Focaccia with Apricot Preserves, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese

I recently picked up a new cookbook (the first in over a year I'll have you know) called "Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry". Technically it's a year-round preserving book, but with lots of little bonus recipes that pertain to preserved goods are included. It's a beautiful book with many unique recipes for typical preserving, but covers many other preservation techniques and I am enjoying the sections on meat preservation!

I was looking to use up last year's apricot preserves before adding additional to the "larder" and this recipe looked fabulous! I only made a few minor changes to suit what I had on hand. I hope you enjoy!

FOCACCIA WITH APRICOT PRESERVES, CARAMELIZED ONION AND GOAT CHEESE

Dough;
1 cup hot water (hot from the tap is fine, no need to heat)
1 Tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast proofed in water)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

I throw the whole thing in my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook attached and allow to mix for about 5 minutes until a smooth dough has climbed the hook. Let rise about 20 minutes until nearly doubled. Punch down and place into a olive oil greased 9X13 pan, using your finger tips to make little depressions.

Toppings;
1 cup Apricot Preserves
1 large vidalia onion that you have caramelized
4 ounces goat cheese of choice; (I used Naked Goat which is aged, dry and firm. It was not the best baker, next time I will use ether fresh or a lovely Goat Gouda that we sell at The Boulevard Market)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Spread apricot preserves on dough first, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add onions evenly across dough and sprinkle on goat cheese. Drizzle entire thing with olive oil. Add toppings and let rise again about 10 minutes. (These rise times are for instant yeast, if you use dry active, you will need to increase rise times)
Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. The shorter bake time will be a softer crust. For a crispier crust, you may consider using a bit larger flat baking sheet and rolling dough a bit thinner.

Zucchini Fritters

Usually we have a few sprigs of fresh greens showing up at our farmers market by now, but the worst winter in a hundred plus years is keeping most everything still brown this year. I was so desperate I purchased some little zucchini. I wasn't really sure what I would make but had a day to decide.

I ran across a zucchini fritter recipe that was bland and green as most of them are that I've tried in the past. I came upon a recipe in a newish cookbook called "The Cheesemongers Kitchen" for zucchini fritters that contained goat gouda and WOW are they ever fantastic!!

I changed a few elements from the original recipe to suit my tastes and desires for texture and flavors. My family and cooking class has all agreed we think this is a great recipe! I am enjoying now, but I am imagining how utterly amazing they will be in August.....when it's finally warm.

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

2 medium zucchini, grated and squeezed dry
3 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped
4 ounces goat gouda, grated
Salt & pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon sirarcha
1/4cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed.
Heat a few tablespoonfuls of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, drop a couple tablespoonfuls of the zucchini mixture into a patty and cook until golden brown. You can do a few at a time, but don't crowd the pan. Turn carefully and brown on other side. Drain briefly on paper towel and serve immediately.

These are wonderful served up imstead of potatoes. Enjoy!




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Incredible Cheeses & First Snowflakes

The first snowflakes of the season for us fell yesterday.  It was beautiful and horrific at the same time.  Giant flakes drifting in the steely grey overcast sky, hanging holiday lights surrounded by cheeses, Italian turrone and fresh bread at The Boulevard Market...all beautiful.  Knowing this will be our weather for the next 5 months...not so beautiful.

I decided instead to think about how many lovely cheeses have arrived from all over the world this week and make myself a Salted Caramel Mocha (recipe to come tomorrow)!

 Beautiful French Goat milk Crottins dusted with Piment d'espelette, a Basque chili pepper that is mild and very flavorful.  I can envision a generous wedge adorning my next omelet! 

The stunning beauty of Shropshire Blue is always a welcome sight for me around the holidays, as it really makes a cheese plate "pop"!  The flavor profile is similar to Stilton, yet a bit stronger with a slightly sour note like Cheshire.  I love it with a thin drizzle of honey!

The plastic glare is not attractive on this Soreda goat cheese assortment...I guess I'll just HAVE to open a package and then I will HAVE to eat them! :) Soreda is a producer of goat cheeses from the Perigord region of France and these tiny trays of goat cheeses are my favorite of their lineup.  Small orbs of fresh goat cheese rolled in various herbs, spices and dried fruit and adorned with a tiny "stem"!  Absolutely charming and delicious!

