Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese

The Spanish understand dates in ways Americans are only beginning to grasp. In tapas bars from Seville to San Sebastián, you'll find dátiles con bacon on nearly every menu, the marriage of sweet fruit and cured pork as natural as bread and butter. This version adds goat cheese to the arrangement, a tangy counterpoint that elevates the combination from merely delicious to absolutely compulsive.

Three ingredients. That's all you need. But technique separates the version guests devour standing at your counter from the soggy disappointments found at catered affairs. The bacon must crisp without burning. The cheese must stay inside the date. The timing must allow you to serve them warm, not nuclear hot or disappointingly lukewarm.

I've watched students fuss over far more complicated appetizers that generated half the enthusiasm these little parcels inspire. The ratio of effort to reward here is absurdly favorable. An hour of assembly, fifteen minutes of baking, and you've produced something that vanishes faster than any dish requiring three times the work.

Make them ahead. Make them in quantity. Make them the centerpiece of your appetizer spread or the only thing you serve with drinks. They reward all approaches equally.