oh, hello there. wanna date?
so it’s been a while. i hope our time apart hasn’t been too painful. i’ve missed you.
it’s been an interesting few weeks, both personally and professionally. most of you who read this know about the personal stuff. it’s been pretty great. the professional stuff… has been pretty awesome.
but there has been something missing. something i couldn’t put my finger on until tonight.
i haven’t been cooking. and i need it.
sure, i cooked for the bris and the wedding. that was hardcore, intense cooking. but i haven’t stood in my kitchen, stirring a sauce, not worrying about whether or not i was going to get finished in time. i haven’t chopped up a tomato or an onion without my mind wandering to the next thing i need to do.
tonight i made 3 kinds of ice cream and 2 sauces for my birthday on sunday. there’s nothing i like more than making sauces. i love the moment when a sauce crosses that line from just liquid to sauce. when it all comes together into a silky emulsion, glossy and smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (one of my favorite cooking terms is “nappé,” which is when the sauce coats the back of the spoon and is thick enough that a line drawn through it on the spoon stays and doesn’t pool back together. i love that word. nappé. like nap. naps. i love naps.)
anyway.
so tonight i remembered how important it is for me to cook for pleasure. even if it’s something as simple as roasting a pepper or sauteing some onions.
but the cooking for other people was kind of awesome. especially when those people freak out about your food and ask you to make a particular thing again as soon as possible, like these dates. i have been known to have a problem with dates–they were offered to me in lieu of candy at my aunt hortense and uncle argus’s house–and when you’re 4? they are decidedly NOT candy. but now? salty, sweet, and spicy, these are like candy with the added goodness of meat (my two favorite food groups!).
chorizo-stuffed dates with bacon
3 links fresh chorizo
1 tablespoon olive oil
20 jumbo medjool dates
10 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise
heat oven to 400F.
remove the chorizo from the casings. heat oil over medium heat until hot. crumble the chorizo into the pan and cook, stirring, until the chorizo is cooked through, about 3 minutes. drain chorizo thoroughly while pitting dates.
cut a lengthwise slit in each date and remove the pit.
open a date like a book and spoon about a teaspoon of chorizo onto one half. close the date over the chorizo. wrap with a half piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. repeat with remaining ingredients.
bake until bacon is crisp and browned, about 10 minutes. eat warm or at room temperature.