And finally, the Italians...how can even their cheese wrapper be anything but elegant and stylish?  The wrapper is just the beginning here however.  A combination of  sheep and cows milk in a little soft, furry, pasty package.  Delicate flavor, super rich and creamy, it's a cheese made to celebrate everything in your life!  I paired mine with an Ortrugo made by Santa Giustina in Italy.  Ortrugo is a lovely not-too-dry white wine, and Santa Giustina's Gaia Bucharelli is creating hers in a "vivace" style, meaning just a bit of fizziness to the wine.  Here is Gaia's description of her Ortrugo:

"Color: Light straw Bouquet: Fine, intense, frank, floral, golden apple Taste: Vivace, good structure, equilibrium and long persistence Food paring: Aperitif, cold appetizers, fish"

In Erika's words..."YUM"!     

New Cookbooks and Recipes! Radicchio Salad

I'm sure you've gathered that I might have a slight addiction to purchasing cookbooks.  Borders sends out these 50% off coupons that I HAVE to use...really.  Lately, I have been obsessed with books published by Phaidon.  The photography is incredible, the food, fresh and simply prepared, seasonal cooking and small stories about locations and traditions of the area. 

The Aylward family was in need of a new propane grill, badly.  This week amongst the mosquitos and 90 degree heat, I purchased a lovely 5 burner Brinkman and here we are.  (PS: It's worth the $20 bucks they charge to put this baby together....who writes these instructions????)

Last evening, I was hankering for a grilled salad with our Italian Sausage...and radicchio fit the bill.  Not everyone is as fond of this slightly bitter vegetable as I am.  My brother, the farmer, wouldn't even try it and John pretended to like it because I didn't make any other side dishes except a baguette. 

I personally thought it was delicious!!  The recipe from the book just called to grill the radicchio with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  I threw in my own twist which really gave a bit of dimension to this dish and served it warm...which is fun and different!

RADICCHIO SALAD

1 head fresh radicchio, cut in 6 wedges leaving a bit of core on bottom of each to hold together on grill
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
1 ripe peach, sliced thinly
1/4 pound aged goat cheese, I used Four Corners Creamery aged goat log, you can also use Bucheron

Preheat grill on high and let get up to temperature.  Cut up radicchio and toss with oil, salt and pepper liberally.  Grill each piece about 3 minutes per side until slightly browned and barely crunchy.

Place in shallow bowl and top with slices of peaches and crumbles of goat cheese.  Add another drizzle of your best quality extra virgin olive oil, additional salt & pepper to taste and toss lightly!  The sweet and bitter, the salty and sweet, the tang and creamy of goat cheese.  I'm so glad I didn't have to share much of it!!!

bountiful...Cherry Tomato Tart

It was a day! 80 degrees without a hint of humidity, nothing but blue sky and nothing on the to-do list! Rare day indeed! I so enjoyed working in the gardens and washing the car, taking a short siesta at 3pm and watching the curtains blowing in the breeze.

I do have a vegetable garden even though my brother, Mike, is the owner of Prochaska Farms vegetables. MY tomatoes, basil, fennel, peppers and haricot verts taste better than his. I think it's the "sweat and blood" factor as well as the plucking from the vines. It just doesn't seem as sweet if you haven't invested yourself.

So on the menu is a Cherry Tomato Tart! I have made several tomato tarts in the past and they all seemed a bit too "wet", so we are taking the best from the rest and creating our own! Simple, simple and simple is the word of this recipe. You can use large, heirloom tomatoes as well, but choosing a less juicy tomato is the trick to making these tarts.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 1/2 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 Tablespoons ice water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour and salt, add butter and combine with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add ice water and using a fork, stir until dough just begins to come together. Do not over process...this leads to tough dough and applies to all pastry dough. Form dough into a ball and put in fridge for about 30 minutes.

On a floured surface roll out dough until about 2 inches larger than pan. Place dough in pan and press into bottom and edges. Cut excess dough from edge of pan and bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

REDUCE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES after baking shell!


