Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini

When I spoke at the North Scottsdale Farmers Market 2nd anniversary celebration a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sampling a delicious crostini appetizer from Leonardo and Roberto's Gourmet Blends.  This local company sells flavored, gourmet vinegars and olive oils at farmers markets and online.  They feature unique flavors, such as Black Current Balsamic Vinegar and Blood Orange Olive Oil, are delicious on salads, entrees, side dishes, and even desserts!  Check out some of their awesome recipes here.

An amazing and thoughtful client of mine who came to the anniversary event bought me a bottle of the Vanilla Fig Balsamic Vinegar, knowing that I loved the flavor.  The folks from Gourmet Blends were also sampling this flavor as part of their fig and goat cheese crostini.  We inquired about the ingredients and decided to make our own crostini during a recent trip to Carmel.  I didn't bring the vinegar with me, as I didn't want to spill it in my suitcase, but I highly recommend that you pick up some of this awesome vinegar and try it out yourself.  Our finished product tasted pretty similar to what we sampled, so hopefully the recipe is close enough to the real deal!

The best thing about this recipe?  It looks fancy and has a complicated flavor profile but is super simple to make.  This crostini is going into my cocktail party arsenal!

Ingredients:

French baguette, sliced

8 oz goat cheese

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Jar of fig butter

Leonardo and Roberto's Gourmet Blends Vanilla Fig Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions:

Assemble ingredients.

Mix walnuts and goat cheese in a small bowl.  You can add more or fewer walnuts, depending on your preference.

 

Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.  You can also broil at 450 degrees for 3-5 minutes.  Don't bake/broil it for too long or it will become hard to chew.

 

Once the bread is toasty warm, spread each piece with fig butter.  We bought ours at Trader Joe's.

 

Top each crostini with some of the goat cheese walnut spread.  Again, you can use more or less than I did to your preference.  I used 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons per piece.

 

Now here's the fun part.  Drizzle each crostini with vanilla fig balsamic vinegar.  Here I used balsamic vinegar glaze, which is a bit thicker than regular vinegar, and it was definitely delicious.  However, I missed the hint of vanilla and fig!

 

Here was my presentation to the family.  Pretty, huh?

 

Official taste testers.  The verdict?  Delicious.

 

Enjoy!

*M*

Feta and Roasted Bell Pepper Dip

My usual appetizer go-to's include pesto bites, avocado salsa, goat cheese and smoked almond crusted olives, and lentil hummus.  For our Mother's Day celebration this year, I decided to mix it up with this Feta and Roasted Bell Pepper Dip (aptly named Hotsy Totsy Dip) from Chin Deep.  I had about 10 minutes to make an appetizer to bring to my parents' house - we had just gotten back from celebrating Mother's Day in LA with my husband's family!  For breakfast in LA we made egg's benedict, blueberry scones, and fruit salad, and dinner in Scottsdale included seared ahi steaks, chipotle shrimp with avocado, and a giant salad.  I think both moms enjoyed their mama love - and great food - this year.

This recipe combines feta, bell peppers, lemon, Sriracha sauce, garlic...yum, yum, yum.  I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 because I had 12 ounces (2 6-oz containers) of feta.  Additionally, I threw in a box of Fig brand garbanzo beans, which come in PBA-free packaging, to add some protein and fiber and to bulk up the dip even more.  The beans made the dip a bit more like hummus, which is all good in my mind.

This recipe takes about five minutes, and when the recipe multiplied by 1.5 and the beans are added it serves at least 12-15.  My husband thought this was great and has been eating it with rice chips and cut-up carrots all week.  It would also be great with sliced bell peppers, jicama, cauliflower, or cucumber.

Ingredients:

8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon regular Sriracha OR Sriracha chili garlic sauce

2-3 large garlic cloves, minced

4 roasted red peppers (I used jarred)

Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

10 ounces garbanzo beans

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Place the feta in the bowl of a food processor along with the roasted red peppers. Saute the minced garlic cloves and hot sauce in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, just until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Note: I added them raw to the mix because I was extremely short on time.  Cool for 10-15 minutes before adding the garlic mixture to the feta. Process until well combined. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Process a few seconds longer. 

Adjust seasoning. 

