Calabazas ::: Dates and Blue Cheese

I was recently inspired by the small plates served at Pittsburgh's Bar Marco in the Strip District and decided to embark on my own little small plates adventure.

To begin, I purchased a few "calabacitas" from our local Mexican grocer. I've actually never seen these at normal grocery stores, and I think they're really just small zucchinis, but I've only ever known them as calabazas from Mexico.

After cutting the stem, slice in half lengthwise and cut out a little groove in the middle to create a boat for your stuffing. The center cut that you remove is tasty eastern raw or dipped in hummus or ranch.

Sprinkle the halves of calabaza with salt, pepper, powdered garlic and dried or fresh rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until tender.

Remove from the oven and place your stuffing in the middle. In this case I stuffed the calabazas with blue chees3 and chopped dates. I put them back in the oven to warm the stuffing... Just for a minute or two until the cheese began to melt.

Once I removed from the oven I drizzled with a balsamic reduction and garnished with sweet pea sprouts.

So, so delicious! Serve as an appetizer or small plate.