Cheese Stuffed Dates are so simple, and so yummy! This recipe is an amalgamation of a few different recipes over the years. I get the medjool dates, with seeds, and then two different soft cheeses like a goat cheese, a mascarpone, or a bleu. And when I am done, I like to sprinkle them with olive oil and some sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. PREPARATION: 1. Preheat the oven to 375F 2. Slice the dates lengthwise and remove the seed. 3. Spoon a bit of the cheese into the date. 4. Place the dates on a baking sheet, lined with parchment, with the cut side up. Warm in the oven for 8-10 minutes. 5. Place on a serving plate and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Voila! On Christmas Day, everyone is arriving and you are getting the kitchen going and staged for the dinner. To keep everyone fed and happy until dinner is ready I try to keep the Afternoon Snacks and Appetizers super simple with a Charcuterie Plate, some Cheese Stuffed Dates, and a old family recipe from Sweden for potato dumplings with bacon and onions called KruppKakker (Kruppkakker is a traditional Swedish dish, that in my family we save special for Christmas because a) it’s a lot of work and b) it’s not the healthiest. It's peasant food, and it's delicious. So it gets its own separate post later.)
A Charcuterie Plate is always a crowd pleaser, and I will select the cheeses based on the what I know my guests like, along with some local cheeses, nice deli meats, local honey and some seasonal fruit like figs. And definitely an assortment of olives – my favorite. Soft Boiled Eggs for a Crowd: 1. Preheat oven to 350F 2. Butter each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan. 3. Crack an egg into each cup. 4. Add a tablespoon of water to each cup, and then sprinkle the top of each egg with a pinch of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. 5. Cook for 10-15 minutes (the longer they cook, the more hard-boiled they become). 6. Use a teaspoon or offset spatula to gently pry each egg from the pan, and serve. Here I have served them with hash browns, sausage, and homemade sourdough english muffins. |
AuthorKris Delaney is a marketing executive, foodie, travel enthusiast, and book nerd based in Atlanta, GA. ArchivesCategories |