Creamy Goat Cheese, Pesto and Burst Tomato Dip

Perfect Pairing:  Crackers

Summer!  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  I am soaking up every minute because I am already panicking that it is almost July.  Wait!! I was going to do so much more in June!  

I am lucky enough to live at the lake this summer until we close on our new home at the end of July.  I’m not going to lie, it doesn’t suck living and working here.  I pinch myself daily looking at the beautiful views. 

A TGIF cruise is a favorite summer tradition.  We load up the pontoon with friends, food and drinks.  We set sail (motor) into the sunset with some chill music and enjoy the appetizer buffet in front of us.  Heavenly.

This appetizer is perfect for a TGIF cruise or any appetizer night.  A layer of whipped goat cheese is topped with prepared pesto and finished with burst cherry tomatoes.  Drag a cracker through all of it and you have an incredibly flavorful summer app. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Spaghetti Squash Frittata

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Spring Roll Salad

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Raisin Bran Muffins (these are ALWAYS in the fridge in the summer)

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Corn and Avocado Salsa

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Roasted Garlic Herbed White Bean Dip with Basil Tomatoes

Perfect Pairing: Ritz Chips

I am officially in the Christmas mood!  The odd warm weather in Chicago during December has made it difficult to feel that cozy Christmas feel you get in the weeks leading up to the big day.  Over the weekend we headed to my parents’ house, AKA Christmas wonderland.  My mom does a fantastic job of decorating the house, inside and out.  My husband was there for 5 minutes and said, “I am officially in the Christmas spirit!”.  

We did a LOT of cooking over the weekend.  I think we made about 6 dozen cookies, 15 loaves of bread, 2 lasagnas, caramelized bacon (more on this in the future) and 7 batches of homemade noodles.  Every year my dad and I make these homemade egg noodles for chicken and noodles, which we enjoy with our extended family.  We serve chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes, starch on starch.  It is odd, and amazing, and the ultimate comfort food.

We listened to non-stop Christmas music.  We also wrapped presents.  Correction, Chris wrapped presents and I put bows (we call this foof in our house) on them.  My mom is the BEST gift wrapper around.  She truly has a gift.   See what I did there?

We also worked on our menu for the next couple of weeks.  Per usual, there is an appetizer night scheduled.  Who doesn’t love appetizers and a glass of wine?  It is my favorite kind of meal.  Roasted Garlic Herbed White Bean Dip with Basil Tomatoes is the perfect addition.  Not only is it delicious and light, it is quite festive if I do say so myself.  All sorts of red and green happening here.

If you would like a shortcut you could skip making your own hummus (but really don’t skip that) and top store-bought with the tomato and herb mixture.  While you are at it, roast multiple heads of garlic.  They are great to have on hand for salad dressings, mixing in mashed potatoes, or as a straight up spread on crostini.  

This dip was quite tasty served with Ritz Chips.  Those things are too tasty for their own good.  I am not sponsored by them in any way, I'm just a fan.  It would also be great with pita chips or your favorite cracker. 

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and New Year with your loved ones!  I cherish this time with my family celebrating the birth of our Savior and reflecting on the year.  This one was pretty special me! 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Mustard Pork Chops

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Fruit Slush

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: German Sugar Cut-Out Cookies (pictured above!)

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Flatbreads with Thyme, Honey, and Sea Salt

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Puttin’ on the Ritz Fish

Perfect Pairing:  Stay fresh packages of crackers

What a weekend I just had.  It started on Thursday with a reggae concert (SOJA and Michael Franti) at Northerly Island.  I think Northerly Island is one of the best venues in Chicago.  Check out that view!  My boyfriend surprised me with the tickets (I may have given a few hints) to start off my birthday weekend.  He is a honey!

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying great country music and incredible BBQ at the Windy City Smokeout. 

 

I am not a huge meat eater but this brisket sandwich from Dinosaur BBQ was one of the best things I have ever had.  I had it two days in a row!  Now I need to learn to make brisket.

It was an absolutely fabulous weekend in the city!

Now onto something a little lighter than a brisket sandwich. I apologize for the dorky recipe name.  I simply could not help myself.   I was giggling to myself as I made this fish thinking about the name.

This recipe is crazy easy and only uses four ingredients, fish, Ritz crackers, poppy seeds, and butter.  Salt and pepper are also involved, but I don’t count them.  So simple but truly delicious.

I used cod, but I think you easily could use any firm white fish.  All you do is place the fish on a foil lined pan (easy clean up) and coat it with crushed crackers, poppy seeds, melted butter (this step is called puttin’ on the Ritz), and bake!

These smaller packs of crackers were perfect for this recipe.  

