Goat Cheese

Entries Tagged as 'goat cheese'

October Highlights

10.31.2012

Happy Halloween! I usually do my monthly wrap ups on the first but VV is participating in a virtual potluck tomorrow (more on that…well…tomorrow) so let’s talk October today. Cool? Cool.

Did everyone have a wonderful October? I don’t know what it is but my only association with Fall is Late September/October. I am really hoping that the crisp fall feeling doesn’t fade into winter just yet…oh November, you sound so…dark. Am I the only one feeling this way? Well, in an attempt to hold onto my favorite season as long as possible, I will be keeping the pumpkin recipes coming! At least until I have to pull out my winter jacket…
And now for some October Highlights!

1. Muesli Bread – by far my favorite recipe from the month of October. Not only was this bread melt-in-your-mouth delicious when fresh out of the oven but it was also loaded with healthy (and yummy!) pumpkin seeds, almonds, and dried cherries!

2. Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons – Goat cheese croutons might be the best winter food ever to exist. Bringing these into my world has opened up so many new ways to jazz up ordinary soup.

3. Spicy Jalapeno Corn Hummus – Hummus has been my go to snack for years now and my recent attempts to play with its flavors have been delightful. The extra kick that the jalapeno gives really brings new flavor to standard hummus

4. Homemade Caramel Corn – Your movie nights will never be the same again! The recipe makes a lot but it’s the perfect snack for a crowd or if you are craving some seriously delicious caramel treats in your life.

Lastly, don’t forget to check out my collaboration with Dishes Undressed on Bread Pudding and the October Giveaway that VV is hosting (ends Friday!).

And as for November? Well, I am hoping (have I said this before?) to have my new blog makeover up and running this month! And will probably send the next 3 weeks drooling over Thanksgiving recipes. Ah yes, it won’t be such a bad month after all!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons

10.09.2012

And here I am again with more butternut squash in my life (as if that amazing Galette was not enough!). What can I say? Eating in season has been so easy since our bodies were made to adjust to the seasons. All I’ve been craving for the past two weeks have been soups loaded with winter squash and apple-coated everything.

And I am excited to share with you goat cheese croutons! Have you ever had croutons made out of cheese? OH MY GOD. I cannot believe it took 23 years on this planet to discover these little things! They bring shame to that stale old bread that you use to call “croutons”. For real, image this: gooey, breaded chunks of cheese hidden in your bowl of already delicious soup. It’s like a cheese stick in your soup! But even better because it’s homemade and filled with GOAT CHEESE. Not so bad…am I right? I’m excited to experiment with this more as the winter progresses….perhaps try other cheeses? They will need to low in fat content so that they don’t melt in the cooking process. Hmmm…perhaps feta or Parmesan chunks ? Or maybe even find a better technique for sealing the cheese in the breadcrumbs and branch out to Gruyere or brie. Oh man, the options are endless!

Anyhow, regardless of the croutons, this soup is really yummy. Flavored with curry powder and roasted butternut squash, this recipe is a keeper! I recommend roasting the squash ahead of time since it takes an hour and then you can prep the rest in 20 minutes.

Lastly, you should know that I adapted this recipe from SpoonForkBacon. It’s one of my new favorite food blogs and although I don’t eat bacon (thank goodness that I don’t have to worry about that bacon shortage coming!), I do find the food photography incredibly inspiring and highly suggest that you all hop on over and check it out!

Curried Butternut Squash with Goat Cheese Croutons

adapted from SpoonForkBacon

1 large butternut squash, sliced in half with seeds removed
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons chives, chopped
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
dash of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2/3 cup coconut milk (you can use regular as well if that is what you have on hand)

For the croutons:

3 ounces goat cheese,
1/8 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet with the cut sides up. Stick 1 tablespoon of the butter and brown sugar in the cavity of each side. Roast for 1 hour or until the flesh has softened all the way through. Remove from heat and let cool enough to handle. Remove skin and discard.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add the onions and saute for about five minutes or until softened. Add in the chives, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, and squash. Stir until combined.

