Recipes Appetizers Hors d'oeuvres Bacon-Wrapped Cherry Peppers 5.0 (3,269) Add your rating & review These genius hors d'oeuvres from Colby Garrelts (an F&W Best New Chef 2005) call for just three ingredients. The recipe can be made ahead of time, so it's great for parties. By Colby Garrelts Colby Garrelts Why Because he's almost single-handedly energizing the dining scene in Kansas City, bringing urbane food to the land of barbecue and creating excellent, extremely personal American dishes. Born Harrisonville, MO; 1974. Experience The American Restaurant in Kansas City, MO; Tru in Chicago; Röckenwagner in Santa Monica, CA. Career turning point Dropping out of culinary school. "I went to cooking school at a community college, but I wasn't doing well. Then I got a job at a place called the Stolen Grill and I just dived right in. Thank goodness I dropped out of school." Most humbling moment His first night at Tru. "I'd never seen the attitude, the discipline before. I walked in from a kitchen with four guys to one with 20 pros. When people had a five-second break, they swept the floor. It didn't take me long to pick up a broom. But when you're sweeping, the cooks yell at you not to brush their feet." Biggest motivator His wife, Megan, the pastry chef at Bluestem. "When I get complacent, she'll start ripping up the storeroom." His dream restaurant "I want to have a place where everything is perfect—the service, the kitchen, the menu. I'd like to do the kind of fine dining that you see in big cities." Won Best New Chef at: Bluestem; Kansas City, MO Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 16, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Lucas Allen Total Time: 30 mins Yield: 4 to 6 Ingredients 6 jarred hot cherry peppers— halved through the stem, seeded, drained and patted dry 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened 12 thin bacon slices (6 ounces) Directions Preheat the oven to 350°. Stuff each cherry pepper half with a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese and wrap with a slice of bacon; secure with a toothpick. Arrange the stuffed peppers in a large ovenproof skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning, until the bacon is browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the cream cheese is hot. Serve the stuffed cherry peppers warm. Rate it Print