A few months ago husband and I went to this small plates restaurant (tapas) in Flint, MI called 501 Bar and Grill. There is another place down the road that we’ve visited over the years, (Blackstones) and had been hearing about the 501 from plenty of friends. We finally decided we should give it a go. After our wine tasting event a few weeks back, we decided to grab some dinner before picking up kiddo. When we get time out and about we like to go to places we don’t normally get a chance to. I first mentioned Blackstones because it’s a little Irish pub and we don’t get to town often. We pull up, only to find out it’s apparently closed on Sunday’s. I found that a little weird. We ended up crossing the street to the 501.I find the food and atmosphere to be inspiring. I’ve been dying to try my hand at bacon wrapped stuffed dates. After our last visit I decided I had enough of ‘wanting’ and when the week rolled around for hubs to travel to his out-of-town job I knew that I could get creative and perfect things before showing him my new culinary skill.
Off to the grocery store I went.
I came home with some regular thin sliced bacon, a package of dates and some cream cheese. When I try creating a recipe for the first time I have this rule that I will buy the cheap ingredients that way if things don’t turn out well I didn’t waste a lot of money. I hate to waste food but I hate to throw money away even more. So, I have some no name products from Aldi’s.
I did send hubs some photos of what I was having for dinner and to document my progress. That’s the other habit I have. I tend to use my phone for a lot of photos as I am cooking so I can share with my social media channels. As I was sending them to him, I would upload a few to Instagram.
I was so proud of my bacon wrapped stuffed dates. I didn’t have a recipe to go by. I had no idea what I was doing, but I sure was going to try. And try I did.
It was a real pain shoving the cream cheese inside the dates. I had to slice each one down the side to get the cheese in there. Wrapping them in bacon was pretty simple and I didn’t have to use a toothpick to keep things in place.
I continued this process until I filled the pan.
Once I had all these little guys in the pan, I turned up the heat. Because I am cooking with bacon I did not use any oil in the pan since bacon produces its own.
I tried to keep the end side down first so that it would stick together. I had one or two that I didn’t catch, but it didn’t seem to hurt anything.
I didn’t use any seasoning.
Once the end side was seared I turned down the heat so that the rest of the wraps wouldn’t burn. That would be a bummer.
I cooked the dates until the bacon was done all the way around.
I made myself a little plate and sat down to find a movie on Netflix and enjoy my little dinner, alone. 😉
As I bit into these warm little treats, while still good, I knew something was missing. I knew next time I made them I had to do something different. This was not the flavor I was used to experiencing.
Goat cheese people, goat cheese. I knew there was something that just didn’t seem right and when I was at the grocery store I thought about goat cheese but went for the cream cheese because it was cheaper. And since I didn’t bother seasoning the cream cheese, what I was experiencing was a completely different burst of flavor.
And, they were amazing.
As I sat there watching my movie, I started to jot down some notes about flavors I could add to my cream cheese. I thought about blue cheese. I thought about the different flavors of balsamic vinegar I have. And, I thought about the goat cheese. I am also thinking about fresh dates from the produce section rather than the kind I found in the snack section.
I have some ideas swirling around that I think would be great for the fall season and hope to have a few practice runs in the works soon.
If you’re looking for a simple appetizer or snack, this is perfect. Feel free to use it as a starting point to mix in some of your own flavors.
- ½ lb bacon
- 18 dates
- 1 package light cream cheese (1 block)
- Take a package of bacon and cut it in half. You will only need one half of the package and you need the short strips.
- Slice each date down the side. This will help with stuffing.
- Using a tsp or a small spoon put a small amount of cream cheese in each of the dates.
- Wrap a slice of bacon around each date.
- Put the dates in a warm skilled, bacon end side down first.
- Cook until bacon is done all the way around.
Bacon. You had me at bacon. I have actually never had a date, though, but I imagine the sweet and savory combo is all kinds of awesome.
I am so glad I tried them at 501. They were amazing and I can’t stop thinking about them!
I can only imagine how delicious these are! I’m always looking for delicious date recipes.
I love that you used cream cheese in these. I can’t wait to give these a go, especially since my dude is crazy about dates.
I’ve never tried dates.Wrapped in bacon though…….
This looks like a delicious treat but I have to ask a few things. Out of curiosity what do dates taste like? I’ve stayed away from them ever since I was a little girl and my dad told me they were dried up worms after I tried one that was coated with something sweet. To this day even though I know they are not I can’t get that gross taste out of my mind. But have been wondering Do they taste like a plum, prune or raisin? I’m trying to get an idea.
Now that is a good question. They are really sweet. Prunes to me are a bit bitter. Plums are pretty tasty but they have that fruit flavor, like berries. Raisins are sweet but they have a thinner texture than a date. Dates are thick, but moist. No fruity flavor. It’s a warm flavor. Not quite nutty. I know in my supermarket produce section you can buy them fresh by the pound. I would try one. Or, if you prefer, try some that are dried. They are usually in the baking or snack section. These will be a bit sweeter.
These look delicious. I have seen bacon wrapped dates on many menus before, but I have never actually tried them.
We have dates so rarely (hahaha, the physical kind and the fruit too) that these would be such a treat to give the family. Of course the bacon would make it ideal for them too, they’re all huge bacon lovers.
Bacon wrapped anything is AWESOME. I would try bacon around my figs, too.
I can’t remember what Dates taste like, but cream cheese and bacon sound delicious. Bring it on!
I have never tried dates before, but since they are wrapped in bacon I will try it. Thanks for the new recipe they look great.
This is the most delicious looking thing I’ve ever seen. Bacon wrapped anything is yummy.
Those look so yummy and easy to make. They’d be perfect at my next mommy book club get-together – we each bring an appetizer to our meetings.
WOW! That is amazing. Looks really good.
I’ve had these before and they are divine! They are a perfect treat during the holidays too.
these look delicious! I wrap bacon on chicken, veggies, but never thought of dates!
Who doesn’t love anything bacon wrapped?! OMG I need to make these.
ANYTHING wrapped in bacon is for me. I love the sweet and salty combo!
And the key word here is BACON. I’m pretty sure I’ve never even had a date, but bacon works on EVERYTHING. Sign me up!
Would you guess I’ve never had a date?? I know, shocking! I can’t imagine not liking anything stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon though!
It took me a long time to eat a date, too!
I love this idea. I bet the sweetness of the dates with the salty bacon is perfection!
Wow, I am in shock. This is the first bacon recipe I have never tried. I don’t know if I like dates, so I’m not sure what it will taste like, but cover in bacon…I have to try it!
Dates are generally pretty sweet, but with the bacon fat and the cooking it really reduces that. To me its like the salted caramel or chocolate. Only, better. LOL
Oh my, these dates look amazing. I mean anything wrapped in bacon has to be heaven right?!
I am not a fan of dates, but I do like bacon. There is so much that is better with a little bacon wrapped around it.
I’ve never really had dates before. These look so good1
I would have never thought of this combination, but they look delicious! Thanks for sharing at the Creative K Kid’s Tasty Tuesdays Party. I have pinned it to our Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest Board.
What a great combination of flavors! Sweet, salty, creamy! Love it!!! Thanks for linking up with us at the #homematters link party! We hope to see you again this Wednesday 🙂