ASPARAGUS APPETIZER - Asparagus In A Blanket

I just tried out this h'ors d'oeuvres recipe I found for asparagus but, like I always do, I tweaked it and made it mine. The original recipe called for 4 ounces of blue cheese instead of the 6 ounces of cheddar but I thought the blue cheese might overpower the delicate flavor of the asparagus, plus I was serving a Blue Cheese Walnut dip/spread at the same time and didn't want 2 blue cheese appetizers.

I also added one little twist at the end by rolling the buttered bread rolls into Parmesan cheese. This gave my "blankets" a lot of extra crunch and added the salty seasoning. So, here's my version of asparagus rolls:

Asparagus In A Blanket:

10 thin slices sandwich bread, crusts removed
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
10 fresh asparagus spears, cut in half

- Trim the crusts off the bread slices then flatten slightly with a rolling pin.
- Mix the cheddar cheese, cream cheese and egg together until creamy.
- Spread a thin layer of cheese mixture over each slice of bread. Roll one asparagus spear (2 if pencil asparagus) inside each then fasten with a toothpick.
- Melt butter and oil and pour into a large plate to keep the level low because you're going to roll each asparagus wrap in this mixture to coat them. Pour the Parmesan cheese into another shallow plate.
- Roll the bread in the oil mixture then in the Parmesan cheese.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until the bread is firmed up.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes to brown evenly.

You can easily double this recipe and freeze any extras for your next party or freeze the whole batch for use later, just place the unbaked spears in a plastic freezer bag, freeze and you're good to go! I did freeze mine and then put them in a baggie and baked them up the next day and they were just great!

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

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