DATE NIGHT AT HOME
Hi friends! “Date Night” can mean different things to different people. For some it may mean a romantic evening on the town, for others it could mean staying in… For us, it means literally eating dates. Think we’re craycray?? You’re probably right. But it you haven’t waded into the world of #DateTok (aka TikTok recipes that use dates), your mind will explode! This week, we’ve got TWO types of date ideas for you—one that’s an easy “date night” at home, and another that uses the caramelly, sticky, yummy, sweet fruit.
MAKE FRIDAY NIGHT PIZZA FEEL LIKE “DATE NIGHT”
AU: In my house, my husband and I have a standing date. But we rarely go out on the town for it. It’s our unspoken-but-understood rule of law that Friday Night is Pizza Night. There are times when we waver for special occasions, but unless somebody’s gettin’ married, we’re probably gonna be home with a box of delivery pizza and reality television. That’s just who we are.
EK: I love that! Growing up, Friday night was always pizza night! I need to bring Friday Night Pizza Night back into my life!
AU: It’s like that, but with negronis. Sometimes, though, I wanna make Friday night pizza feel like a “date night,” and that’s when I bust out the recipe for Nancy Silverton’s epic and iconique Chopped Salad from Pizzeria Mozza.
It’s the perfect specimen of a pizzeria-style chopped salad, but ELEVATED, as only Nancy can do. Everything works in perfect harmony, but every bite is different. One bite will be savory with Genoa salami and provolone, while the next is bursting with sharp acidity from sliced pepperoncini and juicy cherry tomatoes. The whole melange is married together with a garlic-forward dressing that is packed with an amount of dried oregano that makes you think the recipe writer was drinking on the job. Just go with it… lean into the assertive flavor and you’ll be handsomely rewarded.
AU: There are a couple of cheffy tricks that you can employ to make this salad Nancy-worthy:
Soak the red onions in ice water to tame their “funk.” Pat dry with some paper towels before adding to the salad.
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and pepperoncini to the dressing to marinate while you chop the lettuces. The salt in the dressing will encourage the tomatoes to release their juices, and taste tomatoey-er. Plus, I think the chickpeas absorb some of the dressing’s flavor.
Dress the lettuce with lemon juice before adding the dressing (Yes, that’s right. Pre-season the lettuce before you season the lettuce.)
YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THESE UGLY DATES
EK: Is it just me, or does it seem like everyone is falling in love with dates? I know I have been eating them daily ever since I discovered the dates from Rancho Meladuco Date Farm.
AU: Dates are SO hot right now! They must’ve hired Kris Jenner to do their PR, because they are all over the TikkyTokky as a healthier dessert option…
EK: They are healthy. Dates are nutrient dense, and naturally sweet—I met a doctor who said you should eat three dates a day for heart health, stress relief to boosting skin and hair health and everything in between!.
So I was excited when I received what looked like a pint of ice cream, except that it wasn’t frozen and it had whimsical black-and-white drawings around the entire cardboard container.
When I looked at it more closely I realized that it held California medjool dates from Rancho Meladuco Date Farm. The farm is the award-winning grower and seller of best quality Coachella Valley, California, medjool dates.
The kind of dates that Anthony is lucky to be able to get at his local Farmer’s Market, and the ones that I always bring back with me whenever I visit Los Angeles. They are plump and soft, sweet and caramel-like, like candy.
AU: One of the many benefits of living in Southern California! We truly have some of the very best produce year ‘round. I dabbled in dates on the East Coast (mainly for devils on horseback), but the California dates I get here, are so sweet, they’re a great snack by themselves!
EK: I do love a Devil on Horseback! But these dates in the “ice cream carton” are a little different, they are the proudly imperfect dates called “The Grinders.”
ICYDK, California dates are an expensive, labor-intensive crop to grow. Due to variable weather conditions they’re also vulnerable to scarring and skin separation or “puffy” skin, as it's referred to in the industry, causing buyers to downgrade crops, making them less valuable.
The owner of Rancho Meladuco Date Farm is Joan Smith. She is one of the nicest, most generous food people and she told me that The Grinders are “imperfect dates, a.k.a. ugly dates, previously deemed undesirable and difficult to market by the industry and traditional buyers due to slight imperfections in appearance.”
