Cabra al Romero

This is a creamy, semi-soft goats milk cheese from Spain.  Pressed with rosemary and aged a total of 30 days, this is a beautiful addition to any cheese board.  I eat it (like so many cheeses) drizzled with honey, but it's great on it's own, and better followed up with a fruity red wine.

Mixed Berry Jam

With the last of the berries at the farmer's market a few weeks ago I decided to give mixed berry jam a go one last time.  Timing in this recipe is everything, and I've learned not to question the recipe, but to just listen, and do.  I ruined my first few attempts with using classic pectin because I felt the boiling jam didn't look done.  Low and behold, once it cooled it was as solid as a rubber ball. 

So below, the simple recipe for mixed (or any) berry jam.  

Ingredients:
8 cups berries (I used equal parts raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
4 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbsp classic pectin
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Prep glass jars and lids for canning (this recipe filled 12 x 4oz jars, a great size for gift-giving).
In large bowl, using a potato masher, smash berries.
Mix berries, sugar, and pectin into non-reactive pot and stir until sugar is mostly dissolved.
Bring mixture to a boil, and continuously stir for approx 10-12 minutes.
Add lemon juice and continue stirring for 5-6 more minutes (foaming should have subsided).
Use the spoon test (explained in last month's blueberry jam recipe).
Remove from heat and ladle into jars.
Can away.

This recipe is fantastic mixed in with plain [Greek] yogurt (and granola).

Baked Butternut Squash with Quinoa and Goat Cheese

I found this autumnal recipe online (here) and decided to give it a shot.  It's definitely a side dish and I wouldn't eat it by itself again (it's rich, mushy, and was texturally one dimensional), but still had good flavor.  In the recipe below I'm including what I'll do to improve the recipe next time.  If you like squash and goat cheese, you should give this a try, and if all goes well your end product will look better than mine.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup quinoa (the original recipe calls for couscous, but I prefer quinoa)
1/3 cup currants
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley, plus 2 tbsp for garnish (the original recipe called for cilantro...I wouldn't do that again)
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese plus 1/3 cup for crumbling
Sea salt + freshly ground pepper
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)

-Preheat the oven to 400.
-Slice the squash and scoop out the seeds.
-Place each half cut side down in a baking dish and pour about 1/2 inch of water in the dish (I forgot to pour the water and my squash came out just fine).
-Bake until tender, 45-60 minutes.  Once done, remove from oven and set aside.
-Cook quinoa per box instructions.
-Dice shallots and garlic.
-In a medium skillet heat olive oil and saute shallots + garlic until fragrant.  Add to quinoa.
-Scoop out the squash into a separate bowl leaving 1/4" on the sides and bottom.  Drain water from the dish (if you used it) and place the squash back in the dish, cut side up.
-Mash the scooped squash with a fork and mix in 1/2 cup goat cheese.
-Once quinoa is done, add it to the butternut squash and mix in with currants and parsley.
-Salt and pepper to taste.  (I would add a good squeeze of lemon juice here as well, maybe 1/2 or whole lemon)
-Fill the butternut squash halves with the quinoa mixture, sprinkle with leftover goat cheese and return to oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the top begins to brown.
-Remove from oven, cut each half in 2.  Garnish with parsley.

Pesto, Prosciutto + Arugula Pizza with Pilota Cheese

With the overwhelming supply of pesto sitting, waiting, desperate for consumption in my fridge last week, I scrambled to use it at every meal (not exaggerating).  The below pizza was a perfect and easy way to use a ton and enjoy every bite. 

I've never made pizza dough before and with my 6pm dinner contemplation I didn't have the time to try -- instead I picked up (for $1.50) pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's.  Rolled out over cornmeal and finally using my pizza stone for its intended purpose, a masterpiece was born. 

Most importantly (besides the pesto) was the cheese.  Looking for a bold and smooth sheep's milk, a sheep / cow's milk blend and French Basque -- Pilota -- was recommended.  Nutty, smooth, semi-hard with great melting qualities, it's a perfectly rich and creamy compliment to pesto.  Of course after sampling a bit too much myself I didn't have quite enough left for the whole pizza, so I added some Old Quebec Vintage Cheddar.  The extra sharp qualities were a fun contrast to the smoothness of the Pilota.  I'd do it again by choice.  The icing on the cake (pizza) was the egg front and center.  Because really, everything is better with a fried egg.

