Bacon & Jalapeño PB&J

This is going to be one of those posts where you are just going to have to trust me. 

My husband and I visited Portland  in February and I was determined to visit to PBJs which is a little food truck tucked in between the shops on 23rd that specializes in gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  They add ingredients to PB & Js that I would never have imagined in a million years.  I had done my Yelp research on PBJs before our visit and had already decided the two sandwiches I was going to order: The Hot Hood and The Oregonian.  Unfortunately, they were out of the ingredients (Challah bread, Marion berry jam, Rogue Creamery blue cheese, Oregon hazelnut butter) for the Oregonian so we ordered the Hot Hood and the Spencer.  We both became immediately obsessed with the Hot Hood.  They take challah bread, black cherry jam, jalapeno, apple wood  smoked bacon, PBJ’s peanut butter and put it all together for grilled yummy perfection.  I've been craving one ever since we left and while I'll be making a return trip in June for the real thing, I needed something to hold me over until then. So here we are - my copy cat PBJs Hot Hood aka the Bacon & Jalapeno PB&J.

(sidebar: this is in no way a replacement for the original - you must must must go to PBJs when visiting the Portland area - I insist!)

Here's our lineup:

Today I went to Glaziers, another local small market in my neighborhood. It is another great market and I feel so fortunate to have that and my beloved F&E so close. So, we start with our staples - NATURAL peanut butter, black cherry preserves, and challah bread. But wait, there's more - applewood smoked bacon and jalapeños!

First, I turned on my broiler, covered a pan with some tin foil and placed halved, seeded jalapeños on it.

I placed them under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until they charred on top.  This softens the jalapenos and takes away their crunch.  They looked like this when done:

Next, I cooked up the bacon... mmmmmm.... bacon!

Then I sliced my Challah bread into thick slices and spread butter on one side of each slice.

Then I placed the each slice on my griddle, butter side down. (you can do this in a regular pan over the stove if you do not have a griddle)  I removed the slices once they were golden brown.

I added peanut butter to one slice and black cherry preserves to the other.

Next, I added the jalapeno (sliced) and bacon

Then sandwiched, cut in half, served with milk and DEVOURED. Even went back for seconds. These little PBJs are so yummy! I cannot wait to return to Portland for the real thing, but for now, this copy cat recipe will more than do the trick when faced with this crazy craving. 

That's all for now.