Tag Archives: goat cheese

Baked Goat Cheese and Homemade Pepper Jelly

Posted on by February 12, 2015

Baked Goat Cheese and Homemade Pepper Jelly is one of those dishes that was absolutely inspired by the hosting skills of others. Some friends of mine have a lovely Christmukkah party annually that often includes the crowd-pleasing cream cheese with pepper jelly appetizer. In fact, they always have lots of fun old school apps and cocktails. Mike is one of those people who is good at guessing which spirit comes next in the trend book. He was mixing 60’s cocktails before Mad Men was all the rage. In fact, I’m still waiting on the rum explosion he swears is coming, because I believe him. Next to their Mad Men style revival cocktails you’ll find lots of appropriately 60’s snacks, including, the aforementioned cream cheese with pepper jelly, which is one of those appetizers that I forget all about in between Christmukkahs. It’s a funny little dish, and not particularly my style; perhaps I am even a little surprised to realize I absolutely love it. Then again, how could you not? Cream cheese and spicy sweet jelly as an excuse to have fresh baguette… Fair point, well made. So last Thanksgiving, when I was perusing magazines for recipes that might fit … Continue reading →

Chopped Beets, Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese Salad

Posted on by April 9, 2014

I roasted a lot of beets in January. And I still have some hanging around. This was intentional. One strategy that makes home cooking more relaxing in the long run is to prepare several recipes that require an overlapping labor intensive ingredient. So rather than roasting beets every week, I roasted a large quantity of beets and made several beet friendly meals. Go assemblage cooking! If you need a reminder on how to roast beets, check out the Golden Beet Bruschetta recipe. 4 cups arugula or your favorite green leaf 1 cup chopped roasted beets 2 ounces goat cheese salt and pepper ½ cup pecan halves or pieces. 2 tablespoons maple syrup ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon olive oil To make candied pecans: Preheat over to 425°. Coat pecans in the maple syrup and the salt and pepper on a cookie sheet. Spread them out so they’re not too close together. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Stir and Toast for another 5 minutes. All the moisture should evaporate and the nuts should be glossy. Remove and cool. Break apart with your hands. Toss greens with another ¼ teaspoon of salt … Continue reading →