Grilled Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese

I had roasted dates stuffed with honey and cheese years ago and loved them (obviously, since I'm still thinking about them).   Since I think dates are already sweet enough, I wanted to put make the cheese stuffing tangy/salty.  The recipe below reflects that.  We grilled last weekend, so it was the perfect time to try it out on people (aka guinea pigs)!  I didn't have any, but it sounded like people liked it- nice and warm and gooey!

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh goat cheese (I used Chevre)

1/8 tsp salt

1/16 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and cut into small pieces

15 Medjool dates

Directions

1.  Carefully split the dates on one side lengthwise so that you can gently remove the seeds (it should come out easily).  

2.  In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese, salt, black pepper, and walnuts. 

3.  Form a ball with a small amount of the cheese mix (~1 tsp, depending on the size of the date).  Place it in the middle of the date and squish it in as you close the top.  No cheese should show. 

4.  Place them on the grill with the top side up.  After the bottom side starts to turn brown (the time varies depending on hot your grill is and how close the rack is to the heat), flip it over.   Let the top side brown slightly.  Serve hot (be careful, it is really hot!)