Goat Cheese Dip

Last week, Hubby and I went to a nearby tavern for dinner.  They have a goat cheese dip appetizer he really wanted.  I’m not entirely sure he didn’t want to go there because the waitresses wear kilts that barely cover their… assets.  He assured me he isn’t a ‘leg man’, and I assured him that if any of those girls leaned over a table, it wouldn’t be the legs he’d be looking at.  As for the dip, he was definitely right about that.  It was fabulous!  It was simple enough that I figured I could create a similar recipe that would be just as delicious.  Even better, I wouldn’t have to pay 10 bucks for it, I’d be able to control the quality of the ingredients, and no scantily clad girls prancing about. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 8 oz. goat cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup green onions
• 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Marinara sauce
• Slivered almonds

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350°.  This is super quick to put together.  Throw your goat cheese and sour cream into a mixing bowl. 

Break up the goat cheese, and smoosh them together.  A silicone spatula works perfectly for this job.  When you have a fairly smooth and consistent texture, throw in the green onions, parsley, salt, and pepper. 

Stir again until everything is evenly distributed. 

Scoop the goat cheese mixture into a shallow dish and smooth out the top. 

Onto a sheet pan and into the oven for 25 minutes. 

Pull it out, spoon on ⅓ cup or so of marinara sauce, and put it back in for another 10 minutes. 

This time when you take it out, move the dish off of the sheet pan and set it aside to rest, then sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of slivered almonds.  It’s always best to toast nuts before using them if you can.  It really brings deepens their flavor.  Put them in for maybe 10 minutes.  I say maybe because nuts are very easy to burn.  Pretty much, when you can smell them, they’re done.  They’ll just barely start to change color. 

Now just sprinkle them over the dip. 

Seriously, who needs to go to a restaurant for something that simple to make?  Serve with pita wedges.  You can heat them by just wrapping them in foil and throwing them into the oven with the almonds. 

What restaurant dish would you like to see recreated? 

Apple Crisp

As promised, I’ve made a recipe with apples.  Hubby and I went for a drive over the weekend to see the fall colors.  While we were out, we stopped at an orchard and picked up some apples.  Like everything else, apples bought directly from where they were grown are so much better than the ones shipped from across the country.  Then I had the task of figuring out the best way to put them to use.  My first thought was to make apple sauce, but that sounded a bit boring.  I’m not really that much of a pie making person.  I prefer to leave that to the professionals.  Lose the crust and add lots of spicy, crumbly topping, and now you’re talking.  Apple crisp is such a simple dessert, yet it’s fabulous enough that you’ll even see posh versions of it in fancy restaurants.  It’s really the perfect thing for those of us who are slightly pastry impaired.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4 medium sized apples
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup oats
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

First up is the topping.  In a bowl, mix together everything but the butter. 

Then, reserve 1 Tablespoon of the butter for the baking dish, and throw the other 7 Tablespoons into the bowl. 

Using a fork, smoosh everything around until you get a nice crumbly mixture. 

Set that aside, preheat the oven to 350° and we’ll start on the apples.  As always when baking with apples, it’s best to use a variety of them if you can. First, squeeze 2 Tablespoons into a mixing bowl.  You could use one of these gadgets for processing the apples.  They definitely make short work of peeling, coring, and slicing. 

My problem with them is that I don’t particularly like thin slices for crisp.  So this is how I like to do it.  Peel the apple, then cut off the 4 sides leaving the core. 

Then, cut those into chunks. 

Drop them into the bowl and toss them with the lemon juice as you go. 

Now, into a small dish go the corn starch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. 

Mix them together until everything is evenly distributed and there are no more lumps of cornstarch or anything. 

Sprinkle that over the apples. 

Toss or stir until they’re all evenly coated. 

I like to use a large shallow pie pan for this.  It makes for a good fruit to crisp ratio and also allows the apples to cook evenly.  This dish isn’t rocket science, though, so use whatever size pan suits you.  If you want it to be a bit fancier, you can even bake individual servings in small ramekins.  Personally, I like the more rustic approach.  Whatever you’re using, butter it liberally. 

Pour in the apples, making sure to scrape every last bit of juicy goodness from the bowl. 

Spread them to the edges of the pan and level them out. 

Sprinkle on the topping.  As mentioned when I made sweet potato crisp, there is no such thing as too much topping.

Now into the oven for 45 minutes.  When it’s ready it will be nice and bubbly around the edges and beginning to brown on top.  Look at that beauty!  Isn’t it amazing what a little time in the oven can do?  Not to mention, your house will be filled with the aroma of baking apples and spicy, buttery goodness.

Now for the hard part.  Any fruit crisp really needs to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.  It’ll be hard, but I promise it’s worth the wait.  Top with some good vanilla ice cream, because I’m pretty sure it’s blasphemous to serve apple crisp without it, and enjoy. 

What are you making with apples this fall?