Published by mel on November 14, 2008 in entree.
Some people might say there’s something missing at our Thanksgiving table. They might say that the conspicuous absence of a large, roasted bird means that it’s not Thanksgiving at all. But my family would disagree. I don’t remember the last time my mom roasted a whole turkey. They’re difficult to carve, easily dry out and everyone fights for the white meat. My mom tried a Turkey Roulade one year, and we haven’t looked back since.
Usually, we make a prosciutto and sage-stuffed turkey breast, wrapped in peppered bacon and basted with pear jam. It’s absolutely delicious. The bacon and jam keep the turkey nice and juicy, and the pepper is a perfect contrast to the sweet jam. My mom’s been doing this turkey for years, and we decided to change it up a little this year. We picked our filling ingredients and I volunteered to make a test turkey.
Instead of prosciutto and sage, I stuffed it with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, cranberries and chopped toasted pecans. I still wrapped it in bacon — how could I not wrap it in bacon? — but I did skip the pear jam and I couldn’t find peppered bacon.
The new filling was a definite success. It was rich, tart and sweet without being overpowering. I had skipped the pear jam because I thought the filling would be too sweet, but the sweetness actually mellowed out while the turkey roasted and the bacon didn’t caramelize as well as I’d hoped, so the pear jam will be back on Thanksgiving day. I also missed the spicy kick from the peppered bacon to counteract the rich filling, so I’ll redouble my efforts to find before the big day.
It’s not a traditional turkey, but it’s delicious, easy to slice, easy to serve. I already can’t wait to hit up the leftovers in my fridge!
Continue reading ‘Thanksgiving Test Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade’
Published by mel on October 7, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez
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Awhile back, the Ile de France cheese company sent me a free wheel of Camembert cheese to blog about. Since one would be insane to turn down free cheese, I accepted and made roasted fig, prosciutto and camembert “sushi” drizzled with honey. Nothing better than creamy cheese, fruit, cured meat and honey. Nothing.
I guess it was a success because Ile de France sent me some more free cheese. This time, a large piece of goat cheese and the chance to submit my recipe for a chance to win $1,000! Free cheese and a chance to win some cash? Yes please. So, I invited my photographer friend and co-worker Augi and his wife Meli (one of my homeys from high school) over for goat cheese tartlets.
Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez
I made a simple tart crust, which I stuffed into mini-muffin tins for appetizer-sized tartlets. Because I couldn’t decide on just one filling, I made five. And it can’t hurt my chances in this contest, right? Here were the 5 finalists:
- Cracked Pepper Smoked Salmon & Dill (my favorite, I think) - #4 in photo above
- Dried Apricot, Almond and Honey (Tom’s favorite) - #1 in photo above
- Roasted Fig - #3 in photo above
- Cardamom and Mustard Seed-spiked Butternut Squash - sadly, not pictured
- Caramelized Onion & Pear (my second favorite) - #2 & #5 in photo above
Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez
The point here is that you can have fun with the fillings and the possibilities are endless. Each were tasty little bites and my guest photographer snapped away while I cooked and sipped from a Red Hook ESB. A perfectly relaxing Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading ‘Goat Cheese Tartlets, 5 Ways’
Published by mel on September 12, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
This week I saw some things at the grocery store that I’d never seen before. They were in the produce department, right next to the cartons of black mission figs (buy one get one free this week! yay!). They were big, round, purple and the label said they were grapes. Muscadine grapes. But, these were unlike any grape I’d ever seen before.
First of all, they were huge. About the size of a big gumball, I’d say. The skin looked more like the skin of a plum than a grape. And they were very, very dark purple — almost black. I bought some because I was intrigued, and because they were half price. I was so intrigued that I ate one as soon as I got home and immediately googled them. According to Wikipedia and the label on the inside of the carton, Muscadine grapes are native to the U.S. and reach their peak during the hottest months of the summer. They thrive in hot and humid places, which explains their appearance at my local grocery store. Muscadines are used to make wine and preserves and are full of healthy goodness.