Next, pour in the broth and let simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat and use an immersion blender (or let cool enough to stick in the regular blender) and puree. Return to the stove top and simmer over medium low for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk.

To make the croutons:

Leave oven preheated at 375 degrees.

Make 12 (or 15 if you want them smaller) balls of goat cheese. Place the flour, breadcrumbs, and egg all in separate bowls. Roll the balls into the flour, egg, and then the breadcrumbs. Place onto a greased baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes (flipping halfway through). Make sure to keep your eye on them and remove when browned (some will take more or less time depending on how big your croutons are).

Serve the soup with croutons or crispy bread.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

6.14.2012

So I wanted to talk to you guys about this ‘Food is the New Rock’ podcast. I’m not sure if you are into podcasts but I’ve come to enjoy listening to them while I workout or am laying in my sun-room. I’ve become super into this specific podcast that mixes food and rock music…they show all the similarities and talk a lot about how the two are connected (and then interview chefs about music and musicians about food). This concept is sooooo fantastic for me because I obviously am super into food (having a foodblog and all) but my day job is working at an indie record label distributor…match made in heaven? I think so. If you’re into this sort of thing, I highly recommend checking it out here.

Ah yes, back to recipes! I’m not really sure where this goat cheese and black bean combination came about but I highly approve. I remember my old (old) roommate use to make a similar (and absolutely delicious) taco when I lived with her a years ago. Then I ran across a recipe with the black bean/goat cheese combo a couple of days back which sparked my memory for these ‘dillas. I had remembered really enjoying them but I think my love affair for goat cheese has grown even stronger in the last 3 years; this means these were even more mouthwatering-awesome them I remember.

Since I’ve been trying to use up what is in my pantry/fridge (moving begins TOMORROW), I tweaked this recipe to what I had on hand. I used the leftover chevre from the Veggie Polenta Lasagna and the kick of spice from the jalapeno was tamed perfectly from the smooth cheese. Can’t wait to make these again with some Beergaritas!

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Makes 2 ‘dillas

I can (15 ounce) of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
4 ounces of chevre or goat cheese
1/3 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
4 large tortillas (or 8 small)
1 jalapeno, diced
salt/pepper
Olive oil, for cooking

Spread half the cheeses on a tortilla. Top with half the beans, corn, jalapeno and cilantro and then place another tortilla on top. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.

Heat a dollop of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium. Cook the tortillas on each side for about 5 minutes (or until they start to brown).

Serve warm while the cheese is gooey!

Polenta and Veggie Lasagna

6.07.2012

This was one of those recipes that spawned from me standing in front of the pantry going “what can I make for dinner with what I have?”. It’s a rather daunting question and there have been many failed meals that ended in last-minute pizza ordering because of this question. That however, was not the case this time around. Using the basic structure of what you could put in lasagna, I managed to whip up this twist on the famous Italian dish and may never look back.

‘Grits’ was always a bad word for me growing up. I would always have visions of white mush that was pushed out-of-the-way at ‘Crack Barrel’. Polenta, however, was a different story. Polenta meant slices of warm and crusty Italian deliciousness fried up on a skillet by itself or layered out under a pile of cheesy breakfast eggs.

I don’t know exactly how to pin my finger on it but there is something so amazingly satisfying about the comfort of vegetables cooked in olive oil and the savory flavoring of warm polenta. From the very first bite, this recipe pulled at my ‘comfort strings’ and left me craving for leftovers for the rest of the week.

Polenta and Veggie Lasagna

1 cup dried polenta
8 ounces chevre cheese (or goat cheese)
1/8 cup Parmesan
1/8 cup Gouda (optional)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cup vegetable stock
1- 6 oz. can of tomato paste
handful of fresh basil or oregano, for garnish
salt/pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and cooked the polenta for five minutes. Once cooked, pour onto a cookie sheet lined with tin foil (to create a “sheet” of polenta). Set aside while you prepare the veggies so that it can harden up (or stick in a 350 degree heated oven for about 10 minutes if you want your polenta a little crispy- this will also help it harden faster!).