If you have crackers leftover you should make this tasty Chicken and Broccoli Casserole.  It is a family favorite!  Try adding water chestnuts to the casserole for extra texture.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: World's Best Chocolate Layer Cake

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grapefruit Margaritas
 

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Basil Slice and Bake Crackers

Perfect Pairing:  www.WTSO.com

I don’t know about you, but all of the Cyber Monday/Week commercials/e-mails/banner ads last week made me feel like a chump for not taking advantage of the deals.   Ack!  YES!  I DO want to save gobs of money and take advantage of free shipping! 

It is just barely December and I have major guilt about not having my Christmas shopping done.  Amazon.com, stop pressuring me.  

Early December also means full swing party planning mode.  I have a few get-togethers scheduled this month and I have a running list of possible appetizers to make.  These Basil Slice and Bake Crackers are perfect for holiday parties.  They can be made way in advance and frozen until party day.  Slice and bake what you need right before the party.  They smell crazy good while they are baking.

These savory homemade crackers are packed with good stuff like parmesan cheese, pesto, fresh basil, and nuts. 

After making the dough you divide it in half and roll each half in plastic wrap and freeze until you are ready to bake the crackers.

 Basil Slice and Bake Crackers are the perfect pairing for a glass of wine!  

A couple of years ago I heard about www.WTSO.com, a discount wine website.  They only sell one wine at a time at a discount of 30% - 70%.  They always offer free shipping when you buy the minimum amount, which is usually about four bottles. 

My dad is a tough guy to shop for, but my brothers and I have had great success with WTSO gift certificates for his birthday and Father’s Day.  He enjoys looking at the different deals and has ordered some amazing wines.  I happen to know a few of the orders went through on his smart phone while out on the combine. 

WTSO.com gift certificates could be the perfect gift or stocking stuffer for your loved ones this holiday season.  Fortunately, there is no need to worry about cyber Monday deals, they are always discounted!

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Un-Recipe Files – Homemade Nutty Bars

 

Remember Little Debbie Nutty Bars from your childhood?  Perhaps you were the kind of kid that separated the layers and ate each one individually in tiny bites to make it last.  No?  Ok, that was just me. 

We never had Little Debbie treats in our house growing up, so if I somehow got my hands on one I savored it.  My brother used to joke that the only “sweet” things in the house were chocolate chips and those silver BBs used to decorate cookies.  He may have been exaggerating a bit.

My mom was an amazing cook and would make us homemade apple pies, cookies, etc. which are 10x better than Little Debbie snacks.  I am actually so glad we did not grow up with any of those things. 

Anyway, even though those Nutty Bars are tasty they are full of nasty stuff.  Check out the ingredients label. 

I saw something online about making your own version at home, and decided to give it a try.  I used a good quality dark chocolate, crunchy peanut butter, and matzo crackers.  They were pretty tasty!

To make your own Nutty Bars….

• Snap the matzo crackers into strips.  I tried every which way to make these even but always ended up with jagged pieces and a whole lot of crumbs.  I decided I liked the rustic look.
• Stack up three pieces of cracker that look about even in size.
• Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or in the microwave.
• Microwave a bowl of crunchy peanut butter for 30 seconds to make it spreadable.
• Using a butter knife, spread the peanut butter between the crackers and sandwich them together.
• Top off each cookie with a layer of chocolate.
• Refrigerate until just set.
• Serve at room temperature.

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Flatbreads with Thyme, Honey and Sea Salt

Perfect Pairing:  Maldon Sea Salt

I have been on a thyme kick lately.  There is something about this herb that has been calling out to me for the last couple of months.  I have been adding it to soups, salads, and whatever else I happen to be making.  I think the recipe I posted for oven roasted mushroom tapas is what got me hooked on fresh thyme.  When I saw a recipe that added fresh thyme to homemade flatbreads along with honey, salt, and cheese…. Well, it was something I needed to try immediately.

These flatbreads could almost be called a cracker because they are so thin and crispy.  The combination of honey, cheese and salt is crazy good.   These would be the perfect thing to serve at a cocktail party or alongside your favorite soup recipe.  If you left off the thyme I bet these flatbreads would also be pretty amazing with a little spread of Nutella.  Let's be honest.... what is not improved by Nutella?

When you are rolling out the flatbreads they will seem a little oily but after they bake they are crispy and light.  I used BellaVitano Gold Reserve Cheese, which was lovely, but you could use Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese.

The Perfect Pairing for these flatbreads is Maldon Sea Salt.  I have the Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and I am a huge fan.  I always use it as a finishing salt rather than cooking with it.  The flakes are much larger than usual kosher salt but they are not overwhelming because they have a delicate flavor. 

