A couple week's ago, we went to Happy Hour at the Thirsty Lion. While perusing the menu, I saw an appetizer for Bacon Wrapped Dates. It had some kind of cheese along with almonds inside a date that was wrapped in bacon and baked. I thought about getting them...then, I thought, I could make these!!!
Since I try to stay away from dairy, I decided to make mine without the cheese.
My first attempt included some yummy nitrite & nitrate-free peppered bacon from Trader Joe's. I stuffed my pitted dates (this is important: buy the PITTED dates so you don't have to try to remove them yourself!) with raw almonds and wrapped it in a small square cut from a full slice of bacon that I secure with a toothpick. Baked at 400 degrees, maybe 15 minutes. Pretty darn good!
For my second version, I decided to soak the almonds to soften them. Even better!!! We also dipped them in Dijon and spicy brown mustards! I liked both mustards, Chris didn't particularly like either. He felt the savory of the mustards took too much away from the sweet of the dates.
For my third (yep...we are already at the 3rd!), I used a nitrite & nitrate-free bacon from King Soopers. This one is more like traditional bacon, with the marbling of fat, while the Trader Joe's was more the consistency of turkey bacon. This attempt got WAY crunchier. I like my bacon crunchy, Chris does not! So, while he liked the taste of this one, he felt it was too crispy!
Personally, I like the Trader Joe's bacon the best and, next time, I might just leave it in the oven a little longer to see if it can crisp up. We are going to make these as an appetizer for Easter when we host Matthew & Megan (and maybe Mark). Serving it with our own honey mustard made by mixing the Dijon and honey! (I will also put out the bottles of mustard, too, just in case anyone wants to give it a taste test!)
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