Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Crispy bacon wrapped around sweet dates, these babies are the perfect appetizer! Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Crispy bacon wrapped around sweet dates, these babies are the perfect appetizer! Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog


In the little town where I went to university, there is a pub that makes THE BEST burgers I have ever eaten. Seriously, on all our travels I could find nothing to fill the hole that burger left in my heart.

It’s the kind of burger that you pick up and everything falls off because it’s just so packed with caramelized onions and mushrooms and cheese and that special barbecue sauce… and you can’t put it down because once you do, you’ll never be able to pick it up again without destroying it. The kind of burger that you finish even when you’re full because who knows when you’ll get another bite of that heaven on a bun again.

It’s the only thing I order when I go to that pub. It’s perfection, why would I ever order anything else?

Until the day I did.

Perhaps peer pressure is to blame for the reason I ordered an appetizer dish that was half full of olives. I loathe olives (worst Italian ever, I know). My friends assured me that my mind was about to be blown.

Jerks. I had passed on my precious burger for this thing. It had better be frickin’ amazing or heads were going to roll.

And then it arrived in front of me, bacon still sizzling on a cast iron serving platter. It didn’t look like much. A date? With bacon wrapped around it on a skewer? THIS was the replacement for my burger? I was not impressed. Until I took a bite.

And that bite…

The crunchy, salty bacon. The sweet, soft date… still hot, they melded together to create something more than the sum of its parts…

via GIPHY

I devoured that meal, and dream about those bacon wrapped dates often.

They are stunning in their simplicity.

You need two ingredients. Bacon and dates. That’s it. I know there are tons of recipes online with bourbonbrownsugarmarinatedmapleapplewoodsmokedbaconwithbluecheeseandunicorntearsandwhatever, but it’s the simplicity that really makes these stand out.

You don’t need anything else! And they’re stupidly easy to make.

First, get your dates.

Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Cut strips of bacon in two.

Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Wrap said bacon strips around said dates.

Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Secure them with a toothpick. (also good for not burning your hands on the other side!)

Stick on a baking sheet (WITH SIDES!) and bake at 450° for 10 minutes, then flip them over and follow with 8 more minutes.

AND VOILA!

Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Perfection. You can either take these to a party, where they will be gone in milliseconds and you will be revered as a potluck god(dess), or horde them all to yourself. I will not judge.

I still always order that burger when I go to the pub, but now I’m the one convincing everyone we should order these for an appetizer!

Bacon Wrapped Dates - I Say Nomato Nightshade Free Food Blog

Do you always order the same thing when you go to a restaurant? Have you ever been tempted away? Did it work out or turn into a disaster?

Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Crispy bacon wrapped around a sweet, subtle date. It's sweet and salty at its best!
Course: Appetizer
Servings: 20 Bacon Wrapped Dates
Author: Cristina
Ingredients
  • 20 dates
  • 10 strips of nightshade free bacon
  • toothpicks
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450°.
  2. Cut bacon strips in half.
  3. Wrap each individual date with a half strip of bacon, and secure with a toothpick.
  4. Cover baking shit with tin foil for easy clean up.
  5. Place the appetizers on a baking sheet with sides to keep the bacon grease in.
  6. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Flip them over, and continue baking for another 8 minutes.
  7. Eat them while they're hot! (Not too hot though - ouch!)

 

About the author

Cristina

An avid lover of all things East Coast and delicious, Cristina blogs at I Say Nomato, a site dedicated to exploring and inventing allergy-friendly food. When she's not experimenting in the kitchen, she can be found curled up with a good book or planning her next adventure.