower would not be as tasty.

So starts a short series on our daughter’s wedding shower adventures and appetizers, which you can easily make at home.  Then, you, too will hear your guests say things like:  “Where did you go to get this food?” “Wow!  This food is great!”  “Do you have any more pizza?”  “Did you try this?”

So satisfying.

The shower’s theme was “Kitchen Ware and Boudoir Wear”.  So, when the guests arrived at our door they were treated to an array of small pots filled with fragrant herbs and brightly colored edible flowers that they could take home with them as a thank you gift.  My best friend, Mrs. Julie Winkle, traveled all the way from Southern California to help me with the shower preparations and she decorated each and every pot (over 20 of them).  They were absolutely adorable and a real hit.

I also placed large 16″x24″ photos, framed in white, of the engaged couple around the property before the guests even arrived at our doorstep.  It was an easy and attractive way to decorate the garden without breaking the bank, while showing off my beautiful daughter and her fiance with some photos I had taken a few months ago.

I placed one photo at the entrance to our driveway so people would know where to come.  You cannot imagine how many people drive around and around this area looking for our house.  They always say its because we live “waaaaay” out in the country and they just  aren’t used to country roads.  I suppose I could have also placed large photos of Yes!Chef!’s food around the property and at the entrance, but that may have attracted some hungry, but uninvited, guests.

When the guests entered the door we set up our dining table with brightly colored real flowers (provided by Hilary Owen, Maid of Honor) and paper flowers (made by Amber Deyon), another large photo of the engaged couple and brightly colored table cloth, napkins and vases…along with the food.  Frankly, I doubt many of the attendees noticed all the decorations once they saw how great the food looked.

Yes!Chef! and my two sons (who acted as sous chefs) prepared several wonderful appetizers.  But today, I want to talk about the Jalapeno Pepper Poppers which were baked instead of fried.  I thought the baked ones would go well with an all-girl wedding shower.  They wouldn’t be quite as filling as the fried ones.

Yes!Chef! says that jalapeno peppers can be fickle.  Some can be very hot and some can be very mild.  Make sure you clean out the membranes and seeds thoroughly (use gloves) because it is the seeds that are the hottest part of the pepper.  I had several of these poppers and some were quite mild.  My oldest son had one that about burned his tongue off and he loves very, very hot things.  I saw one woman at the shower that looked like she was going to pass out after she ate one of these peppers.  Other women seemed not to be fazed in the slightest.  (Shrugs shoulders.)

Here’s the recipe we used from a blog called “The Beer Cook”:

  Baked Jalapeno Poppers with Apricot Dipping Sauce

The poppers were a hit, but it was sometimes a little scary to find out if the popper you were putting in your mouth was going to burn your tongue off or just give you a pleasant kick.

Don’t be afraid.  Add a great beer or some cool, fruity Sangria with this appetizer and you are good to go.

Add spice to your next wedding shower and it will be a memorable one.

Next post…more tasty appetizers from this fun soiree.  Oh!  Here’s a link to how to make the paper flowers.

Handmade tissue Paper Flowers

Enjoy!