Watermelon and feta steaks

This is in imitation of a watermelon steaks appetizer from Abbatoir that I had a few weeks ago. It's a really pretty, really simple first course that hits sweet, salty, tangy and spicy all at the same time. At Abbatoir they use watermelon rind pickles but I didn't have any so I just made a quick pickle with thin slices of vidalia onion marinated for a few hours in 1/4 cup cider vinegar, a little olive oil, plus two teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt.You'll need a sweet, in-season watermelon...You'll only need enough to cut 4 long bricks. Save the rest for snacking on all week long.I cut these by slicing two thick wedges and trimming them down into 2 pieces each.Gather about a quarter cup each of mint and basil leaves...Mince them all up together and set aside. They'll go on top.I wanted a mild, not-too-sharp feta--the cheese gal at Whole Foods thought this would do the trick. Cut it into slabs to fit on top of your watermelon.And you'll need some heat! I don't know what kind of peppers these were but they were aromatic, fruity and quite hot.De-seed them unless you're really a masochist. I touched my eyes after this accidentally by the way...regrets, I've had a few.And slice them into thin strips.Assembly is easy! Slab of feta over the watermelon...
Then vidalia pickle tucked in and around the melon, plus peppers and basil/mint mixture right on top. I sprinkled with a little crushed black pepper as well, right before serving.

Fruit and nut crackers

There's a new place in the neighborhood called Wrecking Bar Brew Pub and not only do they have the freshest, tastiest beer in town, but they also have these delicious little crackers. They're packed full of different seeds, nuts and fruit and they are great with cheese. I was slightly tipsy there one evening and was begging our server to just bring me a huge pile of them to wallow in ("All I want...are some more of these crackers. Can just get, like, a basket of these? But they're so gooooood!" And so on). She gracefully/wisely demurred and so I went home and figured out how to make them myself. This recipe is flexible--feel free to change it up with different combos of fruits and nuts! It uses a technique similar to making biscotti--first you bake the cracker batter together in a loaf, then once it is cool you slice into thin sections and bake once more until crisped.You need a total of 1 1/2 cups of seeds/nuts and 1 cup of dried fruit. In this batch I used a combination of hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds for the nuts...And golden raisins and dates for the fruit. Dried cranberries would be excellent in here! Or dried apricots. So would pumpkin seeds.I liked the nutty, full flavor of the crackers at Wrecking Bar, so I figured I'd try to duplicate with a combination of whole grains along with regular white flour. You will need 2 cups of flour total and I think at least 1 cup should be regular white flour, to keep the loaf from being too dense. My combination was the following: 1 cup white + 1/2 cup rye flour + 1/4 cup wheat bran + 1/4 cup flax seed meal. The rye was a great touch although Phil thought it tasted a little like a bagel (not a bad thing if you like bagels). But you can do 1:1 with white and whole wheat, or even just all white if you feel like it.Mix the flours up very well along with 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.Make a well in the center and add in 1/2 cup of sweetener. I used 1/4 cup each of brown sugar and honey.Measure out 2 cups of yogurt. You can also use buttermilk.And add it in!It will be a very thick batter so get ready to wrestle.And add in all your fruits and nuts! Mix it up as well you can but don't overbeat it.Actually, I don't think you can overbeat it. It's like concrete.Grease a couple of loaf pans well with olive oil, or a cooking spray. If you only have one loaf pan and really have no idea where the other one went go ahead and use your weird vintage Fire King dishes. At one point I kind of kitsch collected this stuff. These are the only two pieces I have left, now that the loaf pan has walked off.Fill 'em up. They will rise a little bit so leave some room.They bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. After they've cooled for a few minutes in their pans, turn them out to a wire rack to finish cooling off.Very nicely browned. Put the loaves into your freezer for about 15 minutes. This will make them firm and easy to slice for the next step of cracker-making. You'll need a sharp knife! I sliced mine into very thin wafer-like slices. I only used the big loaf and it made an epic quantity of these crackers. I froze the two other little ones to slice up and bake at a later point.So many crackers...Lay them in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet... And let them crisp up for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Flip them over and let crisp on the other side for another 10 minutes. Some of the thinner ones may get a bit over-toasty but that's OK. Take them out and let cool.They're so flavorful! And possibly even nutritious?Wonderful with brie or farmer's cheese and some fresh figs. Enjoy!

Dead simple sucessful winter cheese plate

Sometimes it's just the little tiny things. This is a very runny, super fat Brie served with dried pear slices and salted cashews. They were really yummy all stacked together on slightly sweet/salty wheat cracker rounds. It would actually make a really pretty canapé if you did them ahead of time and it was delicious with prosecco.

Goat cheese rounds with honeyed beets

This is a fantastic first course! Beets and goat cheese are classic together and this adds a bit of sweetness to their partnership. Done this way, it looks a little more dressed up for company than just sliced beets with the goat cheese crumbled over the top (which is what I normally do). Start by peeling 2 small beets and cutting into chunks or cubes of roughly the same size. Toss in a baking dish with 1 tablespoon crumbled fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil and just a sprinkle of brown sugar. Roast at 400 until soft, shaking the pan occasionally as they cook.They should pretty much turn into beet raisins. Some will be chewier and some will be softer. I like the contrast in textures. Drizzle the roasted beets lightly with 1 - 2 teaspoons honey.While the beets are roasting, get 1 tablespoon parsley and 2 tablespoons pecans...Mince them up. They don't stand a chance!Now put 1 tablespoon fine bread crumbs in a small mixing bowl...And add your parsley and pecans. Mix it all up well.I got out my mortar and smashed everything together to make the mixture more cohesive. If you did a better job mincing than I did in the previous step then you may not need to do this.Goat cheese! Slice two 1/2" rounds off a chilled log of goat cheese. I shaped them into patties with my hands and let them chill in the fridge until it was time to finish them for dinner. The idea is to keep them cold so they don't heat up too fast and lose their shape when you put them in the oven.Pat the rounds into your pecan-bread crumbs mixture. Get them well-coated on all sides.By the way, you probably noticed at this point that there's only enough here for a first course for two people. This is because we are snowed in and as a result the party is very exclusive. Just double or triple amounts for your much less sad dinner party. Anyway, put the rounds on some tin foil and place them in the oven along with the beets to heat up. I had them in at 400 for maybe 10 minutes or so. You just want them to get warm all through and for the nuts in the topping to get a little toasty.When they are all heated through, gently remove them to a plate--be careful because they're warm and easily fall apart!Now you need a little bit of honey...this is a huge jar of wildflower honey from our trip to Blue Ridge this summer. Feels like a million years ago that we were walking around on a hot summer day!Drizzle about a tablespoon or so over each warmed goat cheese round...And top with the beets. Perfect. Enjoy!