In a large skillet (or saucepan), heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook for about five minutes or until they begin to soften. Add in the garlic and cook for another two minutes.

Next, add in the pepper, zucchini, celery, and carrots. Cook for about 15 minutes or until everything has softened up.

In a small bowl, whisk together the stock and tomato paste until well combined. Add to the cooking veggies and bring to simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the mixture has become very thick. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble: Grease the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan. Cut the polenta in half and place a sheet of it snuggly in the bottom of the pan. Using half the goat cheese/chevre, spread a layer of it on top of the polenta. Next, layer on half of the veggie mixture. Repeat with another layer of polenta, chevre, and veggies. Finally, top with gouda, parmesan and fresh basil/oregano.

Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until everything is heated throughout.

Serve warm with garlic bread or by itself! Enjoy while watching an episode of ‘Mad Men’ or listening to your favorite David Bowie album.

PS You should consider following me on Facebook for updates about new posts! I am currently trying to branch out with my social network skills!

Spring Leeks and Zucchini Galette

3.25.2012

I actually made this last weekend but have been putting it off for two reasons: 1. I was a little frustrated because pictures could not convey how beautiful this piece of food was and 2. I don’t even know where to begin with being able to describe just how delicious this thing was.

Honestly, this is a bit more complicated than most of the recipes I blog about but it’s well well well worth the extra effort. The crust is flaky like a crescent roll with the slightest hint of sweet from the sour cream that you would never expect. And then the veggies are roasted until they practically melting in your mouth and to top it all of there is a layer of cheese on both the top and bottom. Looking to impress some guests? Please please please make this Galette!

I suggest making the pastry crust earlier that day so save time when it comes to cooking it. Also, I got the crust recipe from Smitten Kitchen so head over there and prep the crust!

Spring Leeks and Zucchini Galette

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Leeks, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced
2 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup smoked mozzarella, shredded
3 teaspoons dried thyme
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
Drizzle of honey
1 crust from Smitten Kitchen
Salt/Pepper, to taste
1 egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the Olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the garlic, potatoes, zucchini, and leeks and saute for about 3 minutes. Then add in the thyme and salt/pepper and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Spread the cup of smoked mozzerela evenly across the bottom of the crust. Line the vegetables however you’d like within the crust (we did in inward spiral with the zuccini and potatoes and then put the leeks in the middle but feel free to get creative)! Top with chunks of goat cheese and fold the extra crust over (see pictures below!). Brush the egg white mixture along the crust and pop in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the vegtables has softened and the crust is browned.

Drizzle a tiny bit of honey over the goat cheese sections and serve right away! Be careful though because there was three of us and this was gone in about 2 minutes with us wishing we had made 2…or 3 galettes!

Marbled Parfait with a Raspberry Brownie Goat Cheese Filling

2.24.2012

Woah, that is a mouthful. It’s needed though- all those ingredients stick out so much in every bit that I would feel guilty not letting you know what you are in for. The salty goat cheese counteracts that brownie so well that they are an [odd] match made in heaven. Plus, anything with goat cheese is amazing. Right?

I should probably admit that I’m delusional to think that this is a “healthier” version of dessert but this was an attempt at some sort of weird compromise. I love parfait for dessert because they are light and sweet but not too sweet. Wyatt loves chocolate and ice cream and anything with more calories than is supposed to be consumed in a week. SOO I made this thinking it would satisfy both of our needs…but to be completely honest, this is for no one on a diet or watching their calories. It’s rich and indulgent in the best way possible.

I would imagine you could probably even top this with ice cream instead of granola. And replace the raspberries with strawberries or blueberries or whatever you’d like. Get creative…that’s the best part about baking!

