"Oh, my greasy lover, bacon." --Jim GaffiganI heart bacon.
And when I read Shauna's recent post on a bacon-themed potluck she and The Chef hosted, well... needless to say, I drooled.
Chatting with a friend shortly thereafter, I described bacon-wrapped dates. She said, "Oooh. I wonder how that tastes."
"I don't think we'll have to wonder for long," I replied.
And we didn't. Last night I made them, we tasted, and swooned. Eyes rolled. Tongues lolled. We sniffed and gobbled and sucked on the toothpicks after they were gone.
So if you like bacon, try these. You won't be sorry.
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with White Balsamic-Shallot Glaze
makes 6
6 medjool dates (I left the pits inside.)
3 slices bacon, each cut in half
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (I used a pear-infused white balsamic vinegar)
Wrap bacon strips around dates and secure with toothpicks. Place in a greased pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400*F.
In a saucepan set over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add shallot and cook, stirring often, until transparent. Add vinegar and simmer until reduced by half.
Drizzle vinegar mixture over dates and bake, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes (turning over half-way through cooking), or until bacon is well cooked. Remove from oven and cool in pan 5 minutes. Transfer dates to a paper towel to drain any remaining grease.
4 comments:
Mmm...bacon. Ick...dates. I'm a picky eater.
The people I served this to said that if I had not identified them as bacon-wrapped dates, they wouldn't have known there were dates inside... the bacon and cooking process seems to mask them somehow. You bite into salty, then sweet... but it's not as "date-y" as just eating a regular date.
But I loooooove medjools. I could eat them by the handful!
Why did you leave the pits in? Was it on purpose? A friend of mine made some at a dinner party...and he stuffed the dates with goat's cheese before wrapping in bacon.
Oh, god. Yesterday at a dimsum place in Queens they were serving crabapple-sized shrimp balls wrapped in ENTIRE rashers of bacon - with mayo for dipping, if you can believe it.
Hi, Michele. I left the pits in largely because I'm lazy... plus it's a good way to slow down the inhaling of the dates.
I have to tell you that I REALLY love dates. I fear that if I took time to pit them, I'd eat more than I wrap with the bacon.
Stuffing with goat cheese sounds wonderful, though. And bacon-wrapped shrimp balls dipped in mayo? Great God!
Bacon is good. Around shrimp. Around dates. All by itself. Is there nothing bacon can't improve? Dave Libowitz just did a post on bacon ice cream...
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