Hello Food For Thought Friends!

I am currently in Oklahoma visiting family and attending my cousin’s wedding.

I love visiting Oklahoma. Not only do I get to spend time with  family, but the countryside and lakes are absolutely beautiful.

My sisters and I always refer to our visits here as going to Temptation Island.  The reason behind that nickname is that any - and I mean ANY food - craving you can possibly have can be met with a visit to our Aunt Linda’s houseboat.

She made us apple dumplings, incredible ham, and had an array of purchased snacks within arm’s reach.  I  knew for certain that I would find a culinary treat to share with you while I was here.  Sure enough, my cousin Steven and his wife Cindy introduced me to a barbecued delight called Armadillo Eggs.

Intrigued, I had to participate in the preparation of these gems.  Arm-a -dill-la - as it is pronounced in Oklahoma -  has a curious culinary history.  There are grooms’ cakes shaped like the armored animal, an unusual steakhouse item, and now of course, these  eggs.

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Armadillo Eggs

4 Chicken breasts, skin removed

8 jalapenos

Cream cheese

8-16 slices of bacon (I like apple wood smoked or any of the thick bacon sold at R&R Meats in Redding

Skewers

To prepare chicken, slice each breast in 4 strips, lengthwise.  Give them a good pound between two sheets of plastic wrap to achieve an even thickness. Halve the jalapenos and remove the seeds. Put a small amount of cream cheese inside the jalapeno. Place the jalapeno on the chicken strip and roll chicken around the pepper.

Now, this part is entirely up to you. Use half or whole piece of bacon. I am partial to half.  If there is a defibrillator near by, go for the whole piece. Wrap bacon around chicken and pepper tightly.
Skewer through both sides of the pepper

On a medium-flame (400-ish) barbecue, place your armadillo eggs on the grill.  Cook for about 20 minutes, or until your bacon is good and crispy and the chicken is cooked through.

My cousin Steven suggests that when you close the grill top, make sure you open the lid frequently to let out smoke.  The bacon will produce a lot of smoke, especially if you have several skewers cooking at one time.

Of course I had to experiment and put my California swing on this Okie dish.  I chopped up some apples and grapes omitted the pepper.  I rolled the chicken with cream cheese, fruit and wrapped in bacon.  This was out of this world.  I think if there was some brie or goat cheese on hand there would have had some converts to my side. 

My favorite part of this recipe is that it is so simple, and versatile.  Plus, I got to write “ARM-A-DILL-LA”!

See y’all next week!

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Andrea Charroin was a trained baker and pastry chef in San Francisco before she, her husband Westley, and their two sons moved to Redding nine years ago. After falling in love with Redding’s downtown, Andrea and Westley opened a little pastry shop, Rene-Joule Patisserie, across from the Cascade Theatre. For the three years Rene-Joule was in business, it was renowned for making everything from scratch, using the best ingredients and keeping with a seasonal menu. To this day, Andrea is still asked about her Marathon Bars, Orange Twists and sourdough bread.

Copyright 2008 Andrea R. Charroin

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