Tag Archives: goat cheese

Weekend Eats: Fresh Herbs are lovely in a cheese spread

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I know it must be summer when the perennial herbs scattered through my flower garden are ready for snipping. I’ve been getting ready for my “Cooking with Herbs” demonstration at Bemidji’s Natural Choice Farmers Market on Saturday, creating cheese spreads, Greek spinach and bison sliders with fresh sprigs of oregano, thyme, mint and slender spears of chives — all from my own garden.

Last night I served this Herbed Cheese Spread to a small group of friends who were over for wine and small bites. It’s so quick and easy to put together and only gets better with age. I like to mix it up the day before I plan to serve it, then sprinkle the top with chopped roasted and salted almonds or toasted pecans right at the last minute, so they stay nice and crunchy.

When I’m feeling like taking more time to prepare something a little more elegant, I form the cheese mixture into small, bite-sized balls and coat them with the nuts.

This cheese spread allows for your own creativity. I always start with a base of cream cheese and goat cheese. Sometimes I throw in some blue cheese. Finely shredded Parmesan is good, too. Then, just use whatever herbs you have available. Go lightly with the thyme and rosemary, though. They can be a bit overpowering.

Give this a try next time you’re having friends over. And, by the way, a glass of chilled Funf German Riesling was a very refreshing (and inexpensive) companion to the cheese spread.

I’d love to see you at the farmers market on Saturday morning. (June 4th) I’ll be cooking from 11:00 until noon at Bemidji’s Natural Choice Farmers Market in the Union Square Parking Lot, using fresh herbs, meat, eggs, bread and fresh greens all from the farmers at the market.

May there be some Fresh Herbs and Cheese Spread with wine and friends in your weekend.

And, if you’d like to watch me prepare this spread on my 3-minute Lakeland Cooks segment, just click here.

I also served Marinated Roasted Peppers on Crostini last night — another one of my make-ahead summer favorites.

Fresh Herbs and Cheese Spread

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1 (4-ounce) log goat cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 chubby clove garlic, peeled, smashed
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • Fresh herbs of your choice, about 2 tablespoons, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • sprinkle of Hungarian paprika
  • Roasted and salted almonds, chopped, or toasted pecans

In a medium bowl, use electric mixer to beat cream cheese, goat cheese and cayenne until smooth.

On a cutting board, mince garlic with salt. Add fresh herbs and orange zest and continue to mince until very fine. Add a pinch of paprika to the mix.

Scrape herb mixture into the cheese mixture. Stir well to blend.

Spread mixture onto platter. Cover and refrigerate. At serving time, sprinkle top with nuts. Surround with almond crackers. Serve at room temperature.

Eggplant. Sweet!

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There was a time when the closest I would get to an eggplant was at an Italian restaurant when rounds of it would be coated with a thick layer of breading and fried to crispness, then smothered in rich tomato sauce and lots of cheese. But even at that, I’d still run across some very distasteful eggplant.

Oh, I’ve come a long way since those days. I’ve discovered fresh, locally grown eggplant.

I’ve found there are many varieties of eggplant, from basic globe eggplant to long thin Japanese eggplant to tiny Fairy Tale eggplants. Skin colors vary from white, to deep or light purple to striped or variegted. They can be small, round, long, slender, plump or pear shaped. While some eggplants are more tender, some have thinner skins, and some cook more quickly, none hold their shape very well during cooking and all have mild flavor. They all seem to turn delicious when they are roasted or grilled, baked or sauteed.

One of the farmers at the market told me about an eggplant spread she liked to make. Apparently roasted eggplant pureed with walnuts, garlic and ginger tasted good, but it didn’t look very pretty.

Eggplant and Sweet Pepper Jam begins with eggplant that is roasted to tenderness at a high temperature. Once the eggplant is cool enough to touch, it can easily be cut into small cubes. Those little cubes get all jumbled up with sauteed onion, garlic, sweet bell pepper, fresh tomato and parsley, and as it cooks together it becomes thick like jam. And a little bit sweet, like jam.

Eggplant and Red Pepper Jam can be scooped up as is with tortilla chips or pita chips. My favorite way to enjoy the flavorful jam is with a smear of goat cheese on a slice of toasted baguette. If you don’t care for the tart flavor of goat cheese, mix it with cream cheese half and half to tone it down. Or, use only cream cheese.

The jam tastes best if it has had several hours in the refrigerator, allowing the flavors to develop.

Eggplant in this form tastes wonderful. And it’s pretty, too. Sweet.

 Eggplant and Sweet Pepper Jam

  • 1 eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for rubbing on eggplant
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 4 chubby cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, seeds removed, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  • Crostini or pita chips for serving
  • Goat cheese for serving

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour some olive oil into the palm of your hand. Rub hands together and then rub the olive oil onto the eggplant. Place prepared eggplant on baking sheet lined with silpat (silicone baking mat) or aluminum foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until eggplant is tender when poked with a sharp knife. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature. Cut into small cubes and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until just beginning to turn golden. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in red pepper and saute for another 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggplant, tomato, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Vegetables should be very soft and mixture should be thick. Add the vinegar and blend well. Mixture should be consistency of jam. Add the capers and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 2 days. Before serving, stir in pine nuts. Serve with crostini or pita chips and goat cheese.

