Celebrating Liz

Our friend Liz is coming over tonight to celebrate news of her impending tenure/promotion. There'll be champagne, sure, but before that there will be chana masaladar, raita, sambhara, and a dish full of mascarpone-stuffed dates. Try them: Buy a pound of dates; if you don't want to get sticky digging the pits out, buy pitted dates (d'oh!). Split the dates open so that you have little date clamshells. Meanwhile, mix a teaspoon each of sugar and cinnamon into a small tub of mascarpone. Each date gets a blob of this lovely mélange along with a mint leaf. Simple and sexy, those are the best dates.