And the taste? Delicious. Same juicy sweetness of a purple grape, but much meatier, like an apricot. The only downside is their size. Muscadines aren’t very conducive to popping in your mouth like regular grapes. These are definitely 2-bite bad boys, which rules them out for snacking in my book.
I contemplated using them to make a sauce for pork chops, but didn’t have any pork in the fridge. I did have some fresh greens and goat cheese, though. So I candied some pecans and made a salad. A really good salad. The sweet and juicy grapes were a perfect contrast to the tangy goat cheese, and the spiced and candied pecans added just the right amount of sweet crunch. I could eat this salad every day.
Muscadine grapes get an A+ in my book, but this salad would be just as delicious with your standard red or purple grapes. I think the pecans steal the show anyway…
Continue reading ‘green salad w/grapes, goat cheese & candied pecans’
Published by mel on August 29, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Pasta’s easy. It’s usually the first food you learn to cook, and the food that sustains you throughout your penniless college days. It’s good, fast and cheap, and there’s nothing to not love about that!
So, when I need to make a quick lunch before work it’s often pasta that’s my first thought. The hard part is figuring out how to make a healthy, well-rounded meal with it. As with most things carb, I find that I can sit down and eat at least a 1/2 pound of simple, buttery pasta on my own. But me and my bikini know that it’s probably not a good idea.
So, I try to have as much “stuff” in my bowl as I do pasta. This week, that stuff happened to be spicy Italian sausage, broccoli, rainbow chard, goat cheese and walnuts. A well-rounded meal chock-full of vegetables, protein and those venerated Omega 3’s. Best of all, it traveled well, filled me up and made a very delicious little lunch.
Continue reading ‘easy sausage, greens & goat cheese pasta’
Published by mel on June 16, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I just got back from a weekend away in beautiful Maine. I was hoping to post this before I left, but never got around to it. Here it is in all of its delicious glory.
Summer’s here and the stone fruits are starting to appear in huge quantities. I love nectarines and often bring them to work for my mid-morning snack. Although tasty, they’re really not ideal for eating at your desk. Usually, I end up bent over the trash can as the juices run down my fingers and drip everywhere. Not very attractive.
If you want to avoid creating such a scene at work, another way to eat those nectarines that I’m sure are piling up in your fruit bowl (aside from a delicious crumble) is to use them in a salad. They provide a nice substitute for the juicy tomatoes which have unfortunately disappeared from stores nationwide, lest we all become infected with salmonella.
The jerk chicken is a nice compliment for the sweet nectarines and goat cheese and vinaigrette give it enough of a bite to curb the fruit’s sweetness. Just add some walnuts for crunch and you’ve got a perfectly well-rounded summer salad.
Continue reading ‘jerk chicken, nectarine & goat cheese salad’
Published by mel on May 27, 2008 in recipe and sides & bites.
Everyone needs a pretty and easy hors d’oeuvre recipe. Whenever I have people over, I usually end up with one hopelessly complicated starter that takes me entirely too long to make. Whether it’s fussily topping mini toasts with cheese and fresh herbs or wrapping something together until it’s just so, I always end up in the kitchen sweating it out until the very last minute before my guests arrive.
That’s why you have to have those other make-ahead hors d-oeuvres. Like hummus or dip. The ones you can make in the morning and pull out of the fridge right when you need them. I found this recipe for simple goat cheese cylinders coated in fresh herbs and spices over at The Pioneer Woman and thought I’d give it a go for a dinner party.
That was the night I stupidly left the ravioli-making until the very last minute. Thank God I’d made these pretty little goat cheeses earlier. They saved the day and they were a total hit. My guests devoured them. Loved every last bite of them.
So, in case you missed it on the Pioneer Woman, here’s the “recipe” with the addition of a poppy seed coated cheese. Next time, I might try an aromatic curry one, or Chinese five spice. I highly recommend you make these for your next dinner party to save yourself some stress. Or maybe you’re smarter than I am and you make everything ahead of schedule, in which case, don’t rub it in…
Continue reading ‘the pioneer woman’s easy goat cheese hors d’oeuvres’
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