Dates with Blue Cheese and Bacon

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            FOOD FUNNY
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I can sympathize with this food funny from Sue Farrell. Don't ask
why.

In a recent interview, Uma Thurman says that when she wants to lose
weight, she keeps her food intake down by eating in the nude. I
actually tried that once, but I was kicked out of McDonald's.

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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With all this chatter about fruits in "A Word from the Chef" and in
the Pen-Pal Forum of the PLUS edition, I got hungry for some new and
different fruit dishes. Here is this week's lineup:

Monday's Starter
Dates with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Wednesday's Side Dish
Pineapple Rice

Thursday's Entree
Beef and Dried Fruit Stew

Friday's Dessert
Fresh Fruit Brulee

In researching this week's recipes, I found that one of my favorite
cookbooks has a recipe for dates stuffed with blue cheese right next
to a recipe for rumaki, or chicken livers wrapped in bacon. Hmmm. I
tried this recipe and honestly think it's one of the best things I've
ever eaten. Rather than give precise measurements, I'll just tell you
how it's done.

Dates with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Crumbled blue cheese
Pitted dates, split lengthwise
Thinly sliced bacon, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths

Stuff about 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) of blue cheese into each date. Wrap
with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a greased baking
sheet and bake in a preheated 400F (200C) oven until the bacon is
crisp, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm until ready
to serve.
Received on Mon Apr 19 08:55:53 2004