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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Mushroom Flatbread with Pesto, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic

Perfect Pairing:  Girls' Night

A couple weeks ago Chris was out of town for the night on a mini “bro-cation”.  For the record, he did not call it this, that is 100% me.  He headed to Champaign/Urbana to watch the Fighting Illini play.  

That meant I had a night by myself at home.  I was going to miss him, but I was also going to make the most of it by making it super girly.  I was going to make the girliest thing I could think of for dinner, enjoy a mini bottle of champagne, and watch a chick flick that featured Bradley Cooper as a chef.  I was pumped.

I formulated my plan for a girly dinner as I perused the grocery store.  What is girlier than flatbread with goat cheese?  I mean, it is actually just pizza, but we call it flatbread so it sounds classy.  If I was making pizza for my husband it would most definitely have some kind of meat on it.  If I am making it for me it is going to be overflowing with mushrooms.  Chris is not a huge fan, so this was the perfect time to go fungi-wild. 

Instead of traditional pizza sauce I used a basil pesto.  So much flavor!  I always keep pesto in the freezer, it is a great ingredient to have on hand.

The sautéed mushrooms are finished off with a caramelization of balsamic, and then the whole flatbread is dotted with tangy goat cheese. 

So good.  So girly.  Dudes, if you want to make and enjoy this flatbread…. No judgement here!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Brussels Sprout and Pear Salad with Bacon and Candied Pistachios 

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Chocolate Sauce

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Butternut Squash Risotto

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Oven Roasted Salmon in Lemon Broth with Pea Puree

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Pesto Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese

Perfect Pairing:  Store bought pesto

Last year I talked about my garden woes.  This year was not exactly better, different maybe.  I continued to be my overly optimistic self and planted window boxes and herbs.  I bought most of the goods at Gethsemane Nursery again.  That place is incredible. 

I tried some new things in the window box this year.  The shade loving ferns and the mini hosta worked well.  Er, maybe not WELL.  They ended up being a little confused with one side growing twice as fast as the other side, and doing the complete opposite thing from the other window box.  Whatever, there was green stuff growing so I had to be ok with that.  

I tried impatiens AGAIN and they all died AGAIN.  I actually replanted them twice.  One batch died within two days.  That was a new record.  Then I found out that there is a rampant impatiens disease in Chicago.  I am not even kidding, google it. 

I came up with a new method for my herbs.  Instead of having them on my front patio (where there was very little sun) I moved them to the other side of my garage after getting the OK from my nice neighbor to use his plot of land.  Everything was going along swimmingly until I came home one day and found one of the pots missing and part of my basil dug up from the other pot.  I fumed on Facebook for a moment, and then went about my day.  Long story short, another neighbor thought they were being thrown out and rescued them.  Um, that probably does not say much about the state of my herbs, huh?  I got them back and continued giving them TLC.  They still died.  I am going to get a complex over this.

I think I made about two dishes from my herbs before they all went kaput.  These turkey burgers did not make the cut.  There was no chance I was getting an entire batch of pesto out of my sad basil plant…. Not from the first or the second planting (no one can say I didn’t give it a valiant effort).  Store bought pesto was perfect in this recipe.  I mixed some in with the ground turkey and added a dollop on top instead of the traditional condiments.  Add a healthy dose of goat cheese and you have a pretty fantastic burger. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Strawberry Pie

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing - Chicken Yakitori

Click "Read more" for the recipe....

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Trail Mix Wheat Berry Salad with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Orange Vinaigrette

Perfect Pairing:  Bulk bins

A few years ago my mom introduced me to wheat berries.  This was a bit of a switch since I am usually the one pushing out of the ordinary ingredients like quinoa, fish sauce, kale, and tahini.  When I mention these things I usually get crickets but she always ends up on the bandwagon.  I think she trusts me now, she knows I won’t lead her astray.  Anyway, she had a wheat berry salad at a friend’s house and made it for me and I was hooked.

Wheat berries are super nutritious and delicious.  They are a complete grain which means they have the germ, endosperm, and bran.  I am not totally certain why that is a good thing, but it is.  They are also high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  They are especially high in B vitamins.  Convinced?

I love the texture of wheat berries.  After cooked for about an hour they are chewy but still have a good bite to them.  They are great in soups, salads, stews, etc.  This recipe combines the berries with chicken (I used rotisserie from the grocery store), vegetables, herbs, goat cheese, trail mix, and a fresh orange vinaigrette.  It is great as a main course or as a side to something off the grill.  The salad is also fabulous leftover, the berries just soak up the vinaigrette. 

The trail mix may sound a little strange but I wanted to add some dried fruit and nuts and instead of buying prepackaged stuff I decided to get what I needed from the bulk bins at my grocery store.  That way I could get the exact amount I needed and save a lot of money.  I used a trail mix that was a combo of nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit.  I also added a scoop of just dried fruit that included cranberries, raisins, and cherries.  Many stores also have the wheat berries in bulk bins if you want to go that route.  I can’t wait to make this one again!  I think it will be a staple this summer.

 

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Portobello Eggs with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Perfect Pairing: Wire rack and aluminum foil

Whew, what a weekend!  I had so much fun with family and friends over the last few days, but I felt like I needed to get back to work to relax.  I think we filled every minute with something fun. 

I loved spending time with all of my nieces and nephews this weekend.  Of course, I also enjoyed their parents!  This breakfast is one I served to my family recently and it went over well with kids and adults.

Without a doubt, my most popular blog post has been the Customizable Bread Bowl Breakfast. 

