Monday, December 15, 2008

Award Winning Bacon Wrapped Dates



Can you believe these little guys have won an award?

Well, not these exact guys, but a variation of them that I made last year. We have some friends who have an annual Iron Chef potluck where you are told a secret ingredient about a week ahead of time and then everyone brings potluck dishes to share and vote on by secret ballot. We got to participate in this fun event last year and the secret ingredient was liqueur.

Normally, I either stuff my bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese or with an almond. Since the secret ingredient was liqueur, I decided to infuse the goat cheese with amaretto! Great idea, right? It tasted great and we won the prize for most creative dish and was up there in the running for best appetizer too!

But since Thanksgiving didn't require me to use liqueur and I was being lazy, I didn't stuff the dates at all. The hubby said that without the cheese, the dates were too overpowering, so next time I won't leave out the cheese.

Ingredients:
- Pitted dates
- Bacon
- Goat cheese

Method:
- Split the dates and stuff them with goat cheese.
- Microwave the bacon for about a minute to render out some of the excess fat.
- Cut the bacon pieces in half (unless you have huge dates) and wrap each of the dates in the bacon.
- Place the bacon wrapped dates seam side down on a baking sheet (I used a silpat to make clean up a bit easier). If you have trouble keeping the bacon from unraveling, stick a toothpick through them.
- Put them into a 350 degree and cook until the bacon is nice and crispy. I think it took about 30 minutes though I wasn't really paying attention =P

26 comments:

nicole said...

my step mom always makes bacon wrapped dates but I love the addition of goat cheese!

Anonymous said...

Bacon wrapped dates and I have a love hate relationship. I love them so much I'd eat a whole platter of them and then my stomach will hate me for a few days. I love the addition of goat cheese into them. I can just imagine the tart creamy flavor they add.

Jen said...

We love bacon wrapped dates. I have them in my blog too. They're so good!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

We love bacon wrapped dates filled with any kind of cheese! Yum!

That Girl said...

This makes perfect sense: Sweet dates, salty bacon, tangy cheese...it's all the best flavors!

Anonymous said...

What a great savory idea for dates. I love those picks btw!

soopling said...

These look amazing! Are they still good cold? I'm thinking about making them for a party…

Anonymous said...

Love this idea! I served Medjool dates stuffed with some reggiano but I think the bacon would be brilliant around it :)

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

I love bacon wrapped dates. I get them at Tapas bars and I've been meaning to make them myself....thanks for the reminder! The amaretto ones sound awesome!

gaga said...

Hey soopling.

They're not AS good cold, but definitely still yummy. They're really quick and easy to make, so you can always do a test run beforehand to make sure that you're still happy with the results after they've cooled down.

Have fun at your party!

Olga said...

Yes, I can absolutely believe it. My friend made something very similar for one of her parties (but w/o goatcheese b/c she doesn't like it) and it was SUPERB.

Shari said...

Anything wrapped in bacon is delicious!

Cakebrain said...

Bacon in anything is good in my books! I've never had a date wrapped in bacon...though I can imagine it ought to be good! Goat cheese sounds like something I'd be really into!

Jaime said...

what an interesting concept - i've never had anything like this before! i would love to try them sometime...

Anonymous said...

These things are the BEST! My roommate made them for our housewarming bbq in June, and they were a huge hit. Well, isn't anything wrapped in bacon amazing?! She also added a mango chutney inside the dates. Yum.

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Mmm, everything's better with bacon!

Thanks for adding us as a friend on Foodbuzz. We welcome you to come visit our site!

Katie said...

I am not one for bacon, but I'll definitely pass this on to my sister & mom - I do love dates! Happy Holidays :)

elsie's elsie said...

bacon wrapped anything is heavenly. hands down the best dates i've ever had!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog :) These bacon wrapped dates look and sound absolutely delicious! What a coooool idea! Happy Holidays x

Pam said...

Such great flavors combined to make a tasty appetizer...they deserved the award.

Nurit "1 family. friendly. food." said...

hmm, I never heard about bacon wrapped dates. Sounds great! I have to try it!

Abigail (aka Mamatouille) said...

Oooh, these sound luscious!

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of bacon wrapped dates - but it sounds fascinating! Are they a regional food?

Iron Chef Potlucks sound like fun.

gaga said...

Meryl - I first had them as a Spanish tapa but I'm not sure if they're really Spanish.

And yes, the Iron Chef potluck was loads of fun!

Stephanesia said...

Oh man, this sounds amazing.
I love dates, and I love bacon... I have a feeling I'm gonna have to make these.

kickpleat said...

oooh, these sound way too good!