Filling:
1 lb. or so of different colored cherry tomatoes cut in half
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons good quality Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard (I used Maille)
6 ounces Fresh Chevre (goat cheese...of course I used Four Corners Creamery!)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Sage, chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
Optional: a few chopped black olives and a Tablespoon of Pine Nuts (toasted)

In a saute pan over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook cherry tomatoes about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sugar, stir to coat evenly and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix together egg and goat cheese until smooth and add fresh herbs, season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Spread mustard on bottom of tart crust and top with cheese mixture. Arrange tomatoes on top and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with olives and pine nuts before serving. Serve hot or room temperature.

We went all European and served with an incredible pork pate made in Detroit (I'm going to have this at The Boulevard Market before long, as I am officially addicted!) and barely scrambled eggs fresh from the Main Street Farmers Market and ate fresh peaches with juice running down our chins! A beautiful summer meal with the family.

Living the Farmer's Market life

I thought you might enjoy a day in the life of a cheese maker preparing for the Farmers Market! John has it easier than some folks, because we have an abundance of GREAT farm markets close to Tecumseh. Four Corners Creamery currently attends Saline, Ann Arbor, Canton and Blissfield at Hathaway House, all of which are 25 miles or less away. These are nice markets that are committed to offering locally made goods.

At Four Corners, John makes about 450 lbs of cheese per week, but we bump up Fresh Mozzarella production in the spring and summer months another 100 lbs. Our production runs Tuesday-Friday every week. John makes both cow milk and goat milk cheeses and yogurt. Some of our cheeses age up to a month, but we focus on fresh. The philosophy behind this is simple: fresh cheese is healthy, tastes great and remains affordable. We want everyone to be able to afford a round of fresh goat cheese every week! Ounce per ounce, we are about the same price as a large scale (think millions of lbs!) goat cheese producer!

When milk prices fluxcuate (it's on the commodity market) we can keep our prices the same.

So, the cheese is made, drained and packaging begins...each fresh goat cheese round is hand formed, sprinkled with a mild herb blend and wrapped in plastic. About 200 of them, each at approximately 6 ounces!

Each aged goat log is inoculated, drained and hand formed into a triangle shaped log and set to aging for about 3 weeks in a separate area. The already aged logs are weighed and cut into 6 oz. pieces and wrapped for sale.

The "Northern Lights" is a fresh cow milk spread that is drained, mixed with salt, garlic, paprika and ground peppercorns and is ready for sale 12 hours later.

Our cream is allowed to ripen overnight and our butter is lightly salted with sea salt.

It's a busy week during the farmers Market season, we love it! The people, the recipes, the vendors, the FOOD! It's an amazing process to be involved in!

Thanks for buying our cheeses and enjoying them...we make them just for you!

Amboise

Got a little behind with the blogs...This post should be 09 April 2010. The 9am train to Amboise left about 1pm instead and we were off to the Loire Valley! A beautiful 2 hour train ride through the countryside was a welcome chance to chill and talk and snack with each other. I was disappointed to have missed the morning farmers market in Amboise, but oh well. Our friend Sandra graciously helped us get all of our train and hotel reservations for Amboise and we are excited!

We could see the Chateaux from the train, and began walking across the river! It was a beautiful day and Amboise is like a little fairytale city with it's winding cobblestone streets and old, slate roof homes! Absolutely charming!

Le Blason was an interesting place to stay (I'll put up a seperate post about it!) and we were in the heart of the old city with lots to do!

After a stop for coffee, we visited a wine seller cut into the Chateaux that represented 9 local wine makers and a goat cheese producer about 3km away! The wines of this region tend to be Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gamay. Absolutely fantastic and we took a few bottles with us! Some were a fresher style and others aged in oak for a bit heartier body!

The cheese was phenomonal! The large one was fresh goat with ash and Roquefort cultures added, yet not allowed to age blue. Sweet, creamy with a bit of saltiness and fresh, fresh taste! The small "crottin" was also covered in ash, and more dense because of a longer aging, yet that sweet milk flavor just poured through. So nice!

Tonight; pizza and desserts!