Ingredients:
Pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
Corn meal
2 cups pesto (recipe here)
Wedge of Pilota or another smooth sheep's milk (at the cheese counter I told them it was for a pizza for 2), roughly sliced 
4 oz extra sharp cheddar, roughly sliced
2 cups baby arugula
1/4 lb Prosciutto di Parma
1/2 Lemon
Olive Oil
Sea salt + pepper

1.  Preheat oven as high as it will go.  (Brick ovens are usually around 800 - 900 degrees, so for your standard at-home oven the hotter, the better)
2.  Once pizza dough is rested and ready for use, roll out on corn meal covered flat surface to approx 12" round.  Once rolled out, slide onto pizza stone.
3.  Spread pesto evenly, leaving enough room around the edges for a crust.
4.  Place cheese around pie, leaving an open hole for the egg in the middle.
5.  Place pizza in the oven for 10 minutes, or until edges are beginning to golden.
6.  Slide out stone and crack egg in the middle of the pizza (if you don't trust yourself, first crack it in a cup, and pour it on the pizza)
7.  Place back in oven until egg is cooked to your liking, approximately 5-6 minutes.
8.  Remove from oven, let sit for a couple minutes.
9.  Lay slices of prosciutto around the pie.
10.  Spread Arugula over everything.
11.  Squeeze lemon juice over the arugula, drizzle with olive oil, salt + pepper.

Easy Heirloom + Feta Salad

I picked the last of our summer tomatoes last night.  It was late and I was hungry and impatient, so I grabbed what I had for this simple salad.  I could eat heirlooms every day and be so, so happy.

Ingredients:
3-4 medium/large heirloom tomatoes
1/2 cup feta crumbles
1/2 lemon
Approx. 5 Tbsp olive oil 
Sea salt + freshly ground pepper

Chop tomatoes into large chunks.  In serving bowl mix in feta, lemon juice and olive oil.  Salt + pepper to taste.  (If you have fresh basil, chop and add 1/4 cup.  1/4 chopped red onion would also be a great addition).  

Cheesy Cards

I love stationary.  Occasion cards... blank notes... well made paper products in general.  I am the person (I take after my mother) who runs into Paper Source for a single birthday card and comes out 30 minutes and $75 later with 5 birthday cards, 1 congratulations-you're-pregnant card, 2 welcome-new-baby cards (I'm at that age), 3 just-because cards, and a packet of thank-you notes. 

I stumbled across the below at The Cheese Shop of Silver Lake last weekend.  They had a basket full of fromage-related cards at the register, I was so excited that I bought four.  I also love supporting the little guy and these are created by letterform, an extremely talented graphic-design duo out of Chicago whose beautiful letterpress 'nourishing notes' will make you smile (and possibly hungry).

To order them directly you can find their online shop here.

Saint Angel Triple Cream

This triple cream may have just trumped my usual creamy go-to D'affinois (double cream).  French as well, and so buttery and rich you can't help but gasp (I'm being dramatic) with that first taste.  Because of the richness it's best served with something crisp -- I didn't have any apples or grapes on hand this afternoon so instead I substituted apple butter.  It worked. 

Since it's fall (almost) and apple season is upon us, to recreate the above click here for last year's fantastic and super easy slow-cooker apple butter recipe. 

Spicy Pesto + Old Quebec Vintage Cheddar

I went a little crazy at the farmer's market this past weekend.  I came home with way too much arugula and basil (it smells SO GOOD) and decided to make pesto.  A lot of pesto.  Of course it doesn't keep very long so now I'm faced with the issue of wastefulness... to battle it we'll be eating a lot of pesto this week.

Since I've posted the recipe before I won't pain you with it again, you can find it here.  To make it spicy I added a heaping tablespoon of dried red pepper flakes to the garlic when sauteing.  It was probably a little too much, the kick will be overwhelming to a non-spicy fan, but if you like heat, give it a try.  This time around I changed my basil-arugula ratio to 1:1.

In addition to my farmer's market outing I hit up my favorite local cheese shop, The Cheese Store of Silver Lake. Looking for an aged cheddar, I left for home with a raw cow's milk Canadian 4 year aged block.  Extra sharp with a hint of caramel, and so delicious it demanded immediate consumption.

So Sunday's lunch incorporated both of my weekend finds, baguette slices with spicy pesto and Old Quebec Vintage Cheddar.  So good.

Autumnal Blueberry Jam

There was a bumper crop of blueberries in California this year so the farmer's markets have been full of 'em up until a couple weeks ago.  I haven't given up on my quest to make a good jam and read somewhere that blueberry jam is a perfect start for beginners. 

This recipe was found online and uses cinnamon and nutmeg which I might abandon/lessen in future trials.  The flavors almost overpower the blueberry, but it was still delicious on toast and with goat cheese.  I plan to add a thin layer to my next grilled cheese for a more complex flavor profile. 

