Sage & Cheese Stuffed Dates With Bacon
The idea for this simple recipe "seems likely" to have developed from Spanish tapas; that is, "snacks" of numerous types served at bars in Spain.
blue cheese (any type, including Gorgonzola, one of my favorite cheeses)
sage leaves
bacon
dates, pitted (large date types are naturally better for stuffing, but use what you have or what you can buy easily)
Heat the oven to 400 degrees (204 C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Soften the cheese a bit by mashing it down and stirring it, you don't want it too soft, and definitely not runny, so I wouldn't add any milk or cream. Slit open each date, then put a bit of the cheese inside, then put a sage leaf, or half of a larger leaf, on top of the cheese. Press the date together to close it somewhat, but it doesn't have to be totally closed. Cut the bacon slices about 3 inches, so that each slice wraps around a date just one time, with little overlap, then fix the bacon to the date with a toothpick. If you wrap the bacon double, it will not cook properly. Place the dates in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, checking to make sure they do not burn. If the bacon needs a little more time, keep the dates in the oven, but watch extra carefully.
WORD HISTORY:
Date-English has a couple words of this spelling, but they have different histories. This is the word for the fruit coming from a type of palm tree. The exact origin of this word is uncertain, but it most certainly seems to come from a Semitic language of the Middle East, as Hebrew has "deqel" and Arabic has "daqal," both meaning "date palm," the tree producing "dates." Greek applied the meaning to their word "daktylos," which meant "toe or finger," from the fruit's resemblance to a toe and the closeness of the Semitic word to their own. The Greek word is likely related to English "toe," going back to Indo European.^ Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "dactylus," and it was taken by French, a heavily Latin-based language, as "date." English borrowed the word from French circa 1300.
^ The Indo European root "deik" is the ancestor of "toe," but the meaning of the Indo European root had the notion of "point, show;" thus, the Old Germanic form was originally used for "finger," from the idea of "point, show," but then was used also for "toe."
blue cheese (any type, including Gorgonzola, one of my favorite cheeses)
sage leaves
bacon
dates, pitted (large date types are naturally better for stuffing, but use what you have or what you can buy easily)
Heat the oven to 400 degrees (204 C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Soften the cheese a bit by mashing it down and stirring it, you don't want it too soft, and definitely not runny, so I wouldn't add any milk or cream. Slit open each date, then put a bit of the cheese inside, then put a sage leaf, or half of a larger leaf, on top of the cheese. Press the date together to close it somewhat, but it doesn't have to be totally closed. Cut the bacon slices about 3 inches, so that each slice wraps around a date just one time, with little overlap, then fix the bacon to the date with a toothpick. If you wrap the bacon double, it will not cook properly. Place the dates in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, checking to make sure they do not burn. If the bacon needs a little more time, keep the dates in the oven, but watch extra carefully.
Date-English has a couple words of this spelling, but they have different histories. This is the word for the fruit coming from a type of palm tree. The exact origin of this word is uncertain, but it most certainly seems to come from a Semitic language of the Middle East, as Hebrew has "deqel" and Arabic has "daqal," both meaning "date palm," the tree producing "dates." Greek applied the meaning to their word "daktylos," which meant "toe or finger," from the fruit's resemblance to a toe and the closeness of the Semitic word to their own. The Greek word is likely related to English "toe," going back to Indo European.^ Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "dactylus," and it was taken by French, a heavily Latin-based language, as "date." English borrowed the word from French circa 1300.
^ The Indo European root "deik" is the ancestor of "toe," but the meaning of the Indo European root had the notion of "point, show;" thus, the Old Germanic form was originally used for "finger," from the idea of "point, show," but then was used also for "toe."
Labels: bacon, blue cheese, cheese, dates, English, etymology, French, Greek, Latin, recipes, sage, Semitic languages
posted by Randy at 2:53 PM
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