Alden's Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Nothing can top the spicy, chorizo-stuffed dates I had at avec at my I'm-done-with-grad-school-auditions celebration dinner last month. They were so stuffed, it was hard to tell where the chorizo stopped and the date started. And they were served in a pool of spicy red pepper sauce. Sweet dates, salty bacon, spicy, meaty sausage: A NOM-worthy plate if there ever was one.

If you want to make dates at home, it's hard to go wrong if you wrap them in bacon. My room mate Alden made these bacon-wrapped dates for our first pot-luck party in our old house and they were a big hit! They're also, ridiculously simple to make. Win-win. I don't know where he got this recipe from, but I feel obligated to credit this recipe to him, since really I am stealing it. (Sorry, Alden!)



Ingredients:
Medjool dates
thick-sliced bacon
brick of cream cheese, softened

Directions:
Preheat the oven to BROIL. Remove the pit from each date using a small knife. Just insert it in the stem end of the date and dig around for the pit. Leave the cavity open.

Put about half the cream cheese in a small ziplock bag. Snip the corner off of the bag to create a small opening (you'll want it small enough to fit inside the date, but not too small!). Twist the bag at the opposite end to coax the cream cheese out of the opening. Pipe the cream cheese into each date, filling the cavity completely.

Next, slice the bacon into half-strips. Wrap each date with a half-strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a sheet pan.

Broil for 6-10 minutes or until the bacon is fully cooked, turning the dates over half-way through. Keep an eye on them because they'll cook fast! Let cool and enjoy!