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Watercress with Smoked Almond Goat Cheese Scoops and Grapes in Red Wine Syrup

December 4, 2012

Have you ever found a recipe that makes you want to have a party? You know, just so you can show it off to your guests? Not because it was a brilliant feat on your part, but because it was just that good.

I hadn’t. Until I found this.

This is Watercress with Smoked Almond Goat Cheese Scoops and Grapes in Red Wine Syrup.

This little salad-slash-starter is party worthy. It even felt like a party when I ate it alone for lunch yesterday. As mentioned above, it is just that good.

It came from what I now consider my absolute favorite cookbook of 2012 – Home Made Winter by Yvette van Boven. You might remember my review of Home Made last year. I assure you, things only got better.

And by things I mean recipes I want to make, pictures I want to look at and tips I want to incorporate. Home Made Winter is all the warm, fuzzy, comforting feelings you look for in winter and the holiday season in cookbook form.

I am so inspired by Yvette’s style. It makes me want to take myself to the kitchen on a cold night and cook, bake and create for hours. There are wonderful do-it-yourself standards such as homemade cured beef sausage, butter, yogurt, apple cider and Irish cream liqueur. (What? Irish cream isn’t a standard necessity? I’m ready to make it one.)

Then things get fancy – fancy and completely do-able and tasty. Butternut Crème with Goat Cheese Cream and Sage, Whole Organic Chicken Stuffed with Pork, Veal and Sage Sausage and Guinness Fruitcake only scratch the surface.

The best part of the book is the introduction where Yvette announces that she’s already started working on a second volume – Home Made Summer! This winter edition proudly displays Irish influence, while Home Made Summer will show its French roots. I can’t wait!

This book is full of holiday-inspired baked goods, and hearty meat and vegetable dishes, but I decided to pick something on the lighter side – a nice salad full of seasonal flavors.

The intro to the recipe suggests using fresh cranberries instead of grapes, and that is what I did, with amazing results! After stopping at two stores to find watercress, I finally settled on arugula. It tastes wonderful with the other flavors of the salad, but I’ll be trying it again with watercress as soon as I can get my hands on some.

I encourage you to give the recipe a try, but I offer fair warning.

You are going to want to have a party!

Watercress with Smoked Almond Goat Cheese Scoops and Grapes in Red Wine Syrup Recipe

Reprinted with permission from Abrams Books

An awfully simple recipe that looks very flashy. Instead of the grapes you could use fresh cranberries or quartered fresh figs. If you can’t find smoked almonds, you can use regular almonds.

½ of a 750-ml bottle red wine

½ cup plus 2 tbsp (125 g) turbinado or Demerara sugar

3 star anise

8 cardamom pods

5 oz (150 g) seedless red grapes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

7 oz (200 g) soft goat cheese

⅓ cup (50 g) smoked almonds

1 bunch fresh watercress, stems removed

Heat the wine in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve, then add the anise and cardamom and bring to a boil. Boil the syrup for about 25 minutes, until it’s slightly thicker. Reduce the heat to low and add the grapes. Warm the grapes in the syrup for about 7 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Divide the goat cheese into 12 equal portions. With clean hands, roll the portions into small balls.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until coarsely ground. Roll the goat cheese balls in the almonds to coat them. Place the cheese balls on a tray or baking sheet, cover them, and place them in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.

To serve, wash and dry the watercress. Arrange some nice leaves over 4 plates. Arrange the goat cheese balls on top and spoon grapes in syrup around the cheese.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me for review purposes. I was not required to write about it and received no compensation for doing so. It goes without saying, thoughts and opinions here are my own.

Pesto Pizza with Red Grapes and Bacon Recipe

August 20, 2012

Grapes on pizza. Have you tried it yet?

I love fruit on pizza – pineapple, even mango – but I have to admit I wasn’t sure about grapes. Aside from picking a bunch off the vine, warm from the summer sun, I’d never had hot grapes before.

Although, after seeing it on several food blogs, I figured there had to be something I was missing. And there was. I’m sold! I love the burst of sweet, juicy flavor from the grapes.