I think this post is so popular because people like the idea of diners taking charge of their own meal.  Your guests or family can completely personalize their bowl so there are no special orders.  It also makes great use of leftovers.  I know my family is always trying to clear out the refrigerator, so this is a wonderful recipe for inventory control. 

Portobello Eggs with Goat Cheese and Herbs has a similar concept to the bread bowls.  I used goat cheese and a combination of rosemary, thyme, chives, and basil, but use whatever cheese and herbs you have on hand.

I am a huge fan of mushrooms so I loved the meaty Portobello with the creamy cheese, fresh herbs, and slightly runny egg.  Serve these along with some fruit and you have a well-rounded breakfast that is fit for company or a breakfast with the family.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is a wire rack and aluminum foil.  When I started thinking about this recipe I realized that the mushrooms were going to produce a lot of liquid once they started to cook.  To avoid this you place the mushrooms stem side down on a wire rack in the oven.  The liquid will cook out and collect under the rack.  This also helps to soften the mushrooms before adding the eggs.  This is a good and bad thing.  It is good because if you tried to fully cook the mushrooms with the egg inside, the egg would overcook.  It is bad because once the mushrooms start to soften it is hard to keep the raw egg in place.  Enter aluminum foil! 

Make a nest out of foil for each of the mushrooms. 

Add the goat cheese and herbs.

Top with a raw egg and bake!

 

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Quinoa, Shrimp, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Roasted Shrimp

I am a huge fan of quinoa.  If you have not tried it, you must!  It is so healthy and delicious.  I wrote about some of the health benefits and uses in my post for Spicy Quinoa, Tomato, Spinach and Chicken Sausage Soup.

I came up with this salad when I was at the grocery store with no plan.  Usually I have a plan… and a list.  Perhaps you remember my organized grocery list post.  It will change your shopping forever.  Anyway, I wanted a healthy dinner that would be easy to pull together.  I picked up some of my favorite ingredients that I thought would work well together.  Originally I wanted avocado but there were no ripe avocados that day so I went with goat cheese.  I am glad I did, I loved it in this recipe.  The end result is a healthy and satisfying salad that is great for a main dish.  I thought it was best served just slightly warm.

The Perfect Pairing for this salad is roasted shrimp.  You could buy pre-cooked shrimp but I think buying them raw and roasting them yourself improves the flavor tenfold.  The method is simple, toss the peeled and deveined raw shrimp with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast in a 400 degree oven until just cooked through.  After I found this method I decided that I will not buy cooked shrimp again unless I am in a real bind.

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Goat Cheese with Cranberries and Pistachios AND Party Appetizer Roundup

Perfect Pairing:  Holiday Party

I absolutely love entertaining this time of year.  I decorate my house immediately following Thanksgiving and start planning Christmas get-togethers.  My place is pretty small so it does not take long to hang the stockings by the chimney with care, so to speak.  My favorite part about Christmas decorating is hanging the ornaments on the tree.  Every ornament on my tree means something to me.  I love pulling them out of the box and thinking about who gave it to me, where I was when I bought it, or the memories it invokes. 

Years ago I started buying ornaments as my souvenir whenever I was traveling.  I used to travel a lot with my job and I went to some fun places.  In fact, I was lucky enough to travel to six continents.  Buying an ornament in each place was the perfect thing to do because they were affordable, small, and easy to bring home.  When I got home I would write when and where I got it on the bottom of the ornament. 

Here are some of my favorites.

A tangoing couple from a trip to Buenos Aires

The first ornament I remember on my personal Christmas tree in my bedroom as a little girl.

Every year my mom gives me the Hallmark Noelville light up Gingerbread House ornament.  I love these because you just pop in the tree light and do not have to pull out the bulb.

Mom has also given me the Swarovski snowflake ornament for the last 12 years.  I love the sparkle they add to my tree.

There were times that I was not able to find an actual ornament so I settled with a keychain.  Hey, if it hangs on the tree, I say it counts. 

This particular keychain was from a trip to South Africa.  I absolutely had to get it because of this guy that I met on the road while I was there.  Hey buddy!

I guess sometimes the ornaments don’t have a meaning; I just think they are cute. 

I also seem to have a lot of ornaments that fall into the tropical/sparkly/pink category.

When I have Christmas get-togethers at my house I usually serve a variety of appetizers rather than a full meal.  The key is to have a few appetizers that are easy to throw together or that could be made ahead of time.  This year I plan on including roasted vegetable dip, manchego cheese with brown butter honey sauce, rosemary cocktail nuts, Scottish oatcakes, and prosciutto wrapped breadsticks in the menu because they are all so easy and delicious. 

I will also be making goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios.  It does not get any easier than this…. You just cover a 4 oz log of goat cheese with chopped dried cranberries and chopped pistachios and serve it with crackers.  It takes minutes to make and looks so festive!  It is easy to keep the ingredients on hand in case you have some unexpected visitors stop by.  That is why goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios is the Perfect Pairing for holiday parties!

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Oven Roasted Mushroom Tapas with Goat Cheese

Perfect Pairing:  Spanish Rioja Wine

I love tapas.  When I go to dinner I enjoy trying a few different things rather than settling on one entrée.  Tapas are perfect!  Everyone gets to sample multiple dishes.  This roasted mushroom dish is really simple but full of good things like exotic mushrooms, garlic, shallots, chile oil, thyme and goat cheese.  The flavorful mushrooms are best served up on crusty bread. 

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is a Spanish Rioja red wine.  Riojas are probably the most popular Spanish wines.  They are primarily made with Tempranillo grapes.  It has a bright, fresh flavor that goes really well with this savory mushroom dish.

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