When I asked her why they were called what they are called, she said “the reason I called them Grinders is because I thought they would be used to cook or blend in a smoothie, etc. hence the idea of grinding them up as an ingredient rather than eating them whole.”
EK: I love that there is a market for these dates which to my untrained eye did not look imperfect at all, and they certainly did not taste imperfect. And, the distribution for these ugly dates is HUGE.
The Grinders are being distributed nationally through 4500 WalMart stores nationwide. Joan applied (along with more than 1100 other entrepreneurs) and won one of the 330 spots in the coveted Walmart Open Call. Walmart recognized her vision to support date farmers by giving the imperfect but still high-quality fruit a market, and expose more Americans to the natural superfood that tastes great.
The name suggests that these dates are perfect for snacking and baking, but as a date lover who doesn’t really care what they look like, I think that they are perfect for cheeseboards or any other place where they have a featured spot.
A recipe card came with The Grinders and it is one delicious treat. Joan uses dates as a substitute for caramel in a nutty dark-chocolate turtle.
This is brilliant for a number of reasons, including the fact that using a date for the caramel makes it very simple and easy for everyone to make. I went old-school and used lightly toasted pecans, but you can use any nut that you like from walnuts, to cashews, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and macadamia nuts.
Here is my adaptation of her recipe…
EK: It is basically 4 steps:
Cut the dates in half and remove the pit
Smoosh half a date until it is flat
Lay it on top of a group of 3 pecans set in a tri-flower shape
Spoon melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle with coarse sea salt
Top with your favorite chocolate. I used half extra-dark chocolate chips and half semi-sweet. If you are a milk-chocolate person, use milk chocolate. I am sure they would be great with a swirl of white and dark if you love white chocolate.
They are infinitely customizable to your flavors, if you are a sprinkle person, use sprinkles instead of the salt, etc. And, if you want to get crazy, put a dollop of peanut butter or dried fruit on top of the date before you coat it with the melted chocolate.
I used a nifty Wilton chocolate melter because I had it, but you can use your microwave or a double boiler to melt the chocolate. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil to the chocolate give it a really glossy sheen.
Once the Turtles are topped, put in the fridge for an hour to set up properly. And, enjoy!
A SECOND DATE…
AU: In the spirit of Elizabeth’s Date Turtles, here’s another way to swap dates for a more indulgent sweet treat—Date Bark! It’s been all over social media. So much that I—a non-TikTokker—even found it (once it migrated across platforms to Instagram LIKE AN ADULT).
Whereas Elizabeth’s turtles feel more like an individual candy, this date bark sort of fills the classic Snickers candybar pocket. And I like to keep it in the freezer, because who doesn’t love a frozen snickers bar?!?
EK: OMG Those look sooooooo goooood! I love a frozen candybar and the only thing I love more than a frozen candybar, is a frozen Reese’s! This is going to be on my list to make ASAP!
AU: THE PERFECT MIX!! The medjool dates are pitted and split in half and spread open before being draped with your nut butter of choice, whatever mix-ins you want (nuts! pretzels! crispy rice! potato chips!), and then the whole thing is topped with a layer of melted chocolate and a sprinkle of flakey sea salt.
AU: I like to make it on a little 1/8 sheet tray lined with parchment. It takes about 12 split dates to fill it up. The natural variety of nut butter really works here, because it’s runny, but if you’ve got Skippy just nuke it in the microwave a little to help it spread easily—you’ll need a third of a cup (or more, if you want). Pop the tray with the dates, peanut butter, and any toppings you’ve added into the freezer to firm up.
Once that part is firm, I add the chocolate—I like to use the microwave to melt it. I use about 4oz. of chopped dark chocolate and microwave it on high for 1 minute, stir, then keep microwaving on 50% power in increments of 30 seconds after that, stirring in between. Once the chocolate is glossy, pour it over the bark and use an offset spatula to smooth out the top, coaxing the chocolate to cover as much of the bark as possible.
Back into the freezer it goes, and then once the whole thing is firm, I cut the bark into pieces. I think this treat tastes a lot better while watching Below Deck. :)