It Was a Goat's Cheese Week!!

I think I've bought more Goat's cheese this past month than I have in years. And I've certainly found some wonderful dishes to use it in.

We've had a couple of open house parties to go to this past month, so I've been wanting to 'stock' up on some entertaining ideas for the upcoming holidays.

A few months ago, I bought a jar of Garlic-Pineapple Salsa that we just love. Even mixed with Pesto, it has a delightful flavor. I've been playing with duplicating it and now have one that is close, but not quite there - will play with more. It's missing the fresh 'upfront' pineapple, so will work more with fresh and a couple other ideas.


Garlic-Pineapple Salsa


1 cup pineapple, crushed, drained, but keep juice
2 tsp. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. crystalized ginger, minced

2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T. onion, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (will replace with dried pepper flakes next time)
pinch cumin (will omit next time)
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar


Mix all the ingrdients together, thin with a little of the juice if necessary. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for a few hours before serving.


This is a work in progress - but, it's very good right now!
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Two other dips/spreads tried this past weekend were keepers also - one, from Southern Living's Christmas book is especially flavorful - it would also be great tossed with hot pasta! That's it in the foreground -




Peach & Pecan Tapenade with Goat Cheese


...except no one around here had dried peaches, so subbed about 2/3 dried mango and 1/3 dried apricots - this is so good!! I made half the recipe and it's a very nice amount for a crowd of ~20.

1 cup orange juice
2 cups dried peaches, chopped
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 T. honey
1 T. capers, drained
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (use fresh)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
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12 oz. goat cheese
lovash or specialty crackers

Bring orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan over med. heat.Remove from heat and add chopped dried peaches.Cover and let stand 30 min.


Drain, if necessary.Combine olives and next 5 ingred. in a serving bowl. Stir in peaches and pecans.Place tapenade on a serving platter with goat cheese and crackers.

Spread cheese on crackers, and smear with tapenade.Makes 3 3/4 cups.

Do ahead - but don't add pecans until service. Will keep in frig 2 days.
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The second is a dip from Nigella Lawson's book, Feasts (more on this book later in this posting)

Basil and Goat's Cheese Dip
You can use feta in place of goat cheese.

1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
2 scallions, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup basil leaves
1 packed cup soft goat's cheese
3 T. garlic-infused oil

Process the walnut pieces, scallions & basil leaves, then add the goat cheese and oil; process again to make a grainy paste.Transfer to a bowl.

This topping would also be great tossed with a little hot pasta and sprinkled with a little Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add a little rustic bread and dinner's ready.
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Another dish we tried and could not stop eating on is a take off from a Sandra Lee dish, Couscous with Goat Cheese (again with the goat cheese!) This was a clean the pantry/frig dish for me.

4 oz. fideo
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pinenuts, toasted
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup currants
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup finely hopped parsley leaves

Cook the fideo and salt in water until just done; drain and pour into a serving bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss together. At this point, either serve the fideo, or cover and chill for a few hours. At serving time, put in microwave for just 1-2 minutes - just to take the chill off, but not hot. This will help melt the cheese and bring out all the flavors.