Wrong Place Wrong Time

Our second gathering seemed just as impactful as the first.  This time we were able to have whole group discussion instead of breaking into smaller groups.  We used six focus questions, each facilitated by one of our members.  Like the conversations we had over The Midnight Library, this was so very powerful. How wonderful to be able to share our thoughts, questions, and ah-ha moments with others who find joy in reading and baking.

As I was perusing the all-knowing internet for discussion question ideas, I found loads of options.  Books-novels.com, and BookClubChat.com were two that stood out to me so I was able to glean some ideas and questions from those two sites.  Later, I found a YouTube video of an author chat! If you're interested, you'll find it here.  

One of the joys of reading is being able to find connections between different books.  This was the unintended case with Wrong Place Wrong Time and our first book The Midnight Library. In Wrong Place Wrong Time, our protagonist, Jen, blames herself for her son committing a horrible crime. She constantly questioned her decisions as a mother and spent many moments feeding her regrets.  Nora, our main character in The Midnight Library, also spent much time wallowing in her own regret. As both books progress, our main characters are thrust into seemingly impossible situations - yet these situations turn into life lessons that impact the outcome of the closing chapters. Wrong Place Wrong Time gave our bookers and bakers much to ponder and discuss.  The twists and turns just kept coming and we loved sharing our thoughts on those exciting moments!

Goat cheese is my favorite cheese. It brings a punch of tang delivered through a creamy texture that can be used in a variety of dishes.  This time, we all made goat cheese stuffed dates, wrapped in brown sugar bacon.  I'll let you have a moment to take that in.....I promise you, it is a party in your mouth.  The added bonus is that they are incredibly easy to prepare. We all gathered around my kitchen island and in no time, we had a tray full of yumminess! 

Here is the list of ingredients and directions:

1 Log of goat cheese

1 Container of Medjool dates (with pit)

1 package of bacon (I like using thinner slices for easier wrapping and even cooking)

1/2 cup brown sugar (give or take)

Preheat oven to 375. Place a cooling rack on a foil lined cookie sheet. 

Remove the pit from the dates. Simply use a knife to make a slit down the date and the pit comes out easily.

Remove the bacon from the package and cut the slices in half. I typically separate the slices ahead of time because that's how I roll.

Press about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese into the opened date and then press the date closed...its fine if the goat cheese visible.

Tightly wrap the date with a piece of bacon and then dredge in the brown sugar. Don't be stingy - brown sugar bacon is a dream come true.

Place the nuggets of deliciousness onto the rack and bake for 20 minutes - check for color. Are they golden/crispy? Great! Take them out and let them rest.  Not quite brown/crispy yet? Give it another 10 minutes. You can also broil on high for the last minute until they are golden/crispy with the glistening sugar. (I know - that was over the top)

I do recommend allowing a bit of time for these jewels to rest/cool.  Pop one in your mouth right out of the oven and the molten lava-like goat cheese will destroy the roof of your mouth. That's no fun.