These dates, stuffed with sausage and wrapped in bacon, are ones you’ll want to introduce to the folks.
They’ll fall in love with them.
The $7 appetizer with a slightly spicy kick starts with a fresh, juicy date, said restaurant owner Jimmie Brandell.
“You have to find a good California date,” Brandell said. “You need a spicy sausage and a good applewood bacon.”
Jimmie’s, which recently celebrated a year in its new location, serves the dates in a pool of marinara sauce.
Read: Final 'last call' for Dayton bar at historic location.
“You got the sweet. You got the spicy and you got the citrus with the marinara sauce,” he said.
Jimmie’s makes its own sausage using finely ground red pepper.
Show off in your kitchen
Want to give wrapping a try?
Below is one of my favorite bacon wrapped apps from the book “Party Food: Greatest Ever, Easy and Delicious Step-by-Step Recipes.”
The book from Parragon Publishing is a few years old. This means you can find it for a steal on Amazon.com.
Pigs in blankets (makes 48)
What you’ll need:
16 large, good quality sausages
4 tablespoons of Dijon mustard or mustard of your choice
48 no-soak prunes or dried apricots
16 rindless smoked bacon slices
What you do:
• Cut a deep slit along the length of each sausage without cutting all the way through. Spread the mustard evenly over the cut sides of the slits. Place three prunes or apricots inside each slit, pressing the sausages firmly together.
• Gently stretch each bacon slice with the back of a knife. Wind a slice around each sausage to hold it together.
• Preheat the broiler to medium, then cook under the hot broiler, turning frequently, for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and cut each “pig” into three pieces, each containing a prune or apricot. Spear with toothpicks, arrange on a plate, and serve.
What do you think? What is your favorite bacon wrapped treat?
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