Tuesday, September 1, 2009

An Ugly Kind of Delicious

This is for my good friend Leigh Anne of Lulaville fame. She's not a date lover at all but she had these at a fancy restaurant not too long ago at the urging of the waitress. And guess what? She thought of me while she was devouring them. And then wrote me about how amazing they were & how I needed to try 'em. It's been awhile but I finally did this past weekend. She was right, they were really good.

I know, they don't look very pretty. Like little bugs or fingers or cigar stubs even. But hey, if I wasn't in such a rush with a house full of family I would have made a better presentation. I thought the little cupcake holders were kinda brilliant though.


Anyway, these were all kinds of sweet & salty. And the almond in the middle gave it a nice textural contrast. Everyone really enjoyed them but also agreed that 4-5 of these little guys are just a perfect amount. There are many variations as well, stuffed with blue cheese & drizzled with a balsamic reduction but this recipe is all over the web & the most basic I wanted to try.

Bacon Wrapped Almond Stuffed Dates

24 pitted dates
24 whole almonds
8 slices bacon

Heat broiler with rack 6 inches from heat. Stuff dates with almonds.

{The dates have a little hole on one end, perfect for pushing in an almond}


Cut bacon into thirds crosswise. Wrap each date with a bacon strip. Place seam side down on a slotted broiler pan.

Broil until crispy on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn & cook until bacon is crispy throughout, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

{Click Here to Print Recipe}

Go Visit Blessed with Grace for More TMTT!!!!!

35 comments:

Kacey said...

Well babe, yep - they look pretty darn gross. LOL BUT I know you would not lead us down a path of grotesque food so I am SURE they are delicious...I may just have t take your word for it. :D

Love ya!

Stereos and Souffles said...

I make bacon wrapped dates often...they are such a crowd pleaser. But seriously, I'd eat just about anything wrapped in bacon. In fact, I should save this twix bar I'm about to devour and wrap it up in beloved bacon.

Jen said...

i LOVE dates! And bacon wrapped dates, heaven!

~Marie~ said...

These sound exotically delicious!

Tam said...

I love Dates of all kinds! LOL Sometimes ugly things are very good little things!!!!

MadeInCanarias said...

That's something interesting! I love dates.

Life, Love And Lola said...

I don't think I've ever eaten a date.

Kristina P. said...

I have never eaten a date in my life. But anything wrapped in bacon must be good, right?

Simple Daisy said...

ok...those are the most different things I think i've ever seen:) Dates and bacon what a strange kind of combination..but hey if you say it's good I'm sure it is~

Ronda said...

O.K. I will agree that they are not the prettiest food, but I know they are delicious! I bet a dab of blue cheese with the almond would be great too!
XOXO

Kerstin said...

I bet these little guys would go quickly at a cocktail party - they look like the perfect balance of salty and sweet - yum!

mahmommy said...

Yum- one of my favorites. Never actually had them with an almond, but that sounds great. I make them with this white stilton that has apricots in it- the creaminess is nice with the crispy bacon- it kinda oozes out. Now I'm hungry!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing. I hope to see you at Crock Pot Wednesday on diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. Thanks again for posting.

Michelle said...

I am of the belief that anything wrapped in a slice of bacon is good!

Unknown said...

It was a great move to put those in a muffin wrapper. Wonder how this will work with veggie bacon...

The Blonde Duck said...

Who cares if they're pretty? They sound great!

Stephanie Faris said...

Sinful. Although they do look like little bugs!

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Oh I have seen this before, and it does look really good!!! Thanks for the recipe and linking to TMTT.

Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly) said...

My parents used to make these back in the late 70s/early 80s for their groovy parties. How fun to see them again. ANYTHING in bacon is delicious. The sweet and salty is always tasty!

Maris said...

These sound delish. I've had similar stuffed dates at a Tapas restaurant and they were so, so good!

Brenda said...

Those are all things I like, so I imagine they could be good together. I'll have to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

Ugly? Then why am I drooling? The combination of date and bacon is pure genius!

FROGGITY! said...

... interesting! definitely different and i love dates, so this could be good!

Nana said...

I love dates and those look fantastic to me!

Claremont First Ward said...

I had never heard of these until recently........they do look iffy, but I'm guessing I'd love em.

Reeni said...

I love dates - these look absolutely delicious! I know they do look kind of gross!

Woman Interrupted said...

I love how gooey the dates get! I've never tried the bleu cheese version; bet that would be ridiculously good.

We also love water chestnuts wrapped with bacon...you soak whole water chestnuts in soy sauce for a while, then wrap with bacon, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake. Naughty and nice!

Lula! said...

Seriously...these are SO fantastic! And thanks for making them "for me." Wish I'd been there to eat them with y'all.

For the record...I am not a fan of dates. But I could eat about a dozen of these...make a meal off 'em. Yum.

You rock!!!!!

Angela said...

I love ANYTHING with bacon. Seriously.

How is everything going? I know you must be swamped but I just wanted to check in and say hi!

Pam said...

I think they are awesome! Anything is better with bacon.

Unknown said...

They really are extremely unattractive, aren't they? But I can imagine the salty combinations. They sound yummy!

tiarastantrums said...

very asian!

Ashley @ AshleysBusy said...

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Another bacon-wrapped goodness recipe:

Soak canned water chestnuts in soy sauce for about 10 minutes. Wrap in bacon, bake. omg. way to good. lol.

MsTypo said...

I am currently trapped in a country with no bacon. Just the photos of these tasty treats is making me drool. YUM!!! I love bacon wrapped dates!! :)

Unknown said...

Sounds delicious & they'd be good for a Halloween celebration. You could call them 'finger bites' or 'bug bits' maybe...Anyway, bacon wrapped anything does sound tasty! Happy SITS day.