One thing that has kept my marriage of almost 13 years strong is Date Night.  To most people that probably means going out to dinner, maybe dancing or a movie.  For us, it means a night to eat dates!  (Just kidding, we aren’t that lame.)

I had never had a date before I met my husband.  (I’m talking fruit not social life!)  We were on a date night at a tapas restaurant and ordered a dish of dates stuffed with goat cheese.

I was a little scared when the plate came to the table.  The dates looked like an overgrown raisin crammed with cheese.  Being the very mature person that I am, I closed my eyes and popped one in my mouth.  (I’m not sure why I closed my eyes but it made me feel better.)  To my surprise, the date tasted like a rich honey.  Its flavor was delicately complimented by the creamy, tangy goodness of the goat cheese.  The icing on the cake or date in this case was that it was drizzled with some sort of glaze.

Over the years, I have managed to create my own glaze to lavish impression this simple dish.  This has become one of my favorite dishes to bring to dinners.  It is so easy my husband can make it!  Many of you have asked me for “easier” recipes.  You can’t get easier than this; it only has four ingredients.

Stuffed Dates
Author: Barb Miller
Ingredients
  • 12-ounce package of dates
  • 3 ounces goat cheese
  • 2 cups pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
Instructions
  1. Place the pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. (You may have to skim some foam off the top as it goes along).
  3. Reduce until it is about 1 cup. It will be thick like honey or molasses.
  4. Put aside.
  5. While pomegranate juice is reducing, slice dates in half lengthwise and remove the pit.
  6. Put about ½ teaspoon of goat cheese in the divot that the pit left.
  7. Place on a platter and drizzle the warm pomegranate glaze over the top.

My small town dates have enough flavor to keep even the biggest city dweller in on a Friday night!!