For this pizza, I used pesto as the sauce and cooked up some pastured pork bacon for a little extra smoky, salty flavor. Red onions worked great, both in flavor and color. I can see all kinds of cheeses working for this, but I used a basic whole milk mozzarella.

Pesto Pizza with Red Grapes and Bacon

Makes: 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients
Dough for a 14 inch pizza
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/2 red onion, sliced into rings
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
1 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 cup whole milk mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll the pizza dough out to 14 inches and place on a pizza pan. Spread the dough with pesto.

Top the dough with the onion, bacon, and grapes. Top the pizza evenly with the cheese.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Okay, I want to know – what’s the most unique pizza topping you’ve had before? For me, it would be canned tuna. It was a pizza topping when we dined on rodizio pizza (kind of like a buffet brought to you) in Brazil.

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Cheddar, Sun-dried Tomato and Zucchini Scones Recipe

August 15, 2012

I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.

I hope to see you there.

Cheddar, Sun-dried Tomato and Zucchini Scones Recipe | Fake Food Free

I’m no stranger to scones. I’ve written about my favorite breakfast pastry a few times in the past. But I rarely make savory scones.

Our zucchini plant just stopped producing this week, so I’ve had plenty to work with this year. When I was trying to use it up, scones seemed a logical choice. I stepped out of my sweet comfort zone, though, and decided to do something a little cheesy and spicy.

These scones are great by themselves, but they also make a good base for a breakfast egg sandwich. If you happen to have a tomato jam, that would dress them up nicely, too.

Cheddar Sun-dried Tomato and Zucchini Scones

2015-06-29 21:55:47

Makes 8 to 10 scones

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Ingredients

2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup shredded zucchini
¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped fine
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
1 tablespoon hot sauce
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon 2% or whole milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter cubes and use a pastry blender or two knives to cut the butter into the flour until it is in pea-sized pieces.
Stir in the zucchini, sundried tomatoes and cheese. Add the hot sauce and milk, and mix ingredients until a dough is formed. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently for 1 to 2 minutes.
Shape the dough into a rectangle, about ¾ of an inch thick. Cut into 8 to 10 squares.
Place the squares on a baking sheet. Top each with a small amount of shredded cheese and press it gently into the dough.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes until the cheese and edges are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the scones comes out clean.

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/

Beer Cheese Tomato Soup Recipe

August 2, 2012

When it comes to soup, tomato is my favorite. Before your mind jumps to visions of cans and concentrates, allow me to explain. Homemade tomato soup with fresh spices, splashes of balsamic vinegar and wines, and olive oil is what I’m talking about. I love it straight with basil, but sometimes I like to get fancy.

Enter beer cheese.

Okay, so maybe it’s not fancy, but it is a Kentucky staple. There is even a festival at which I had the opportunity to judge the competition last year. If you are unfamiliar, there are as many recipes as people who love it. But to simplify, it is cheddar and beer turned cheese spread. I’ve grown to love it, and I can no longer imagine a tailgate at a football game or at the horse track without it.

So when I was thinking about tomato soup for this round of the Tomato Love Recipe Exchange, I first considered beer. Then I considered cheddar. Then, well, why not?

This recipe experiment is a winner. The mild tang of beer and the sharpness of cheddar pop with the sweet tomatoes. I may no longer be able to have tomato soup without beer cheese!

Beer Cheese Tomato Soup Recipe

2015-06-30 09:00:37

Makes: 4-6 servings

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Basic Beer Cheese

4 oz. block of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used sriracha)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup beer (any variety, I like to use lagers)

Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 lbs. tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

To make the beer cheese, to a small food processor add the cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons of onion, 1 clove garlic, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse for 10 to 15 second intervals until the ingredients are blended. Pour in the beer and continue to pulse until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Set aside.
To make the soup, in a 4 to 5-quart soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the 1/4 cup of onion and 3 garlic cloves. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions soften. Add the tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes.
Once the tomatoes begin to break down, remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender (or transfer in batches to a blender) to puree until smooth.
Stir in the basil, sugar, salt, red pepper and black pepper. Return to the heat and simmer 2-3 minutes. Stir in the beer cheese. Serve warm.

