This is my favorite appetizer of 2010 hands down, and I have the Happy Hours of the Sunset Strip to thank for the idea. All the bars on the strip are overpriced but there's a little loophole that stingey 20-somethings like me take full advantage of: Happy Hour! Almost all the bars on the strip have half-off Happy Hours, which is the only reason why you would ever catch me throwing caution to the wind with my American Express Aluminum in hand with the few others lucky enough to have their early evenings free. Would I have paid $12 to for 6 bacon wrapped dates? Probably not. And I woulda really missed out. But $6 is just in my budget. So now, Hushpuppie blog reader(s), I can bring this to my home as well as yours.
Recipe:
1 pkg. good bacon
1 dozen dates
1/4 lb. blue cheese
Gently remove pits from dates and pack inside of dates with blue cheese. Tightly wrap each stuffed date with one entire slice of bacon--maybe if you have fancier bacon you can only use half a slice, but FUD brand at my store doesn't pack enough to allow for that. Bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon looks just right. Serve when warm. The dates turn into caramel, and the salt from the cheese and bacon blend to make it a very well-rounded appetizer.
The generic brand of ice cream at my grocery story this summer released Coconut-flavored ice cream. Yeah. They did. And it's as good as it sounds. That's why I sliced up my bacon-wrapped dates and ate them with it. Yeah. I did. And it was as good as it sounds.
