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* 

Pesto Bites

My family members love hosting cocktail hour before we go out to celebratory dinners. It's an opportunity to spend time in each other's homes, enjoy some snacks, and toast to health and happiness with some good quality wine. Before our Father's Day dinner at the newly opened Renegade Canteen in Scottsdale, my sister and parents came over to our house to finish watching the US Open and share some refreshments. I served Pesto Bites, below, and carrots and pita chips with hummus. The Pesto Bites can be made quickly with store bought pesto, but I made pesto from scratch this time. After all, it was Father's Day, and my dad is a pretty special guy.

This snack is pretty rich and very tasty. Eat it slowly, paying attention to the intense flavors and wonderful texture. Most importantly, enjoy it with those you love!

Here's the basic "recipe" for the Pesto Bites:

Freshly baked French, sour dough, or Italian bread

Olive oil-based pesto (see recipe below)

Organic mozzarella and Italian cheeses, shredded

Preheat oven to broil. Slice the bread in half length-wise on a cutting board. Spread a thin layer of pesto on each piece of bread. (If you run out of pesto, sprinkle olive oil in places where pesto is spread very thinly.) Sprinkle with mozzarella and/or Italian cheeses. Broil directly on the oven rack for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is browning and bubbly. Make sure to set a timer, since the bread will burn if left in to long.

And now, for the delicious pesto from Simply Recipes:

Makes 1 cup prepared pesto

*Note: in the photos below, I doubled the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano or Romano cheese (organic and raw if possible)

1/2 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts if desired)

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Combine basil with pine nuts; pulse a few times in the food processor.

Here's the basil measured out:

Here's the basil processed with the pine nuts:

Add the garlic and pulse a few times more. I always love to use my garlic press to create fresh minced garlic with ease:

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.

Stop to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse until blended. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. The final product:

Now prepare the bread:

Spread the pesto on the bread:

Sprinkle the cheese on top:

(This group likes it extra cheesy!):

Now broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese turns a gorgeous, bubbling brown:

Once it has cooled a minute or two, cut it into pieces and serve on a platter:

Here's our Father's Day happy hour spread:

And my new Fourth of July inspired candles, sitting on top of a table that's just waiting to be used:

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing dad I've ever met! We love you!

(That's my sis on the left and myself with our dad in Laguna in April)

*M*