GOAT CHEESE ON THE MENU
Suggestions & Recipes
Très Belle Chèvre
Goat Dairy & Fromagerie
Baked Chèvre
1) Coat a small ramekin with extra virgin olive oil and add 4 ounces of Très Bell Chèvre Plain or seasoned Chèvre.
2) Poke several cloves of roasted garlic (roasted for 20 minutes in a 350°) into the Chèvre.
Drizzle some olive oil on top and add a sprig of fresh rosemary.
3) Bake for ten minutes in 400° oven or until Chèvre is bubbly. Serve with a fresh baguette
Puff Pastry Wrapped Brie
1 sheet Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, Thawed
1 8 Brie Cheese 8 oz (Très Belle Chèvre, Brossard, Babe Bree, or Taunt Mae)
1 egg
1) Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Unfold pastry on floured surface. Place cheese in center Fold pastry over cheese to cover. Trim excess pastry and press to seal. Reserve scraps for decoration, if desired.
2) beat egg with 1 tbsp. water. Brush seam of pastry with egg mixture. Place seam side down onto baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture.
3) bake 25 min. or until golden brown. Let stand 20 min. Serves 6.
Recipe & photos taken from Pepperidge Farm add in April 2010 Better Homes and Garden
Feta
A white fresh cheese made from sheep or goat milk. Excellent in appetizers & salad courses. Feta will soften slightly when heated. Great on pizza. Feta's salty, acidic, sharp flavor combines well with Mediterranean flavors. If too salty simply soak in milk or water for a few minuets.
Chèvre
Traditionally, fresh Chèvre is considered a table cheese in France and eaten with or immediately after the salad. Chèvre may also be served warm on salad or used as an ingredient in pasta sauces or on pizza. Goat cheese marries well with fruit.—dry or fresh; suitable for sauces/cooking and the cheese board; excellent warmed, can be served as an appetizer or first course.
Goat Milk Ricotta
A soft,smooth, fresh, un-ripened cheese. Ricotta, popular in Italian dishes, pizza & Lasagna and is a great cooking cheese. It may be used as a stuffing for meat and for baking. Good mixed with grapes and other fresh fruit. Dill, cracked pepper, sun dried tomatoes all marry well with ricotta.
CHUNTNEY & GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTA
4 oz. Chèvre, softened
3 Tbls. basil infused olive oil
½ cup mango chutney, or substitute any chutney or favorite preserve.
French baguette or artisan bread, or ciabatta
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Cut off ends of baguette and discard. Cut rest of baguette into 18 slices, each about ½ to ¾ inch thick.
3. Place oil in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to lightly brush oil on each piece of bread, or spread oil onto bread using a ¼-tsp. measuring spoon. Place bread, oil side up, on a baking sheet and broil about 1 to 2 minutes, or until just golden brown. Gently flip bread over and brush other side with remaining oil. Broil another 1 to 1½ minutes, or until just golden brown. Remove from oven.
4. While toast is still warm, spread a generous 1 tsp. goat cheese on one side. Top with scant 1 tsp. chutney and serve.
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 4 minutes
WARM GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTA & FRESH HERBS
1 lb Chèvre goat cheese, at room temperature for 30 min.
2 tbsp chopped sweet herbs - chives, chervil, tarragon and Italian parsley
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Artisan bread, ciabatta or even a walnut bread
Place softened goat cheese in a mixing bowl. Add herbs, oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Slice bread into 1/4 inch slices. If the loaf is large, cut slice in half. Brush slice with olive oil. Either on a grill with medium fire, or in a 375˚ oven, toast each slice until lightly brown.
Smear 1-2 tablespoons of goat cheese mixture on to each slice.
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Shrimp & Creamy Spinach-Feta Rice
From: LA Market Bulletin-Sept, 2006
From: LA Market Bulletin-Sept, 20062 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup julienne strips red bell pepper
1 pkg baby spinach leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled & deveined
3 cups hot, cooked white rice
1 cup crumbled Goat Milk feta cheese
toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over med. Heat. Add raisins and bell pepper ; sauté 1 minute. Add spinach, salt and pepper; toss until spinach is just wilted add shrimp; sauté 30 seconds. Add hot rice and feta cheese. Toss all ingredients until heated through and cheese is soft and creamy. Top with toasted nuts if desired.
