Friday, March 25, 2011

3 Ingredient Awesomeness


Bacon Wrapped, Stuffed Dates

I like to call these gems a Dessert Appetizer. They are deceptively wonderful and beautifully simple in construction. The bacon fat and sugary dates meld together to form a sweetened savory that seduces your tongue before delivering an enjoyable crunch from the almond inside. Sweet + Salty. Chewy + Crunchy. These babies are a win.

Medjool Dates
Raw, unsalted, whole Almonds
BACON (uncured, nitrate-chemicallyness free)

Slice the date length-wise on one side and remove the pit. Replace it with an almond or two (my dates were quite large and required 2 each). Wrap the date once around with bacon, no need to double over. Space in a lipped/sided pan 'cuz fat travels

Now the cooking is up to you. The recipe I used called for broiling at 415F but the bacon wasn't cooking (it was rather thickly sliced). We switched to baking it, which took longer but achieved the desired effect. You really can't screw this one up. Just watch until the bacon looks done. Fight the urge to pop in your mouth as they retain a high level of heat for a bit. Once tongue-safe: DEVOUR!

Wanna kick it up a notch? I served guacamole that night and my kitchen wizard buddy Dave discovered that a stuffed date dipped in guac is kinda sorta mind-altering.


* Forgive my self-portrait, and any more which may follow. All of the food was scarfed up so quickly that most dishes went, sadly, unphotographed. This was all I had to share of today's recipe*

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