Party Time

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us (and wasn't it just the best? I love Thanksgiving!), the holiday parties will be in full swing. I'm pretty sure I'll eat too much, drink more than I do the whole rest of the year combined, and fetch up in January feeling both happy and fat. I never seem to learn moderation at the holidays.

Here's one reason why. Medjool dates spritzed with fromage blanc and topped with an almond. I first tasted these when My Beloved and I last went to the Marin farmer's market. The Date Lady (I'm sorry, I don't remember her name) was giving these out as a sample of why one should purchase her dates. Her sales technique worked - we immediately hunted up a bag of raw almonds and some Bellwether Farms fromage blanc to go with the fat package of dates we bought from her.

I decided to take these to our pal Sari's cheese tasting party. I cut the dates in half, spooned the cheese into a cookie press with a decorative tip (you could use a pastry bag just as easily) and squeezed out a little pfffft of cheese at one end of each date half, then placed an almond in the other end. The dates are slightly sticky, so it all stays neatly in place.

Sweet date and tangy cheese flood the tongue with conflicting flavors, leaving behind the crunch of the nut for texture and yet another mellow flavor. I intended these to be a dessert but they were mostly gone before dessert was even dreamed of. It was party time, and moderation is something best practiced in January.