Wanda's Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese Ricotta & Caper Wine Sauce
Chicken Breasts
6 deboned chicken breasts wt. skin
8 oz. Goat Milk Ricotta , plain or
flavored wt. Dill or Lemon & Chives
1/4—1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
3 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Cajun Seasoning to taste
Chicken Breasts:Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.Season chicken breasts to taste. Mix Goat milk Ricotta wt. chopped parsley.
Make a pocket under the skin of each chicken breast. Place a generous (about a tablespoon) amount of cheese mixture under loosened skin. Secure with toothpicks.
Roll each stuffed chicken piece in Italian Bread Crumbs. Set aside.
Meanwhile, pour oil into medium sized black iron skillet. Heat oil on medium to high fire tell it gets hot not smoking. Sear chicken until lightly brown. Turn chicken and adjust fire as needed. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
Reserve skillet with drippings for Caper Sauce.
Arrange browned stuffed chicken breasts in oven proof greased (spray with Pam, etc.) dish.
Roast in 350° oven until juice runs clear. About 45 minutes to 1 hour. Depending on size of breasts.
DO NOT OVERCOOK.
Reserve chicken and begin Wine & Caper Cream Sauce
Easy Wine & Caper Cream Sauce:
Reheat skillet with drippings until hot. Optional: sauté onions, scallions or onion top ends in hot drippings.
Pour white wine into sizzling skillet. Allow wine to reduce to about 1/4 cup . Watch closely. DO NOT let it evaporate completely. Add capers and stir. Skillet and ingredients should be hot almost at a boil.
While stirring, slowly pour heavy cream into hot skillet. Sauce will thicken.
Pour thickened warm/hot sauce over chicken breasts when serving.
Easy Wine & Caper Cream Sauce
3/4 to 1+ cup white wine
1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp capers &/or sliced green onion tops
Use the white bulb & meaty green bottom of onion topOr substitute thin slices of scallions or regular onions for capers
onions for capersCRANBERRY-RICOTTA TARTS in TOASTED ALMOND CRUST Yield: 6 (4-inch) tarts
1) Crust
In a food processor, combine the almonds and brown sugar and grind until the almonds are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and pulse on and off, just until the butter is incorporated into the mixture. Place 6 (4-inch) tart pans with removable bottoms on a baking sheet. (Or you can use a 10-inch pan with removable bottom.) Divide the almond mixture evenly among the tart pans, pressing the crust firmly against the sides and bottoms. Set aside.
2) Cranberries
In a small pan, slowly heat the brandy, and pour it over the cranberries that have been placed in a heatproof bowl. (Caution: Do not heat alcohol over a high heat or it will ignite. If this happens, simply let it burn away, making sure that there is nothing flammable near the stove. It will burn away in a matter of seconds.) Let the cranberries sit for 20 minutes and then drain.
3) Filling
In a medium-size bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and stir vigorously until the mixture is very creamy.
4. Assemble
Place the tart pans on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the cranberries into the crust. Carefully pour the cheese mixture just until it reaches the top of the crust. Bake the tarts in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Let them cool completely before serving. As the tarts cool, the filling will fall and shrivel slightly. Nonetheless, they will still look irresistible. Remove tarts from pans just before serving.
CRUST:
2 cups almonds, lightly toasted
6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
CRANBERRIES:
1/2 cup apple brandy, such as Calvados (or use water)
2/3 cup dried cranberries
FILLING:
2 cups fresh whole milk ricotta, drained if necessary (see Note)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all-purpose
Heat Oven to 325°
Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes
First start with at least about two pounds of Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and boiled to softness. Drain your potatoes and try the next options for a great side dish of mashed potatoes.
Traditional mashed potato recipes call for about a half stick of butter and about four tablespoons of heavy cream, mashed into your potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you scale back the amount of cream and butter and instead substitute goat cheese (chèvre), you have a creamy mashed potato with a wonderful cheese flavor.
Spices and herbs can add intense flavor. As you heat the cream and melt the butter in it, add a sprig of potent herbs. Try rosemary, or thyme. Garlic or chives are also great options.
You can also opt to add spices and herbs at the end, as you mash everything together. Try just a bit of pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or even curry powder. Oregano and parsley are traditional add-ins