By Lori Rice

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/

Tex Mex Poblano Eggplant Pizza Recipe

July 18, 2012

Whenever we have a garden, I always grow some variety of eggplant. Then once it’s ready for harvest, I wonder what to do with it! This is eggplant pizza recipe is one I came up with a few years ago and it remains a favorite.

Tex Mex Poblano Eggplant Pizza Recipe | Fake Food Free

Unlike some other veggies in the garden, we aren’t bombarded with eggplant, but we do have enough to cook up a few meals. The type we bought this year is a purple eggplant that is small and round, as opposed to the long Japanese-style we’ve had in years past. Their size reminds me of pepperoni when they are sliced so I guess that is why I thought to use them on pizza.

For this pizza, I used my favorite crust from Food Embrace, this time with whole wheat flour and corn meal. The spicy beans take the place of the sauce. I had white beans to use up, but pinto or black would work great too.

Once the pizza is out of the oven you can garnish it with all kinds of fresh colorful ingredients. I used romaine lettuce, purple cabbage and diced tomato.

Tex Mex Poblano Eggplant Pizza

2015-07-09 08:15:43

Makes: 3 to 4 servings

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Ingredients

3 Poblano peppers, halved and seeds removed
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup cooked black, white or pinto beans
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1, 14-inch pizza crust, rolled thin
3 small or mini eggplants, sliced
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded ettuce, sliced purple cabbage and diced tomatoes for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet, cut side down. Add the onions and garlic cloves to the baking sheet. Drizzle with about a ½ tablespoon of olive oil, and rub over the vegetables. Roast the vegetables in the oven for about 20 minutes, and then set aside to cool.
Add the beans to the bowl of a food processor. Remove any burnt or separated skin from the peppers, and add the roasted peppers, onions and garlic to the beans. Add the salt, cumin, chipotle powder, crushed red pepper and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Pulse on high until a smooth paste is formed.
Spread the bean paste over your pizza crust. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer evenly over the beans. Sprinkle with the cheeses.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the edges of the crust begin to brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Top with shredded lettuce, cabbage and diced tomatoes before serving.

By Lori Rice

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/

Roasted Pumpkin with Gorgonzola

October 12, 2011

If you need a new roasted pumpkin recipe, look no further! This dish combines the flavors of sweet winter squash with rich Gorgonzola cheese. It’s a recreation of a dish I enjoyed when we lived in Brazil.

About three months before we moved back to the US and ended our time living abroad in Brazil, I took a trip. My husband was headed off to Ireland on business and I just happen to find a crazy good deal on a flight to Belo Horizonte.

I’d met a couple expats there through blogs, so I hopped a plane and headed off on my own little adventure. My new friends there showed me the ins and outs of the city of Belo Horizonte as well as Ouro Preto. To this day Ouro Preto ranks as one of my favorite places visited.

At the beginning of my trip, we stopped by one of their favorite places for lunch. A per kilo buffet lunch which was the most common form of lunch I came across while living in the south and visiting the north.

The food was good and the selection was pretty typical. Fresh salads, pastas, meat and fruit. Although there was one dish that stood out and I’ve never gotten around to making it until now.

Roasted Pumpkin with Gorgonzola | Fake Food Free

It’s one of those dishes that is so simple, but it’s the simplicity that makes it so good. It’s basically roasted pumpkin topped with crumbled gorgonzola. I’ve never been exactly sure of the herbs or flavorings used in the original dish so I made up my own with a bit of rosemary and onion.

This makes such a great side dish or top it with some roasted walnuts or black beans for protein and call it a meal.

Roasted Pumpkin with Gorgonzola

Makes: 2 – 3 servings

½ small pumpkin, peeled and cut into large chunks (about 2 ½ cups)
1 sprig of rosemary
¼ medium onion, sliced
Olive oil
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pumpkin in a single layer in a baking dish. De-stem the rosemary and place the leaves with the pumpkin. Add the onion. Toss to coat all ingredients with olive oil.

Bake for 10 minutes. Stir the pumpkin, and bake for 10 more minutes or until the pumpkin is tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven, salt and pepper to taste, place the pumpkin in a serving dish and top with crumbled Gorgonzola. Serve immediately.

