HICKORY GRILLED CHICKEN
A SMEAR OF WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE
SCRATCH MADE PEPPER JELLY
MOZZARELLA, PROVOLONE
THIN CRUST
There was a period during my childhood (specifically during the 90's) when every family function or neighborhood get-together had somebody's Aunt tossing a block of cream cheese on a plate with some jalapeño pepper jelly and a fist full of crackers- calling it an appetizer. I loved it so much. Hands down my favorite party food of the 90's.
The pepper jelly is a little spicy, super sweet, with a little tang, which is why it works so darn well with the cream cheese. I added some simple chicken that I grilled over a hickory fire to make this feel more substantial. But the star of this pie is still the pepper jelly, with it's medium/mild sweet heat. Hope you love this taste of nostalgia. And if you're one of the few heroes who still makes the cream cheese block for family functions, I love you.
(Even though every church cookbook that I've collected over the years says this is a Jelly, from a culinary perspective it's a Jam. But I am not about to go to war with the church cookbook ladies of America.)
