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March 1, 2012

Bacon wrapped dates, but better



And it's time for a new recipe!
Cooking is what's kept me busy last weekend: I made party snacks for 50 people. Yes, that is quite a lot of work. I spent 6 hours in the kitchen. (and still needed help in the last hour just to get everything done on time)
These were on the menu: mini-muffins with chocolate frosting, puff pastry filled with bacon, apple and onion, smoked salmon with guacamole, meatballs, chicken skewers and bacon wrapped dates.
That last one is my favourite. Dates with bacon. Sweet and salty, meat and fruit, not all hearty, not all sweet. The best of both worlds. In my opinion, it couldn't get much better. Oh how I'd have loved to have eaten the whole dish with approx. 60 dates all on my own. Only if I hadn't known that they were actually meant for others to enjoy. (I won't deny 'test tasting' a few though)
Until someone gave me a tip: stuff the dates with a dried apricot. That sounded interesting. I also enjoy dried apricots, but I was a little wary for them to cover up the taste of either the dates or the bacon.
A few days ago, I found organic bacon in a store. On sale. Meaning I couldn't go without buying it. When the weekend was over I still found myself craving for dates with bacon, and I just so happened to have those at home, along with some dried apricots. The bacon was about to go past its sell-by date, the dates had been calling my name for days from the drawer they were in, so I decided to give it a go and create apricot stuffed bacon wrapped dates.
All my doubts were immediately blown away: this is even better.

Apricot stuffed bacon wrapped dates (10 pieces)

Ingredients:
- 10 dates
- 5 dried apricots
- 5 strips of bacon
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Make an incision in the dates lengthwise and remove the pit.
3. Cut the apricots in half and stuff each date with a piece of apricot.
4. Cut the strips of bacon in half and wrap each piece around a stuffed date.
5. Place the dates onto the prepared baking tray and bake them in the middle of the oven until the bacon starts to crisp, approx. 15 minutes.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes, serve and enjoy!

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