Ingredients:
6 cups of smashed blueberries (10 cups of unsquashed berries will equal this amount)
4 cups sugar
3 Tbsp classic pectin powder
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp cinnamon (I'll halve this next time)
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (I'll also halve this next time)

Directions:
1.  Prepare a canning opt and 3 pint jars (or six 4 oz jars).  Place lids in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer to sterilize.
2.  Pour the smashed berries into a low, wide, non-reactive pot.  Measure out the sugar and whisk in the powdered pectin.  Add the sugar and pectin mixture to the fruit and stir to combine. 
3.  Once the sugar is mostly dissolved, place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil.  Cook at a controlled boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the fruit begins to look thick and any foaming as begun to subside.
4.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice and let jam continue to cook until it passes the spoon test (see spoon test instructions in this post).
5.  Remove jam from heat and funnel into sterilized jars.  Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
6.  When time is up, remove jars from canner and place on a folded kitchen towel to cool.
7.  Once jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals.
8.  Sealed jars can be stored on a pantry shelf for up to one year.  Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.

Lemon + Basil Gnudi with Fava Beans

My kitchen has an entire bookcase completely filled with cookbooks.  Collecting them is a hobby of mine.  I haven't cooked from all of them (yet) but just love having them and reading through.  

Fresh and Easy was given to me by a friend about a year ago.  It is hands-down the most beautiful cookbook I own and I cannot get enough of it.  Its step by step process with stunning comprehensive photos is amazing.  If you'd like to purchase it for yourself, click here.

This easy (but time consuming) recipe is one of our favorites from the summer.  Gnudi is a cousin to gnocci (my favorite) and a healthier option as it doesn't contain the carb-heavy potatoes.  If you've got a little time for the fava bean / gnudi prep this one won't disappoint:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups ricotta cheese, drained of any liquid
1 egg
1 bunch fresh basil
1 organic lemon
4 oz Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour, plus a handful more for shaping
1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs (I used plain bread crumbs and they worked just fine)
2 1/4 lb fresh fava beans
2 cloves garlic
6 Tbsp butter
1 tsp dried chili flakes (I used more as we like a nice kick to our food)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1.  Put the ricotta and egg into a large mixing bowl.  Roughly chop half the basil leaves, add to the mixture, then finely grate in the zest of the lemon and three-quarters of the Parmesan.  Season with plenty of pepper and a little salt.  Reserve the lemon.

2.  Beat the ingredients together until smooth, then sift in the flour and add the bread crumbs.

3.  Stir the flour and bread crumbs into the ricotta mixture.  Put plenty of flour in a large baking pan or something similar, and have a floured plate ready.  Spoon a couple of generous teaspoons of the gnudi mixture separately into the flour in the pan, then roll them around in the flour until well coated.  Shape the gnudi with dry hands to make a smooth ball or oval.  Put onto the floured plate, then repeat with the rest of the mixture.  Chill the gnudi for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.  This will firm up the gnudi and make them ready for cooking. 

4.  Prepare the fava beans.  Bring a pan of salted water to a boil  While it comes to a boil, break the pods and pop the beans out (I would pay someone to do this -- it was extremely time consuming and a royal pain in the a--.)  Discard the pods. 

5.  Boil the beans for 3 minutes, by which point they should have floated to the top of the pan.  Drain in a strainer (sieve) and cool under cold running water, then remove the bright green beans from their pale green skins (again, grab a helper if you can, this takes time).  Cool under cold running water and set aside for later.

6.  When you're ready to cook the gnudi, bring a large, deep pan of well-salted water to a boil and put some serving plates in a low oven to warm.  Add half the gnudi to the pan (drop them in carefully, one at a time, so they wont stick).  They will rise up to the surface.  Once this has happened, cook for another 2-3 minutes, then lift out and onto the warmed plates.  Repeat until all of the gnudi are cooked. When ready, the gnudi will feel firm and bounce back when pressed lightly. 

7.  Just before serving, prepare the buttery sauce.  Crush the garlic.  Heat a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and let it melt.  Add the garlic and chili flakes, then sizzle for 1 minute. 

8.  Add the shelled fava beans and remaining basil leaves and splash in a good squeeze of juice from the lemon - the butter will sizzle a little here and turn slightly golden.  Season generously. 

9.  Spoon the garlic and bean butter over the gnudi, then serve with the rest of the parmesan for grating.  

We had a little gremlin friend unexpectedly try and enjoy the meal with us.  Hopefully the same doesn't happen to you.