Sweet or Savory, Blueberry Topping Goes Both Ways

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 Blueberries just might be my favorite summer berry. When I was growing up, I enjoyed the blueberry pies my grandma made. I’ve never been able to recreate that delicious pie. And, for that reason, I come up with all sorts of ways, other than in pie, to enjoy the plump blueberries of summer.

I think it was four summers ago, at about this time, that I went on my first camping/canoe trip at Lake of the Woods. A friend, who was also on the trip, sent me a recipe for a blueberry relish sometime before we were scheduled to take off. I made the relish for her and brought it to Laketrails Base Camp on Oak Island in Lake of the Woods in the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, our starting point. Our fellow paddlers enjoyed the savory blueberry topping with goat cheese on toasted slices of baguette as a start to our meal the night before the big adventure trip under a full moon. There were times on our week-long adventure that we wished we would have had more of that snack.

Today I made the Blueberry Topping again for the first time since that canoe trip under the full moon. Blueberries and red grapes are a great combination, both sweet and juicy with exquisite depth of flavor. I wouldn’t tamper with that combo at all. I did make a few changes to the recipe, adding a shallot and some lime zest. It was so good topping a very creamy goat brie on crunchy slices of toasted baguette. We also tried it with some mascarpone and decided it was like eating dessert. The remaining Sweet Savory Blueberry Topping  will get a new look ladled over premium vanilla ice cream. The sauce keeps well for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. I would love to try some over a traditional creamy cheesecake.

I’ll be making another batch of this topping, using minced jalapeno pepper and cilantro to replace the ginger and rosemary. I can just imagine how tasty it would be spooned over a brick of cream cheese and served with crackers.

It’s easy to pack up everything you need to serve this delightful appetizer or snack at a picnic. Just scoop Sweet Savory Blueberry Topping into a large jar with a tight-fitting lid and put it in the cooler with some goat cheese, cream cheese or mascarpone cheese. Slice up a baguette and toast the slices under the broiler. Transport them in a zip-top plastic bag or a cookie tin.

Blueberries sweet and blueberries savory — always a treat.

Sweet Savory Blueberry Topping

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh gingerroot
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
  • 2 cups red seedless grapes, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  •  1 (3-inch) strip lime zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 baguette, into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • Olive oil for toasting baguette slices
  • Goat cheese, cream cheese or mascarpone cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add minced shallot and saute until tender, but not brown. Stir in minced gingerroot, blueberries, grapes, sugar, red wine vinegar, lime zest and rosemary. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large glass bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate. At this point, topping can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil. Place on large baking sheet. Slide under broiler. When brown on one side, turn slices of bread and brown on the other side.

To serve, set out cheese of choice, toasted baguette slices and Sweet Savory Blueberry Topping.

 

Figs get funky

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I’ve always had an appreciation for dried fruits. I stir raisins into a bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast. Chopped apricots often get stirred into quick bread and muffins before I bake them. Thick, moist, sweet dried apricots dipped into dark chocolate are my favorite treat from the chocolate shop. Prunes, cooked with water and pureed are my favorite filling for sweet Bohemian yeast rolls. And I’ve been know to drive several miles to get to a little café for my favorite date-filled cookies.
Figs, though, have taken a little longer for me to appreciate. There’s something about all those little seeds held inside of each dried fig that have posed a problem for me. There’s something about the crunch of those seeds as I chew them…
One day at the recent International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference held in Denver, Valley Fig Growers sponsored a morning break. Large platters of Fig and Goat Cheese Bars lined several tables, with bowls of whole dried figs arranged amongst them.

As I approached the table, I saw funny expressions and looks of surprise as some of the conference attendees took their first bite. I had thoughts of maybe skipping this snack. But out of curiosity, I had to give them a try.
I was surprised at how much I liked those funky bars. The sweetness of the figs balanced the tart goat cheese toppng. Toasted walnuts added welcome texture and made the fig seeds much less obvious. All these textures and flavors spread over a buttery shortbread crust made for a perfect morning snack with a hot cup of coffee.
Thank you, Valley Fig Growers.

Valley Fig Growers suggest dipping dried figs into chocolate for a simple treat. I don’t know about that… I can’t imagine that could taste quite as delicious as the big chocolate-dipped apricots I buy at the chocolate shop.

Fig and Goat Cheese Bars

  • 2 cups dried figs
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
  • 2 cups goat cheese, room temperature
  • 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Combine figs, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until figs are tender. Cool slightly.
Place fig mixture in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Stir in chopped walnuts. Reserve.
Combine flour, brown sugar and salt in blow. Stir to combine. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture in prepared baking dish.
Gently spread fig mixture over prepared crust.
Beat goat cheese and eggs until smooth. Spread over fig mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until set. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 30 bars.
From Valley Fig Growers.