Smoky Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

Some "cooktales" are a little more special than others. Last weekend, I cooked for a very special occasion: my brother'a wedding. It was my first catering job of sorts, and the food got rave reviews which made me more than happy. This recipe happened to be the hit of the wedding food spread. It's one of the quickest, easiest recipes I've ever created, and people will think you spent hours making it taste so great!

Grocery List:

20-30 dates - pit removed and sliced in half Smoked salt

8-10 oz goat cheese - room temperature

1/4 cup milk

40-60 whole pecans - roasted

Balsamic glaze - for drizzling

Directions:

Step 1

Heat a grill pan to high heat and brush the pan with olive oil. Lightly salt each date half with the smoked salt (they look like little bugs... Don't be alarmed. Haha!)

 Step 2

When grill pan is hot, grill the dates. Start cut side down and grill for one minute on each side or until dates have dark char marks. Set dates aside and let cool.

Step 3

Mix the milk and goat cheese together until smooth. Fill each date with about 1 tsp of the goat cheese mixture.

Step 4

Lightly sprinkle more smoked salt over the goat cheese. Top each date half with one roasted pecan and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

CHEERS TO HAPPY EATING!!!

My Brother's Wedding... And my First Catering Job

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This past weekend was an extra special one. My younger brother married the love of his life, a wonderful girl who we are so blessed to have join our family. I could not have picked a better woman for my little bro, and I'm just more than grateful that he found her! This weekend was also... My unexpected first-ever catering job!! They trusted me with all the food for their wedding, and cooking for 50 people was a big adventure! It was the largest group I've ever cooked for, and while I knew it would be extra stressful, it was also lots of fun. The kitchen is where I'm happiest. It's the "home" in my house and the place I feel most alive. Saturday morning, I was up extra early, chopping, stirring, and blending various ingredients. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it many more times: I catch myself smiling all the time when I'm in the kitchen. For no reason at all besides the mere fact that I'm doing what I love most. I'll just be bouncing around, trying to get everything done and I'll stop and realize I have the hugest smile on my face. All day Saturday, that was me... One big grin of happiness to be cooking so much food!

The menu looked like this:

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Chipotle bacon wrapped shrimp Sweet Espresso chicken Mediterranean Bow-tie Pasta Penne with Pork Crunchies Smoky Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates The wedding was held at my grandmother's "saloon." Yes, my grandmother has a western saloon in her backyard - complete with beautiful antiques, a gigantic stage, a stocked bar, and a full kitchen. It's quite impressive, and it's the most perfect venue for a wedding! I think the biggest challenge was getting all the food I cooked from my house to the saloon -- all in one piece. With help from my mom, aunt, grandmother, and Tres, we got it all there safely. But it wasn't all completely ready. I thought I had given myself plenty of time when I got there to complete the finishing touches, but I only had an hour before the wedding to get the 150 bacon wrapped shrimp cooked and the pasta boiled and tossed with the sauce. Big timing mistake on my part. Big one. I realized when I got in the saloon's kitchen that there was no way possible it all could be done in time. Typical... Just ask my friends. I've never once had food ready in time for guests when they come to my house, but that's usually ok when I can throw a cocktail in their face and keep cooking. I knew that couldn't happen for 50 wedding guests, so I immediately got into a panic and a "short-fused" mood. I really don't handle stress well, but I've certainly learned to adapt. And help never hurts. Thank The Lord above, family members showed up early, threw on make-believe aprons and got to work. I cannot thank Sara, Debbie, and Antha enough for taking on the role of my sous chefs. What a bunch of rockstars!! The wedding went flawlessly and the food was highly praised. I can't tell you all what it means -- to love cooking so much, to work so hard at perfecting recipes every day of the week, and to start a blog with just the mere thought that someone may think my recipes are worth trying -- to have people tell me over and over how good my food is. That happened Saturday, and I'm grateful. That's all a chef wants to hear. I think deep down, pleasing people and making them smile with food is what we long for. It's all worth it. I had several people at the wedding approach me to cook for their events and so many people asked me for my recipes! That was the purpose of this blog and why I'm continuing to do it. The recipes from this weekend are coming. You can find the Pork Crunchies Pasta on the blog now! The hit of the party, Smoky Goat Cheese Dates, are up next! Congrats to RT and Jennifer for a perfect wedding and lifetime together! And thank y'all for letting me be a part of it in the very best way!

Bacon Wrapped Date Flight

How many of you go out to dinner and can't ever make up your mind what to order off the menu? I tend to sit down and drive myself crazy with a decision on what to order every time I go out to dinner. I consider myself a "little of this and a bite of that" type of gal. I want to try a few bites of EVERYTHING. I mean, what if I order the wrong thing? As I've told my husband before, "my taste buds get bored... I want it all." It's not uncommon for me to go to a restaurant (sometimes even alone) and order several apps and a dinner entree, particularly when I'm traveling. After all, what if I never get to eat at that restaurant again, and I miss something unforgettable? There's no denying different foods, flavors, and variety is important to me when it comes to my meals. That's why I respect the ever-living heck out of the Spanish. A little thing called tapas exists because of these fine folks, and we are finally picking up on it in the US. That's why I love the concept of a "small plates" or a "bites" menu when I walk into a restaurant. I don't need 100 bites of the same thing... I need 100 bites of several things. I'd like to tell every restaurant out there: GIVE ME ALL YOU HAVE BUT NOT A LOT OF IT! Besides, a "tasting" menu is just so fun.

There's something festive about sitting with a group of friends trying little bites with wine sips in between and debating on which bite or plate was the best. Because bacon wrapped dates have become so popular, I decided it'd be fun to have a "flight" of them - Maple Espresso, Cinnamon Sugar, Lemon Rosemary, Chipotle, and Balsamic Honey. This is so much fun for small get togethers or parties, and you could even have everyone vote at the end. Y'all do this at your next party and let me know which date wins!

Grocery List (serves 4 people 5 dates):

For all the dates:

5 small bowls

5 spoons

5 pieces of foil - cut approximately 12 inches and folded around the edges to make a wall around each edge

10 slices of bacon - cut in half

10 dates - pitted and cut in half

For the Maple Espresso dates:

1 tbsp espresso

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

For the Cinnamon Sugar dates:

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

For the Lemon Rosemary dates:

2 lemons - zested

1 tsp rosemary

For the Chipotle dates:

1 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 tbsp adobo sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 pinch cayenne

For the Balsamic Honey dates:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Step 1:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Make the mix for each date flavor. In the first bowl, mix together the espresso, brown sugar, and maple. In the second bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. In the third bowl, mix together the lemon and rosemary. In the forth bowl mix together the chipotle, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. In the fifth bowl mix together the balsamic, honey, and vanilla.

Step 2:

Wrap the dates. You should have 20 date halves and 20 bacon halves. Wrap each date, and if necessary, you can secure with a toothpick. Step 3: Working with one mix at a time, dip 5 bacon wrapped dates into each mix. Completely cover each date, using as much of the mix as possible. Wash hands in between dipping dates into each flavor so they don't mix with the others. Place each flavored date on a piece of foil keeping like flavors together.

Step 4:

Place foil sheets on two baking sheets - two on one baking sheet, three on the other. It's important that the foil pieces have a wall around each edge so flavors don't mix (it also makes for easy cleanup). Bake until bacon is crisp, about 15 minutes. I like the plate these individually so everyone has a "flight." Or you can just use five small plates or one large plate with the dates piled. Labels would be fun or you could play a guessing game and have guests guess the flavors in each!

CHEERS TO HAPPY EATING!!!!