Strawberry, Mascarpone, and Bacon?

Well believe it or not, I found this recipe in the Kirkland Costco cookbook. They give out a yearly cookbook for free after the holidays and I usually flip through and forget all about it, but this year I pulled out all of the recipes that I wanted to try. This recipe looked delicious and like a fun appetizer that wasn't too difficult, but looked like it was a lot of work to make. I'll be honest, I am not sure how I feel about mascarpone cheese yet, I wanted it to have more of a cheese flavor and less of a cool whip flavor. This recipe was good if you like mascarpone cheese, I think next time I'd make it with ricotta or some other more flavorful cheese. It is an acquired taste, but will impress your friends because they look fancy. Give them a try and see what you think, they have a light taste, try adding more pepper to the mascarpone cheese and it will have more of a kick.

Strawberry, Mascarpone, and Bacon
1/2 pound bacon
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
15 Strawberries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cut bacon across the shorter width into strips about 1/4 inch wide. Saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until deep brown. Drain well. Transfer to absorbent paper to remove excess fat and let cool.

Place mascarpone and pepper in a bowl and gently mix with a spatula or beater to incorporate the pepper evenly. Transfer the mixture into a ziploc bag and snip off a lower corner of the bag to pipe the cheese out.

To serve, gently toss strawberries with vinegar, basil, and parsley. Arrange cut side up on a tray. Pipe a small amount of cheese onto each berry. Garnish with bacon. Makes 30 appetizers.