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Lemon Pepper Cocktail Bread

Posted by SaraBir, September 14, 2006 at 12:40 PM

This easy, sandwich-like appetizer is not particularly refined—it’s messy and buttery—but since it combines cheese and bacon, no one will mind too much. Just be sure to set out lots of napkins so everyone does not muck up their glasses of white wine with greasy fingerprints.

It was only recently I discovered this was not a main course. My overworked mother used to make it for dinner when my father was traveling out of town on business. It’s not very healthful, which is probably why we kids loved it. My brother called it “loaf.” So you could enjoy this before dinner or for dinner, but in any case I wouldn’t recommend calling it “loaf” unless you are serving someone under 10.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives 1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons poppy seeds 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 1-pound load unsliced Italian bread about 12 ounces sliced Swiss cheese 1/2 pound bacon, cooked, drained, and cumbled

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Make the lemon-pepper butter: In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in chives, lemon zest, pepper, and poppy seeds. Mix the mustard and lemon juice together and slowly beat in until combined. Season to taste with salt and set aside.

2. Being careful to keep the bottom crust intact, cut incisions in the bread crosswise, making slices about 3/4 inch thick and leaving bottom 3/4 inch of the bread uncut (you’ll wind up with an accordionesque loaf). Place loaf on a sheet of aluminum foil. Reserve 3 tablespoons lemon-pepper butter, then spread remaining butter on all cut surfaces of the bread. Insert one slice cheese in each incision, then sprinkle bacon into each incision. Spread reserved 3 tablespoons lemon butter on top and sides of loaf.

3. Wrap loosely in foil, and bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Unwrap the top and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serves 6 to 12 as an appetizer.

*Note: If you want to be classy, use gruyere cheese. If you can’t find it sliced, grate it instead.

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