Devils on Horseback

Let’s talk about hipsters. Fans of irony, clothing created ethically without ethics and, perhaps ironically, being like every single one of their very individual friends. (Internet, do not email me if I’ve misused the word “irony” here. If Alanis didn’t care, neither do I.)

My best friend and I once had a discussion about whether or not we were hipsters. (My best friend is definitively not. She wears J. Crew every single day.) I was having a harder time identifying myself. I did have that U-Back dress from American Apparel, but on the other hand I shopped at the Gap just as regularly. I like to listen to Bon Iver (maybe that’s too mainstream to be hipster now), but I also have Women and Song vol. 1 on regular play (this may make me a middle-aged woman, but “Good Mother” is just SUCH a kick-ass song). I read Vice magazine, and Glamour. We concluded I was just shy of hipsterdom.

But I appreciate irony like everyone else, and I am a particular fan of Instagramming my food in Kelvin or Walden, and so perhaps in my late twenties, I am entering that dreaded “aging hipster” phase, which basically terrifies me. Luckily I live in the suburbs, so I think I’m safe (although I do have lots of room to brew my own beer). Anyway, who cares about all this hipster business when the 70’s had some awesome food trends? I think we should bring them back, in a totally ironic and fresh way.

Here on TLGT, (that is awesome, I should hashtag us- #TLGT) we appreciate the classics. Our Vichyssoise recipe would be an excellent example of this.  So what if that recipe came from the day when you had your husband’s boss for dinner? It’s still fresh and delightful. You know what else is goddamn delightful? Devils on Horseback. Dates, blue cheese, bacon (but I used prosciutto, because we know how I feel about bacon) and a nice, boozy sauce. What could be better? Nothing.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Start by slicing your dates in half and stuffing them with blue cheese- I used a nice sheep’s milk Stilton, and that was fabulous, but you could do anything. Ideally, you want a fairly salty cheese, to go with the sweetness of the dates. Wrap it in prosciutto, because we are re-vamping classics, so something has to be fresh and new. Pop those in the oven for ten minutes.

Now, cognac is the traditional pairing, but they don’t sell that at the Wine Rack, they only sell $10.00 sherry there, so that’s what we are going to use. Don’t drink it though! Just simmer it down in a pan with a little sugar until it reduces and forms a nice, sticky glaze.

Plate your little devils in a fresh way- but I kept the 70’s toothpicks for a little hit of kitsch. Drizzle with the sherry glaze. These are probably ironic enough to bring to the next hipster Ugly Sweater party that you go to, and you can all sit around and play Scruples while you eat the Devils!

Editor’s Note: I may have listened to “Good Mother” 828 times while writing this blog.