Serve with whole grain chips, crackers, bread, and a variety of your favorite raw veggies and olives.

 

Enjoy!

*M* 

Chris McNamee's Avocado Salsa

My mother-in-law is a great cook. She makes this delicious avocado salsa from a recipe supplied by her friend Ede. Of course, she gives all the credit to Ede...but I say it's Chris' salsa because she's a pro at making it.

This recipe is really simple and absolutely to-die-for. I have never seen it sit untouched at a party; in fact, it's always the crowd favorite!

Avocado is chock-full of satisfying, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, making this dip enough to eat as a meal (especially if topped with a protein source, such as chicken beans). Make sure to use organic corn, as conventional corn is likely to be genetically modified.

Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:
16 oz frozen white corn - choose organic
2 small cans sliced olives
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small purple onion, chopped
5 gloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 T. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
3-4 diced avocados
Dash sea salt

Instructions:

Assemble ingredients:


Mix all ingredients except the avocados in a large bowl:


Red onions:



Garlic:


Red bell pepper:


Olives:


Raw apple cider vinegar:


Olive Oil:


Oregano and sea salt:


Lemon juice:


Mix it all together:


Refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as overnight. I made this on Thursday night for a Friday night dinner party.

Dice the avocados and add just before serving.


Serve with Trader Joe's Veggie Flaxseed chips:



Enjoy!

*M*

Holiday Appetizers

I was in charge of the appetizers at this year's Thanksgiving celebration with the McNamee clan. I wanted to make something that was tasty and unique, not too terribly filling, and somewhat healthful. I also wanted appetizers that were visually appealing, likable by all palates, and fun to eat. I decided on the following items:

Spiced mixed nuts

Smoked almond and goat cheese olives

Zesty deviled eggs

Bacon roll-ups

I took step-by-step photos of the nuts and the olives, as these are the healthier and more interesting items.

Note: I tripled this recipe for the large group (and to have leftovers!).

Emeril's Spiced Nuts

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 T butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 T water

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts)

Directions:

Mix spices and reserve.

Heat nuts in a skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to toast, about 4 minutes.


Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.


Add butter, sugar, water and spices to the hot skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until a glaze forms, about 1 minute.

Return the nuts to the skillet and toss to combine with the glaze.


Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the nuts are glazed and golden brown.

Remove from heat and transfer to a baking sheet lined with foil, separating with a fork.





Let rest until cooled and the sugar has hardened, about 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container. Serve in a decorative bowl for some extra pizazz.

Smoked Almond Goat Cheese Olives

Yields 32 olives

Ingredients:

2/3 cup smoked almonds

8 oz goat cheese

32 Spanish green olives, stuffed with pimiento

Directions:

Assemble ingredients.



Add almonds to a small food processor or chopper and pulse briefly to chop. Pour into a small bowl.

Cut the goat cheese into 8 equal pieces, and then cut each piece into 4 equal pieces. Each piece will be about 1/4 ounce.

Wrap each olive with 1/4-oz piece of goat cheese and shape into a ball.

Roll into chopped almonds and place in a container.

Repeat with the remaining cheese, almonds, and olives.

Once the container is filled, cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve on a tray with a toothpick placed in each olive.

Zesty Deviled Eggs

Yields 24

Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Dirty sea salt, pepper

Cayenne pepper

Directions:

Slice all 12 eggs in half and place the yolks in a bowl. Combine the yolks with mayo and mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to smooth out yolk clumps. Add small amounts of cayenne to achieve desired spiciness. Place the yolk mixture in a plastic bag, cut the corner of the bag, and fill the egg white halves with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle paprika on top.

Bacon Roll-ups

Yields 40

Ingredients:

20 pieces of white whole wheat bread, crusts removed

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

20 slices of bacon

Directions:

Flatten each piece of bread with a rolling pin until very thin. Combine cream cheese and shredded cheese in a bowl. Spread cheese mixture over each slice of bread. Roll each piece of bread up into a tight roll. Cut bacon slices in half, length-wise. Wrap 1 bacon piece, spiraled, around each bread roll-up. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is fully cooked and the bread is lightly browned.

We served these on a personalized McNamee Thanksgiving platter I gave my inlaws as an early Christmas gift.


Happy holiday feasting!

*M*