Lexington Farmer’s Market

May 11, 2011

I wasn’t quite sure if it would ever get here, but it is finally Farmer’s Market season again! Even though we have quite the garden this year (I’ll be posting about that soon.), I still love browsing the Farmer’s Market and bringing home the many things we aren’t growing ourselves.

I really like to frequent the smaller markets near where we live, but they typically don’t open until mid-June. That means in May I get to explore the early spring produce and gourmet meats and cheeses of the Lexington Farmer’s Market.

My husband and I set out for our first visit this past weekend and it did not disappoint. These are a few of my favorite finds and you’ll likely being seeing them in my upcoming recipes.

Just look at the size of this rhubarb. I’ve not seen any quite this red or large.

With it being Derby weekend, these red roses were perfect!

It’s that time of year where the plants are as much of a draw as the produce. We picked up our cilantro and sweet basil plants.

This was by far my favorite find of the weekend. Cheese Maker’s are growing around this area and I was thrilled to find Boone Creek Cremery. The cheeses are made from JD Country Milk, one of the few dairies in Kentucky (I’ll cover the other one later this week).

What is great about these cheeses is that they not only taste good, but the combinations are incredibly unique. Take this Ginger Stilton for example. Yes, ginger. Or this Coffee Gouda. Then of course it couldn’t be Derby season without a variety appropriately named, and flavored with…you guessed it, bourbon.

As good as all these flavors were I didn’t go home with them. No, what we went home with was this. Blueberry Stilton. It is every bit as good as it sounds!

I’m also thrilled to see that coffee is hitting a little closer to home in the area. We have some producers that are now importing fair trade, organic beans and roasted them locally. Superlative caught my attention this week with their Barrel Aged Bourbon Infused Coffee.

We also went home with a big bag of organic spinach. It’s been a nice addition to all our sandwiches and salads this week.

Well, now I saved the best for last. Let me first say that I am not passing judgment, nor do I know the story here. I would like to think that maybe this dolly was borrowed and these foods came from the market.

However, not 10 steps from the market are a line of local restaurants. Sitting outside of one of them was a delivery of produce including asparagus and onions, both available at the market.

It was just too much of a photo moment to pass up. All these fresh, mostly local foods 10 feet away, and there sits boxed, shipped produce being delivered. I hope I’m wrong on the source, but if I’m not, perhaps a little Farmer’s Market peer pressure is in order!

Coming up later this week – the garden, complete with our 18 pepper plants, and a trip to Chaney’s Dairy Barn.

Honey Pecan Baked Brie

January 7, 2011

This easy baked brie is covered in sweet honey and crunchy pecans. Serve it with slices of crisp apple or your favorite crackers.

Honey Pecan Baked Brie Recipe | Fake Food Free | A simple appetizer on game day or for holiday parties!

When it comes to big sporting events I have to admit, it is all about the game food. Our game food has stepped up a notch in recent years. Sure, we still have nachos, and we can even find chicken wings and drummies from local farms which I can coat with buffalo sauce. But beyond that, I become a bit of a snack snob.

If I have my way there will also be some gourmet cheeses, maybe some bruschetta or pesto. This baked brie is a perfect example.

I’ve had baked brie at parties and restaurants, but I rarely make it myself. On New Year’s Eve I decided to give it a try and now (regardless of whether or not we care about the teams) I’ll be making it for game day, too!

There are lots of baked brie recipes out there. I originally wanted to make one with a jam on top, but couldn’t find the jam I wanted in an HFCS-free version. Instead, I combined pecans, mascavo sugar and honey. It formed a praline-type topping that was delicious with the cheese.

This recipe is super simple and you’ll have warm, gooey, sweet and salty goodness in a matter of minutes!

Honey Pecan Baked Brie

2015-10-24 17:06:03

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Ingredients

1 round Brie cheese
¾ cup pecans, chopped
¼ cup mascavo (or brown) sugar
2 tablespoons local honey

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the unwrapped wheel of brie in a shallow baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the chopped pecans, sugar and honey. It will form a thick, sticky paste.
Spoon the pecans and sugars over the cheese and spread evenly. Bake the cheese for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pecans and sugar begin to caramelize. Let sit 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

By Lori Rice

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/