One Hot Date

Beautiful, delicious, and incredibly easy:
Another amazing faux gourmet trick

Taste & See: My obsession with dates met a rather lovely match the other evening in Xunta, a Spanish tapas bar. Somewhere between the flamenco show (Thursdays @ 8:30, Saturdays @ 9:30) and the sangria (Small Pitcher, $21) I chanced upon a new delight, grilled bacon wrapped dates (Tapa $5.50).

I'm not a huge bacon fan but the salty crunch was a perfect counterpoint to the sweet, caramelly softness of the dates. I immediately made some for a dinner party & they were a hit with my hungry guests, who enjoyed nibbling on them as I scurried to finish up the rest of the meal. The appetizer literally took minutes to make and minutes to cook. Not to mention- they were delicious.

Do it Yourself: Why wait for a dinner party to make some for yourself? Treat yourself by throwing some in the oven; they'll be done before you even have a chance to decide on a take-out order.

Notes on Ingredients:

I substituted prosciutto for bacon; I find it easier to work with and like the taste better. Plus, for health reasons you can easily pick off the side fat without sacrificing any taste, a questionable exercise with bacon.

I also added cheese. Soft white goat cheese--chevre--is one common addition, as seen in this photo from Self Magazine below:


I, however, tried small slabs of a rich brown cheese from Norway, also made from goat's milk.

Domestically the cheese is known as Gjetost, but in Norway itself it is called Brutost. The cheese is thick, fudgy, and a little creamy, like cold peanut butter. It is utterly difficult to describe because it is utterly unlike any cheese I've ever had; the flavor is distinct, a bit sweet with notes of caramel and apricot. It is best in small doses, eaten slowly to take in the rich flavors little by little.

Gjetost seems to have a cult following, albeit a love it or hate it kind. One guy has even provided a helpful recipe for making it yourself, boiling whey down like a syrup to concentrate the salts, sugars & proteins left when whey is separated from the curds. I don't feel like I miss out by buying a slab at my local deli.


I may no longer be a date virgin, but I'm still pretty inexperienced so I don't have any real thoughts on the kinds of dates to buy. One date vendor claims Medjool dates are the best:
"Grown exclusively for royalty in ancient times . . . Medjool Dates will delight even the most discriminating connoisseur."

All I know for sure is pitted dates remove about half the prep time, so my Faux Gourmet self is a major fan. I have only ever had dried dates so I'm not sure how the same would work if you could get your hands on fresh ones.

What you need:

Dates, approx 4 per person
Prosciutto
Gjetost, brown Norwegian goat cheese
Skewer sticks

What you need to do:

Turn on oven to 350 F
Wrap dates with strip of prosciutto and sliver of cheese
Spear with skewer


Set skewers on pan and place in oven for about 5 minutes on each side, or until prosciutto is nicely crispy and brown



That's it! Now all you have to do is sit back and take the compliments from your dinner guests or engage in your own sighs of satisfaction.

Dig a Little Deeper: If you want to get creative with your Gjetost or dates, check out the ideas (and tasty photos) on these other food blogs:

Spoonful of Sugar has a lovely little ode to Gjetost & some suggested ways to eat it, including a recipe for reindeer stew
Ooh you tasty little things offers a creative use of Gjetost in the form of little apple tarts
Mango Power Girl shares her momma's recipe for Winter Dates & some lovely photos