Savory Chocolate, Almonds, Bacon: Chocolate with Almonds Day

Another day, another food holiday. Tomorrow, July 8,  is Chocolate with Almonds Day, not to be confused with Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day on November 7.

For a nice change, here are two savory chocolate with almonds recipes. They're both for chocolate with almonds--and BACON.

The first recipe comes from Food Network Star Chef Michael Symon. It's easy and delicious. Easy, is always the key word. I adapted this recipe to use dark chocolate. I like the taste better. But if you're a milk chocolate person, give it a go with Michael Symon's original recipe.

Chocolate Covered Bacon with Almonds

Ingredients
1 pound thickly sliced slab bacon
1/2 pound dark chocolate-65% or higher-good quality
1/4 pound toasted almonds

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place bacon on a sheet tray and bake until crisp, about 25 minutes. Melt chocolate in double boiler over low heat. Dip crisp bacon in chocolate and place back on sheet tray. Sprinkle with almonds and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

I haven't tried the following recipe yet, but it looks sensational. The stuffing of the dates takes a little more time, but it's still a simple recipe. It's quite a chocolatey-variation on the more standard Devils on Horseback. This recipe was adapted from Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland and appeared on The TastingTable Chefs' Recipe the other day. It appears to have everything: sweet, salty, spicy!

DEVILS ON HORSEBACK

Ingredients:
12 strips of bacon, halved crosswise
24 dates, pitted
6 squares of bittersweet baker's chocolate, broken into shards
Fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt
12 marcona almonds, halved
½ jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Arrange the bacon on a baking sheet and warm in the oven for 15 seconds, then remove and let cool. Turn the oven up to 400°.
2. Stuff each date with a piece of chocolate, a few grains of fleur de sel, half a marcona almond and a piece of jalapeño. Wrap each date with a strip of bacon (secure it with a toothpick, if desired) and place on a baking sheet, seam side down.
3. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bacon is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Be still my heart. I need a few more people here to try this, but I'll let you know when I try these. Likewise, let me know if you make this recipe. I can tell from the recipe that I want to eat them all myself.