I love these little babies. You get the salty goodness of
bacon and then the sweet from the dates, a creamy bit from the melted, gooey
cheese and then the crunch of the almonds. Note: you won’t need the whole half
pound of cheese, but it is so good for snacking on that you will want it.
Ingredients:
22-24 Medjool dates, pitted
12 slices of bacon, cooked halfway through
½ pound Manchego cheese, cut into little pieces (about as
long as the dates)
25 or so smoked almonds
Toothpicks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil
and spray liberally with cooking spray.
Cut the partially cooked bacon slices in half. Stuff each
date with a piece of cheese, 1 or 2 smoked almonds (depends on how big the
dates are) and push gently to close. Wrap each date in ½ slice of bacon and
skewer with a toothpick. Lay the stuffed dates on the baking sheet and bake for
15 minutes, turning them over after 10 minutes. Pour yourself a lovely glass of
sherry (I like Oloroso, and Amontillado is also very nice—“For the love of God,
Montressor!”) and feel swanky.
A tip or two: put
the almonds near the top of the date and then place the bacon over the top like
you are placing a blanket over it—center of the bacon strip over the top middle
of the date. This makes it easy to skewer the toothpick near the bottom and
catch both sides of the bacon, while not being stopped by the hard almond.
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