Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Do good things really come in small packages? While I sit and ponder these age-old questions, what I really need to be pondering is what I am going to bring to a small birthday gathering for a dear friend.
I always seem to find myself a quandary when it comes to appetizers. With all my cooking obsessions, I have not mastered the portable appetizer. After a busy week, it is 5 o’clock on a Friday evening and my mind is blank. I have an hour to pull something together. Taking a look around my pantry and fridge, I desperately pull out some of my favorite staples in hope of making something work.
I’ve stuffed dried black mission figs with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto for holiday time get-togethers. It is always a nice change from traditional fare. So, I decide to alter the plan a bit by stuffing dried dates with goat cheese, inserting a pecan and wrapping the whole thing in a half slice of bacon. It’s easy and fast but is it too much in one bite? There is no time for debate. Surely anything with bacon will be a hit.
As I start assembly, I take small pieces of goat cheese and stuff a small wad into the slit I’ve quickly slashed into each date. Using just a half slice of bacon, I wrap it all into a bundle.
In my haste, I fear there might be too much bacon and it won’t cook thoroughly. So, I trim some bacon pieces and skewer a few stuffed dates together with a toothpick to see how it fares.
Let me save you some time and aggravation. Bacon shrinks in the oven. The dates wrapped in a half slice and placed seam side down emerges from my toaster oven perfectly cooked in a tidy bundle. However, my toothpick versions look like dates clinging desperately to a bacon hang glider.
I carefully place the golden brown bacon bundles onto a small plate and sprinkle the top with crushed pecans. With a sense of satisfaction, I realize that it might just be the perfect pairing for a glass of champagne (but really, what isn’t). I arrive at my friend’s house, humbly place my small plate on the table, sit back and sigh with relief that I am finally there.
The sweetness of the date is tempered by the salty bacon then yields to a hit of sour and a final crunch. There is definitely a lot going on but it wakes up every inch of our palates and is perfectly quenched by a sip of champagne.
I look around with gratitude at each person in our small circle. Glasses clink and the sweet air surrounds us. After the last date is downed with not our last sip of champagne, we smile and laugh.
While enjoying the comfort of friends I capture a flickering moment where I feel I have all the answers and the world finally makes sense. There can never be too much of a good thing when it’s for good friends. And yes, good things do come in small packages, especially when they are wrapped in lots of bacon.
- 5 Slices organic bacon, sliced in half
- 10 Dried dates
- ½ cup goat cheese
- ¼ cup whole pecans
- ¼ cup pecans, crumbled
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut a slit in top of each date
- Take a small wad of goat cheese and stuff into the slit.
- Place a whole pecan into the goat cheese.
- Wrap the date bundle in a half piece of bacon.
- Place bundles into a toaster oven or regular oven and bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.