Stuffed Dessert Dates

This is a simple dessert that packs a lot of punch for such little bite-size morsels.  We had these as one of the many dessert options in Washington D.C. where we visited last week. My sister, Jolene, lives there with her husband who are wonderful hosts when visiting D.C.  It turns out that Nick was in D.C.  for a work conference and then five other members of my family were there visiting for various reasons...so we had to go and join all the  fun.

My sister and her husband were very tolerant when we invaded there otherwise quiet life.  In fact, they rolled out the red carpet for us.   We had such a great time.  The three cousins hadn't been together in years so it was a reunion of sorts. 

 Coming as far away as Spain, San Francisco, and Seattle, it's a rare and special occasion when they can get together.  And their moms had a good time, too. 

There was only one evening that we could all get-together at the same time and that is when the above group photo was taken.  It was also my sister from Colorado and her husband's wedding anniversary so Jolene served an anniversary cake with ice cream to celebrate which was an extra special touch. 

And she threw in a few special cookies, as well.  

To make things simple, Jolene catered some amazing food for our gathering from a local deli that included sandwiches of corned beef, turkey, ham, tuna and chicken salad. 

There was also hummus and stuffed grape leaves, olives, fresh cut veggies and fruit and cheese.  

And don't forget the potato salad and coleslaw that tasted exactly like homemade and Jolene set up a very nice open bar for everyone to help themselves to beverages.  It was all just perfect. 

We have visited D.C. multiple times over the years and we're always impressed whenever it's time to eat. But it is pretty easy to get amazing food in the D.C. area so it's not surprising that the food this evening was equally impressive. We had our first "mix-in" ice cream when we were there visiting in the early 80's.  I believe it was called Bob's Mix-In in Georgetown and we thought it was a genius invention; candy bars mixed into ice cream.  Now, you can just go to Cold Stone...I also visited my first gourmet grocery store in D.C. before there were any on the West Coast.  I was blown away at buying such great food in a grocery store.  So, I have many food memories when visiting Washington D.C, and it just continues.  Here I am visiting Arlington Cemetery during that visit in the early 80's in cold January.  I sort of have the Monica Lewinsky-vibe going on there even though it was fifteen years before her.

Anyway, D.C. is a great foodie place; one of my most important criteria that makes a city a good place to live. My sister also lives by a French bakery called Fresh Baguette that is equal to Bakery Nouveau in Seattle so, of course, Bruce and I had to stop there a couple of times on our way to the Metro when we went out sightseeing.  And we did A LOT of sightseeing. The first day, we went to the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport called the Udvar-Hazy Center since the one on the Mall is being renovated.  

They have the Space Shuttle Discovery there and many other historical planes like the Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb.  

On Day Two, Nick's conference had started so Bruce and I went out sightseeing ourselves.  We've been to D.C. so many times but we always want to go out and see everything.  You just feel so patriotic when you're there and you want to be a part of it.  Plus, the cherry blossoms were blooming so that made it very lovely to be out and about.  Washington D.C. is such a beautiful place. 

We took a guided tour of the Capitol Building which we had never done before 

 

and saw a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court about freedom of speech and social media.  It was all very exciting to be there and feel the energy of it all. 

But our best sightseeing was at night after we met up with Nick for dinner and then my brother-in-law picked us up and gave us the "Nighttime Tour of DC".  He was born and raised here so he makes for an excellent tour guide, especially since he is also a big history buff. 

He knows so much background and historical information about everything.  It's just fascinating like pointing out Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot and the place across the street where he died, which is actually probably more famous and significant than the theater itself.

All the monuments and memorials are gorgeous at night, too. 

The Vietnam Memorial

The Korean War Memorial

The National Cathedral

On our last day, we were sad to leave because our visit had been so wonderful so we went out to lunch before we headed to the airport which was the ultimate eating experience.  My sister picked the Old Ebbitt Grill, a historic oyster bar and grill in D.C.  and it did not disappoint.  

Bruce ordered their amazing "Bloody Maryland", where the bartenders rim the glass with Old Bay seasoning and garnish it with a large shrimp to give it a spicy, regional flare.   

                       

Their menu offers an abundance of oyster dishes, but also burgers (I ordered their Oyster Riot Burger), sandwiches (Bruce ordered their famous Reuben) and other seafood dishes like their Lump Crab Cakes that are mostly crab, not filler.  They also offer heavier dishes like pork chops and pasta and a huge dessert menu, that we had to order, of course.  The guys ordered two of their Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream and the girls ordered their New York Style Cheesecake with Blood Orange Coulis, Whipped Cream and Orange Zest. 



It was a great way to end another wonderful visit to Washington, D.C.  My take home will be this recipe that Jolene had for our big dinner together to go along with the anniversary cake, ice cream and cookies. I was surprised how good these little stuffed dates were.  And they are so simple.  Jolene didn't even have the recipe, she just remembered it from memory so now I'm just remembering it from memory, too.  But once you try these, they will end up being a "healthy" dessert that will be ingrained in your memory, too. 

25 large dates

2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. creme fraiche 

shelled pistachios, whole

shelled pistachios, crushed

lemon zest

1.  Pit the dates if they are not already pitted.

2.  Combine the yogurt and creme fraiche together and mix well. 

3. With a sharp knife, slice a slit down the middle of each date and place a whole, shelled pistachio into each date.  If the dates are large enough, place 2 pistachios. 

4.  Fill the inside of each date with the yogurt and creme fraiche mixture, covering up the pistachios inside.

5.  Sprinkle the tops of the stuffed dates with the crushed pistachios and then sprinkle on the lemon zest.