Dear Reader,

During the week, I was chatting with a friend about food. No surprise! Food forms a large part of my consciousness.

My friend, who I have known for more than ten years, described how she enjoyed the taste sensation and flavours of dates, blue cheese, and prosciutto. I know I’ve eaten dates wrapped in streaky bacon before, but I’ve not eaten prosciutto much.

I pondered the flavours and taste and feel on my tongue and in my mouth in my imagination.

The cheese would be soft and creamy yet salty. I imagine it would be warm and oozy on the tip of my tongue. The salted pork would be slightly abrasive on my tongue. As my teeth penetrate through the dry-cured ham, I’d know this was leg meat and not the unctuous fatty belly. The date, which is ‘fleshy’ and folded around the cheese, forms a groove through which the tip of my tongue can scoop the creamy melting cheese. The date is sweet and contrasts the saltiness of the cheese and the pork delightfully.

Ingredients

• Medjool dates
• Udder delight blue cheese
• Prosciutto

Instructions

1. Hold a pitted date between your thumb and your forefinger in your non-dominant hand.
2. Insert the tip of a sharpened paring knife through the base of the date and longitudinally slit the date open. Gently prise apart the folds of the date with your thumbs.
3. Pinch off a bit of the cheese and firmly push it into the groove you’ve made in the date, and gently close the lips of the date.
4. Hold the date firmly to prevent it from opening and wrap a length of the prosciutto around the date.
5. Secure the pork, date, and cheese with the cocktail pick.
6. Gently warm the little nugs of goodness in a warm oven until the cheese begins to melt.

Dedication

My friend gave me the idea for this Hors d’oeuvre because it formed a delightful sensation in my mouth.