Bacon wrapped dates with raspberry jalapeno sauce

Bacon wrapped dates are delicious.  The only way they become more delicious is when you serve them atop a raspberry jalapeno sauce.

You'll need these ingredients for the raspberry reduction: 6 ounces of  raspberries, jalapenos to taste, a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 cup red wine.

Combine in a pot and cook over medium heat.

Meanwhile, make the filling for the dates.  Coarsely chopped pecans and jalapenos combined with goat cheese.

This really isn't an exact science, just mix as much of those ingredients together as you'd like.  More jalapenos if you like things on the spicy side, less if you don't.  I prefer to add the pecans and leave them in larger pieces because it adds a nice texture to the finished product.

Slice open the dates on one side and remove the pits.  Stuff dates with the cheese mixture.  Wrap the dates in bacon and secure with toothpicks.  Then place the dates on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler, set on low.  Cook until the bacon is starting to crisp.  Turn the dates as often as needed to cook the bacon on all sides.

After the sauce has cooked for about 20 minutes and reduced to a nice thickness, it is ready to be strained.  Place a strainer inside a bowl so that you catch all the delicious sauce but remove the jalapenos and raspberry seeds.

Then drizzle the sauce on your plate, top with the finished dates, and serve!  So good!!!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Spicy pumpkin soup doesn't taste at all like pumpkin pie.  So don't just assume that you wouldn't like pumpkin soup, because you might like this.  You should, it is delicious.

Start by taking a medium size pumpkin and remove the seeds.

Slice the pumpkin into pieces and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Once it is tender, remove from oven and cut the pumpkin flesh off the skin.

Put the pumpkin a food processor and pulse it until blended.  You'll need about 2 cups of pumpkin puree.

Next, toast the pumpkin seeds.  Coat them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some cayenne!

Then saute one diced onion, a diced jalapeno, and about 6 cloves of garlic.

Add 8 cups of chicken stock, the pumpkin puree, 15 oz can of white beans, 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Let it all simmer for a while.

Meanwhile, fry up some onion strings to top the soup with.  Soak thinly sliced onions in buttermilk for 20 minutes.  Then mix up some flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika.  Dredge the onions in the flour mixture.  Cook in hot canola oil. Watch carefully and be sure to flip them when they start to brown.

Remove and drain on a paper towel.  Once the soup has simmered for a while, use an immersion blender to blend the soup up.  Top with the onions and pumpkin seeds.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

These are brussel sprouts - cold, green, and not all that tasty, yet.

But despite their bad rap, brussel sprouts are delicious!  Wash and dry the the brussel sprouts.  Make sure they are dry so they will roast nicely.  Start by chopping the brussel sprouts in half, coating them in olive oil and salt & pepper.  Roast in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Flip them over about half way through cooking.

Meanwhile, heat some balsamic vinegar until it is reduced to a nice thickness.

Once the brussel sprouts are done, they will be nice and browned.  Yummy.

Then cook some bacon.

Remove the bacon and add onion pieces to the bacon grease, cook until browned.

Add the bacon and brussel sprouts back in and stir.  Then add the balsamic reduction on top!

Now, yummy brussel sprout goodness.