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Black Truffle Paté

Perfect Pairing:  Scrambled egg whites

 

“We don't care to eat toadstools that think they are truffles.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

"The most learned men have been questioned as to the nature of this tuber, and after two thousand years of argument and discussion their answer is the same as it was on the first day: we do not know. The truffles themselves have been interrogated, and have answered simply: eat us and praise the Lord."
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)

When asked by a social-climbing Paris hostess how he liked his truffles, Curnonsky replied,
"In great quantity, madame. In great quantity."
Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland)
French writer (1872-1956)

 Ask any gourmand what they think of truffles and they will probably get a far-away, dreamy look in their eyes.  As you have probably heard, they are pricey…. really, really pricey.   They can be around $1000 a pound.  I don’t know about you but this is slightly out of my price range, or rather, out of my price universe.  Do not fret, you can enjoy the lovely taste of truffles and I am not talking about a drizzle of truffle oil. 
Truffles are found by dogs or pigs that are specially trained to sniff them out.  I get a kick out of this.  I picture a very pretentious dog named Fifi out in the forests of Italy searching for these treasures.   Fifi probably looks down her  valuable nose at the sad little poodles without this high calling in life. 

The taste of truffles is not for everyone.  People seem to either absolutely love the flavor or they just do not care for it at all.  They are really earthy and pungent, unlike anything else.  For those of you that do enjoy the flavor, but have not made your first million dollars, you would probably enjoy black truffle paté.   I was first introduced to black truffle paté last year.   It was one of those…. “Whoa… what IS this wonderful stuff?” kind of experiences.  I can’t even tell you what percentage of it is actually truffles, it is probably a pretty small amount, but it still has lots of flavor.  While this product is not available at all grocery stores it can be found at specialty food shops or Whole Foods.  It still seems pricey at $18.99 a bottle, but just a little goes a long way.

The Perfect Pairing for black truffle paté is scrambled egg whites.   It is a great combo because the egg whites are subtle enough that you mainly enjoy the flavor of the truffles.  I scramble the egg whites with just a little bit of salt and pepper, that’s it.   Another great combination is to top crostini or the parmesan thyme crackers I posted here with a little crème fraiche and a tiny dollop of paté.  Fifi, the truffle hunting dog, would be proud.

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Scottish Oatcakes

Perfect Pairing:  Pastry blender/cutter

I recently had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago, Hot Chocolate.  The chef, Mindy Segal, is known for her desserts.  No surprise at a restaurant named Hot Chocolate.  They do have great desserts but they also have a great selection of savory items.  We ordered the cheese plate and while it was good there was one thing that stood out to me…. the crackers that came with it.  The restaurant bakes their own bread and crackers and you can tell.  The waitress said the crackers were called oatcakes.  They were outstanding and I decided that I wanted to know how to make them.

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Cheese Plate

Perfect Pairing: Cheese Slate

Anytime I am lucky enough to enjoy a cheese plate or cheese flight I find great pleasure in figuring out the best combination of cheese, cracker, bread and topping.  It needs to be the perfect pairing (look at that, no wonder I started a blog of the same name) of crispy and creamy, salty and sweet. 

My favorite first course when I throw a dinner party is a cheese plate.  It requires minimal work to put together, it looks fancy and it is kind of an interactive experience for the guest.  There are a lot of great sites out there that give some amazing tips on how to create the perfect cheese plate, so I am not going to go into great detail here. 

I like to have 3 to 5 cheeses, about 3 oz. per person.  I typically like a combination of goat cheese, blue cheese, soft cheese like brie or camembert, and a salty, hard cheese like an aged manchego or romano.  For toppings I like store-bought fig preserves, caramelized onions or store-bought fruit mostarda.  Fresh fruit on the side like apples, pears, grapes and berries are all tasty accompaniments.  When I serve a cheese plate I like to serve it with a combination of homemade crackers and simple store-bought crackers.  I will be posting the cracker recipes on the blog soon.

The Perfect Pair for a cheese plate is a cheese slate, like those available at Crate and Barrel.  The cheese looks great on the black slate and it is easily accessible for guests.  A great feature of the slate is that you can write on it in chalk to let the guests know details of the cheese.

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Parmesan Thyme Crackers

Perfect Tune Pairing: Volare by the Gipsy Kings

I am a sucker for cheese and crackers, cheese and wine, cheese and bread… you get the picture.  Last Summer I made my own crackers for the first time (stay tuned for the original cracker recipe) and it was a revelation.  They were fun to make, easy and delicious.  These Parmesan Thyme Crackers are no exception. 

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