Thursday, April 26, 2007

Ginger Dates

Sometimes special things happen for a reason-I'm not one for trying to figure out why they do occur, but they do. Hence, my meeting up with a fabulous innovative New Zealand couple and proud owners of the Hihi Olive Estate.
The first night of our arrival in NZ we were invited for "snackies" and drinks at their estate. It was a" foodie love affair" right from the start........I thought I would share one of the delicious hors d'oeuvres that we were offered on this very special evening. For all my French readers, please excuse the method of serving finger foods-I know you love to serve the fork foods instead of anything eaten by hand, however, this little tid-bit is just perfect for a party: not too exotic, somewhat sophisticated and easy to prepare! This is what I love about traveling, trying new pre-dinner offerings and meeting new friends..........

Stuffed Dates

2 dozen fresh, moist dates, split lengthwise and pressed open.
1 cup of softened cream cheese.
24 thick slivers of soft crytalized ginger pieces-found in the dried fruit section of your grocery store.

Stuff the dates with the cream cheese. Gently place a piece of the ginger inside the middle of the cream filled date. That is it.........enjoy!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jann,

How I wish I could be sitting at that table! I love stuffed dates and like to use mascarpone!

K and S said...

lovely! making new friends, chatting and noshing! :)

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Sounds like a wonderful recipe -- and your sounds like an excellent journey in every way!

Jann said...

k&s-You are so correct-what wonderful opportunities traveling brings!
Ivonne-I would love to sit at a table with you sometime-I'll supply all the goodies!
t.w.-it is-and too easy, but everyone enjoyed the dates ...my trip was long,however, you can't believe how wonderful these down-under folks are!Thanks for your comment!

Unknown said...

Yum, so simple and elegant. I could make these tonight!

So good to have you back, Jann.

Jann said...

Mimi, it is good to be back. I have missed everyone......and now I have to ty to catch up on all the past posts...I never had such tasty dates! Cheers to you!

Christine said...

These dates look wonderful. I love the idea of using mascarpone in them.
Soooooo nice to have you back Jann!

Connie said...

simple, beautiful, perfect!

Betty Carlson said...

Those stuffed dates sound delicious! One can do wonders with cream cheese. Can't wait to hear more...

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Times like that you just are so happy that sometimes the world turns just so right.
Fork or no, thes dates are fabulous and I think might lend themselves to a few other treats besides the crytalized ginger but first I must try them with the ginger!
Great come back from what promises to be some wonderful tales!

Katie said...

I love dates with goat cheese -
but that piece of ginger sounds divine!
Look forward to hearing lots about your fabulous trip...I'm green!

Anonymous said...

Dates stuffed with almond paste are a tradition here (france) at Christmas. Though this sounds wonderful, that added ginger, what could I replace cream cheese with as we cannot realy find it in France?