Goat Cheese and Fig Crostini

Figs are starting to peak through the large leaves! I’m so excited. Figs are one of my favorite fruit. This is a very simple recipe that I like to make as a quick snack before eating my meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients

. 1/2 French baguette, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

. 5 tablespoons goat cheese

. 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

. 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

. 1/2 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped

. EVOO

. 4 figs, cut into fourths

. Balsamic glaze, to drizzle each crostini

Procedure

1. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the sliced baguette on a sheet pan and drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with some salt. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden.

3. In a bowl, mix all the herbs and using the back of a spoon mash the goat cheese to fully mix in the herbs. Set aside until ready to spread onto the crostini.

4. Once the crostini is out of the oven and cooled slightly, spread the herbed goat cheese, place three slices of the fig on top.

5. Once all the crostini have goat cheese and figs on it, plate them and drizzle the top with balsamic glaze.

Thats it- easy as that! Anush everyone. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do! 😋

Advertisement

Chicken with Tahini Sauce

Something that is very simple to make is my grilled chicken with tahini sauce. Tahini sauce the way Nani makes it 😋

Ingredients

. 1/2 cup tahini

. 1/2 cup – 1 cup water (depending on how thick you want your sauce

. 4 fresh mint leaves, chopped finely

. 1/4 brunch parsley, chopped finely

. 1 tomato cut into tiny cubes

. 1/2 tbsp salt

. 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

. 1 tsp cumin

. Juice of 1/2 lemon

. 4 chicken breasts

Procedure

1. Heat either a grill pan or your outdoor grill to 500 degrees fahrenheit and heat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

2. Salt and grill the chicken breasts, 5 minutes on each side and then transfer to a sheet pan and cover with foil. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

3. While the chicken is baking, in a bowl using a whisk mix all the rest of the ingredients together. At first it might look like it’s just too chunky but just keep whisking and add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you get to your desired consistency.

4. Once the chicken is done baking, plate it and top with the tahini sauce.

Anush!

Mariet’s Bean Salad

So I come home one day from a catering gig, and my mom was so excited about a new recipe she came up with recently. She looks at me with big eyes, nephew on hip, and says, “Look what I made today! It was so good everyone loved it. You should make this for your next event.”

So of course I did and what do you know? Everyone loved it. So credit to my mama for this delicious and very easy salad.

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

. 2 – 15.5 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed

. 2 – 4 oz can of sliced mushrooms, rinsed

. 1 onion, thinly sliced

. 1/2 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley, coarse chopped

. 1 tsp paprika

. 1 tsp dried oregano

. 1 tsp dried thyme

. 1 tsp salt

Procedure

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl and massage into the onions, mushrooms, and beans. Place in bowls and serve.

Short Ribs

This short rib recipe was amazing so I had to share it. I made it for a Talin’s Table recently and everyone loved it so much. It was tender and so flavorful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit

Ingredients

. 5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces

. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

. 3 medium onions, chopped

. 3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped

. 2 celery stalks, chopped

. 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

. 1 tablespoon tomato paste

. 1 750 ml bottle dry red wine (preferably          Cabernet Sauvignon)

. 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

. 8 sprigs thyme

. 4 sprigs oregano

. 2 sprigs rosemary

. 2 fresh or dried bay leaves

. 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise

. 4 cups low-salt beef stock

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 3 Tbsp. drippings from pot.

2. Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.

3. Cook until short ribs are tender, 2–2½ hours. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes with sauce spooned over.

Scallops With Limoncello Gelato

I know some aren’t very into raw foods but this is something I learned about raw seafood. It goes so well with a fruity gelato. I decided to use limoncello gelato with raw scallops.

Serves 5

Ingredients

. 5 scallops

. 5 tablespoons limoncello gelato (you can make it from scratch if you have the machine or get it at Whole Foods or your local grocery store)

. 5 large edible flowers

. Pepper, to taste

Procedure

1. Slice each scallop thinly into 4 slices and plate in a fanned our style.

2. Take two tablespoons and soften the gelato until smooth and plate next to the scallops.

3. Grind fresh pepper onto the scallops and place the edible flower onto the plate and serve immediately.