The Benefits of Hosting -- Bacon Gorgonzola Pear Turkey Sliders

I have lots of parties at my house. It makes sense for my group of friends since I live close to our community theater, and it's somewhat of a central spot for everyone. And while I was a partier of the extreme kind in college, these days my parties consist of me pulling out all the stops in terms of feeding my guests, and the "Jungle Juice" of yore--seriously guys, I was a WIZARD at hiding multiple alcohols under one crazy sweet and sugary guise--has been replaced by a simple rum punch and/or a cheap and delicious sangria. Occasionally I'll do jello shots, but only interesting ones.

Me and Cory at the last party, dressed up all fancy

Anyways, my roommate and I love hosting. And whenever we do, we can be pretty sure that people will leave behind various food and beverage items. Seriously, I don't think I've needed to buy a six pack of beer myself in months. And it's always fun when someone leaves behind a growler because WOO HOO $1.50 RETURN!

Not that I don't tend to lose money on these things--I do, but the left-behinds let me pretend I break even. I go overboard and spend too much on recipes, but whatevs. It's worth the fun!

Having fun at the Yankee Swap portion of the evening

At our most recent party, a holiday-ish party, we hit the jackpot--a friend of mine made delicious little hors d'oeuvres (garlic gorgonzola crostini with pear wrapped in bacon), and donated all the leftovers to our kitchen. There were a ton of leftovers. SCORE.

My boyfriend shows off his tattoos to my friends

I whipped up some of the leftovers into these awesome little turkey burger sliders. These are amazingly delicious. And they feel so classy! I used some extra stuff I had from the turkey burger sliders with roasted red pepper pesto I had contributed to the party.

Bacon Gorgonzola Pear Turkey Sliders
(makes a dozen or more sliders, depending on how large you want them)
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 slice white bread
2 tbs milk
salt and pepper
1 package maple bacon
1 small wedge or small container gorgonzola, crumbled
2 large ripe pears, sliced
2 tsp chopped parsley
1 dozen (or more) soft dinner rolls

-Cook bacon until done to your liking. Drain and set aside.

-Soak slice of bread in milk and crush with a fork. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper, then mix in turkey. Form into patties and grill until cooked through but not dry.

-Assemble patties on dinner rolls and top with bacon, pear, and the gorgonzola. Serve warm.