Marbled Raspberry Brownie Goat Cheese Filling:

Brownie Part:

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Goat Cheese Filling:

1 cup raspberries
8 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Other things to put in the parfait:

granola
more fruit
greek yogurt
honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9 baking dish. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Next, beat in the eggs. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and fold until well incorporated. Pour into prepared baking pan.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and goat cheese together. Next, cream the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Fold in the raspberries (I crushed them a little bit on purpose so that they would bleed some pretty marbled red into the mix). Pour on top of the brownie mix.

Cook for 30 minutes or until it starts to brown on the top. Let cook for at least ten minutes then prepare your parfait with whatever fixins’ you’d like. Don’t worry if the brownie mixture is gooey because that helps it blend well with the other parfait ingredients.

Mmmmm, gooey goodness. Don’t share with your puppy but feel free to share with your roommates!

Cranberry Goat Cheese Breakfast Bake

12.20.2011

So Christmas came early this year.I decided to buy myself a new camera for all the hard work I’ve put in this year but instead of waiting til I saved up the money for it (surprise, surprise) I splurged and bought it last week. I reasoned it with that fact that I was gonna need the holiday break to play with it and figure out how to use it…right? Anyways, I’m sorry if I get a little excessive with the pictures for awhile but it’s only because I’m super excited about my new toy.

So, in other exciting news, I am FINALLY on holiday vacation(well sort of- I still have to work at the Record Label in the afternoon but I’ve got all mornings and evening off for the next month!). This means lots of breakfasts in bed. I am the type of person that likes to take two hours to wake up…You know, make some coffee, get back into bed to drink that coffee, watch a movie in bed while drinking coffee, make breakfast and get back into bed while it cooks, eat in bed, etc.

To start off my morning I made this super simple breakfast bake so that I could crawl back into bed while it cooked. These miniature bakes are soooo easy to make and sooo delicious. In the summer we got use to throwing whatever was fresh from our garden into them (cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, corn, etc) but now that it’s winter it’s more like…whatever is in our fridge. It’s a rather simple equation: 2 eggs + a cheese + dash of milk + a spice + veggie/meat= delicious. The combinations are absolutely endless! Here I did the whole sweet and savory combination to please just about anyone’s taste buds.

Cranberry Goat Cheese Breakfast Bake

Serving Size: 1

2 Eggs
2 tablespoons milk
A couple chunks goat cheese
4-5 dried cranberries
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Salt/Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a small greased remekin, add in this order: 2 eggs, milk (pour it over the egg yolks so keep them from drying out), goat cheese, cranberries, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Cook for 10-12 minutes. In the last minutes, put the broiler on (but keep a very close watch on it!) so that the top browns.

Enjoy with toast. In bed with some french roast coffee. And your favorite slippers.

Cheesy Sun-Dried Tomato Puffs [and Corn Chowder]

10.17.2011

The other night Kelsey and I decided to make some chowder to try to cure the rainy blues. With the cold weather approaching and my insides getting chilled, all I can seem to think about is hot soup and the way the warm broth tickles and soothes your throat as it goes down. I’ve got dozens of soup recipes on the back burner that I’ve had stashed away for cold weather so why not start now?

Okay, so I’m going to be completley honest…the corn chowder didn’t turn out has hopeful as planned. Kelsey and I tried to imitate the summer corn chowder from Panera Bread (RIP choooowdaaa) but it just wasn’t the same. It ended up bland and runny; nothing like expected. We ended up spicing it at the last minute with dried basil and oregano and salt and pepper but stilll….I’m not going to bother you with this disappointing recipe.

However, we made these goat cheese sun dried tomatoes muffins to go with it that were straight up addictive. I recommend making these with some sort of scrumptious soup to try to ensure you won’t just eat the whole batch of these for dinner!

Goat Cheesy Sun-Dried Tomato Puffs

1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 8 oz tube goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and a dash of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Next, whisk in the eggs and milk. Lastly, stir in goat cheese and tomatoes.

Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin tins and sprinkle evenly with the parmesan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Share with friends [but not too many or they will eat all of them!]

Also, perfect for a fall picnic to bring along with a thermos of soup! Or a festive potluck if you double the recipe!