Rosemary, Goat Cheese and Honey Crostini

(Recipe developed by light-bites wizard Maggie Humphreys)

I had an unfortunate realization the other day. For a blog entitled Rosemary Renaissance, there is an astonishing lack of recipes that actually involve rosemary.

Luckily these crostinis are just what this blog needs to start living up to it’s name. Goat cheese and honey are a classic sweet and salty pairing that work wonders on top of a crusty baguette. Combined with a little rosemary to imbue a spark of piney zest, these two-bite morsels are packed with simple but robust flavors.

This crostini dish is super easy to make – it’s even filed it under my slightly dusty “cheat dish” tag – but it’ll be a big hit at your next party!

(Protip: when eating, turn the bread sideways before taking a bite. That way you’re not shaking your head back and forth trying to tear through the crust – like I did.)

Rosemary, Goat Cheese and Honey Crostini

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, cut into slices
• 1 1/2 cups creamy goat cheese
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 rosemary sprigs, destemmed

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. On each slice, spread a generous pat of goat cheese, a drizzle of honey, and 3-4 pieces of rosemary.
2. Place all the slices onto a baking tray and cook for about 15 minutes, until the edges start to brown and the goat cheese is starting to melt. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 minutes.
3. Eat!

Chicken Stuffed with Apricot, Chèvre & Herbes de Provence

This recipe is a mix of classically French flavors in a very non-traditional style. Herbes de Provence is a mix of dried spices – savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender – that get its name from the French region of Provence. Blended into the chèvre, it creates a tangy, creamy, floral stuffing for the chicken.

Add in some dried apricots (Turkish), stuff the mixture into chicken (everywhere), wrap it in prosciutto (Italian) and braise it in champagne (more French) and chicken stock, and – voila! – stylish fusion entree.

The apricot pairing makes this chicken a great entree to serve with the White Chocolate Mousse with Champagne Apricots I posted recently. In fact, the two dishes are part of a four course meal I recently made – stay tuned for the other two!

Deep Fried Waffle Salad

“You cook adventurous things? So like, a waffle salad or something?”

I do now. Culinary Challenge accepted.

The star ingredient in this dish, the deep fried waffle ‘croutons’, are absolutely delicious; delightfully crunchy on the outside with tender interiors. They’re sweet and doughy and buttery – honestly, they’d make a pretty perfect dish all by themselves.

But the challenge was a waffle salad, so I contrived a supporting cast to make the pairing of waffle and mixed greens less awkward. The balsamic vinegar, maple syrup reduction takes the place of dressing in this recipe, giving the dish tartness tempered with sugar. The walnuts provide texture and neutral notes to give context to the other flavors. Finally, the chèvre provides a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the other ingredients with it’s saltiness and creamy texture. All these different elements help bridge the gap between waffle and mixed greens.

So, does it work?

Considering that it’s a waffle salad – Yes. Yes it does. It tastes delicious, and the sweet elements of the dish actually pair well with the spiciness of the argula and other greens. The oddity of what you’re eating does interject at times, but that doesn’t make it any less tasty.

Make this dish for brunch and blow someone’s mind.

Deep Fried Waffle Salad

• 2 freezer waffles, lightly toasted (I recommend blueberry)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 4-6 walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chèvre
• 1 1/2 cups mixed greens

1. Cut or tear the waffles into 1/2 inch squares. Break the egg into a wide bowl and beat until mixed together. On a plate, combine the flour and brown sugar and mix until evenly distributed. Add the oil to a cast iron pan and heat to medium-high.
2. Add the waffle sections to the beaten egg and toss until evenly coated. Remove and dredge in the sugar-flour mixture until lightly coated. Drop each waffle section into hot oil and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from heat and set on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
3. In a small pot or sauce pan, combine the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and corn starch. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce by half, roughly 6-8 minutes. The resulting mixture should have a syrupy viscosity.
4. Pile the mixed greens on a small plate and top with the deep fried waffles, walnuts and chèvre. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the top and serve.

Deconstructed Margherita Pizza with Mushrooms

Patrick and I are still working on our full write up of SliderPalooza. But I would never leave you, my dear readers, hanging.

So to keep your mind, eyes and stomach amused while we furiously try to fabricate recipes (which we never wrote down) and craft clever prose to bring them to life (we’re cooks, not poets!) I bring you a brief intermezzo: Deconstructed Margherita Pizza with Mushrooms.

This recipe is the perfect example of the right reason to deconstruction something. Although the technique always make for a phenomenal presentation, the real benefit of deconstructing a dish is allowing each component of the dish to shine individually.

Margherita pizza is composed of a handful of bold ingredients. And though I could have made this with simply those ingredients, I decided to bring mushrooms into the dish as well to add another dimension to both the flavor and texture. When baked together in a pizza the ingredients create a classic, flavorful dish. Separate, each component becomes the star of its own act in a play.

First, the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes bursts forth as the roasted exterior gives way. Then you get the crunchy, rustic flavor of the toasted foccacia. After that come the buttery, meaty seared mushrooms followed by the salty, creamy goat cheese mozzarella. Finally everything comes to a close with a hit of basil that lingers on your tongue.

These deconstructed bites make wonderful appetizers, and can also serve as the perfect amuse-bouche for an full course Italian meal. No matter how you’re serving them, they’re bound to impress!

Deconstructed Margherita Pizza with Mushrooms

• 1 carton cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 loaf focaccia bread
• 5 medium-sized mushrooms, cut into 1/8 inch slices
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, torn into 1 inch x 1 inch squares
• 1/4 cup of goat cheese mozzarella, crumbled into pieces approximately 1/2 inch in diameter
• toothpicks

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking tray with aluminum foil and empty the cherry tomatoes onto it. Add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss until the tomatoes are evenly coated. Add the fresh ground pepper and place in the oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the skins of the tomatoes just begin to crack. Remove from the oven.
2. Switch the oven to broil on high. Place the focaccia loaf in the oven and toast for four minutes, or until golden brown on top. Flip the loaf and toast for another 2 minutes, then remove.
3. Heat a skillet to high heat. Add the butter and allow it to cook until it just begins to brown. Add the mushrooms and toss until evenly coated. Cook until one side of the mushrooms are seared, approximately 4 minutes, then toss and repeat for the other side. Mushrooms should be golden brown on both sides when done.
4. Cut the focaccia into 1 inch x 1 inch squares. Place a mushroom (or two) on each square.
5. To assemble, use a toothpick to skewer a piece of basil, a tomato and a chunk of mozzarella. Carefully push the skewer into a focaccia and mushroom square. To serve, assemble the skewers on a platter of your choosing.