Try this:
<ul>
<?php
global $post;
$args = array( 'numberposts' => 5, 'category' => 1 );
$myposts = get_posts( $args );
foreach( $myposts as $post ) : setup_postdata($post); ?>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/12234/<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a> - <?php the_date(); ?></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>
More info:
query_posts()