It's a Date!

A few weeks ago, several of my cousins were in town for a family wedding. It'd been quite a while since most of us had been together, so I jumped at the chance to plan a pre-wedding get-together, to get us all caught up.

I wanted to do something just a little bit different than expected, so I planned a "make it-buy it" Mediterranean-themed menu, with flavors from Greece, Italy, and the Middle East.

On the "make-it" side: spanakopita (spinach-feta triangles), oven-baked pita chips, chili-cumin spiced almonds, tzatziki, sun-dried tomato/basil dip (a failed improvisation--one day, I will post a different recipe worked out pretty well for me in the past), and mini white pizzas (greek pitas brushed with olive oil, topped with four cheeses and shredded basil), and Date Bars.

On the "buy-it" side, hummous, baba ghanoush, falafel, vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, all from Sahara Restaurant in Oak Park, and baklava from Kashat Market (I need to write about that shop sometime--wonderful!).

One of my favorite things that turned out was the "make-it" dessert, Date Bars. I'm posting the recipe here for future reference. They had a crumbly, buttery crust and a sticky sweet, filling, and they were super easy to make. Admittedly, I did overbake them so the edges got a little hard. I simply cut the bars out from within the edges, and they were just fine--the crunchy edges became "cook's treat."


DATE BARS
(from Mary-Sue Millikan & Susan Feniger, aka Too Hot Tamales)

2 1/2 cups (1 pound) pitted and chopped dates
1 cup water
Scant 1 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 cups rolled oats
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, melted

In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped dates and water. Over medium-low heat, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring back up to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Thoroughly butter a 9 x 13inch baking pan with 2 inch sides and line the base of it with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix together well with a wooden spoon, then drizzle in the melted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Spread 1/2 of this crumb mixture in the base of the pan, then cover with an even layer of the cooled date mixture. Top the date layer with another layer of the crumb mixture and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly, and the edges have begun to caramelize. Cool on a rack, to room temperature. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to release, and cut into 12 squares.