Category: Food

A Proper Cheese Plate

CarrieLeave a comment

With the holidays coming up, I think it’s important to go over what I like to call the basics of putting together a cheese plate. I must say that this is the easiest way to put out “appetizers” and it always goes over well with your guests. I don’t think there is any reason to do much more than this when hosting a party. Although I must say that I always make Ina Garten’s sausage stuffed mushrooms as well because they are simply out of this world.

Here are the 7 components of a fantastic cheese tray:
1. Sharp Cheese
Choose a sharp cheese like an aged cheddar, aged gouda or parmesan.
2. Blue Cheese
Choose a good blue cheese such as stilton, moody blue (Smoked Blue Cheese), or gorgonzola.
3. Goat Cheese or Sheep’s Milk Cheese
Choose a delicious, tangy chèvre, goat gouda, drunken goat, or manchego.
4. Cheese Spread
This is a great option to have in case there are any children at the party. I often go with a port wine cheddar cheese spread. If the store is open, I will go for our own hand-mixed champagne cheddar.
5. Brie
Choose some type of brie-like cheese such as Fromage D’Affinois, Delice de Bourgogne, St. Andre, or St. Angel. You can also top them with fig jam or have a side of chutney as an option. The possibilities are endless.
5. Cured Meat
Choose prosciutto, chorizo, salami, or sopressata. Go wild and choose a couple!
6. Pickled or Brined Item
Choose from olives, cornichons, gherkins, roasted red peppers, or marinated artichokes.
7. Cracker or Fresh Bread
Choose any type of cracker that you prefer or a freshly baked bread. Of course, I like to use French bread from the bakery. I also prefer to use pita chips, flatbreads, and nut and fruit crackers such as the Almondina brand.
An arrangement of these will make for a successful cocktail hour. Everyone will be pleased to meet your cheese tray at your next holiday party.

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This is a cheese platter that I put together for a customer at the bakery. Their guests were happy with the choices I made…Five Counties, Delice de Bourgogne, Stilton, Miticrema, and Bellavitano.
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This is a cheese platter I put together for a friend and I for a fun summer picnic on my back deck. It was all we needed for dinner. Everything you see here can be found at my bakery. That’s an advantage of owning your own store!
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This graphite serving board allows you to write the name of the cheese onto the platter using a piece of soapstone. My friend Kelly got this for me for my 30th birthday and I love it!

Almond Granola Bars

Sadie2 Comments

I spend a lot of idle time scrolling through Pinterest or Food Gawker admiring all manner of food, but we all know it’s the desserts that really catch my eye. These days, though, I’m always curious to see the newest iteration of granola bars (or oatmeal cookies, or energy balls, what have you).

Even though there are a lot of common themes and flavor profiles, there always seems to be a new twist or formation that makes the next recipe healthier or tastier. When I visit my parents’ house, I often try a new variation that I’ve found for my family to snack on all weekend.

I try to find recipes that have some purposeful ingredients or “super foods” but are still tasty. I came across a recipe for these Almond Energy Bars on one of my favorite blogs: Carrots ‘N Cake, so I wanted to give it a try.

snack time

She was posting on behalf of an almond company so she used almond flour, but I used AP flour instead. I didn’t want to buy an ingredient that I wouldn’t use regularly. Plus she used brown rice cereal to make it gluten free, but I went traditional with normal rice cereal, because the flour choice already killed my gluten free dreams.

These bars are a little on the crumbly side (even though I did my best to pack down the batter before baking), and not too sweet. But I like the idea that I’m not snacking on too much sugar, but I’m still getting some nutrients from almonds, cranberries, chia seeds, etc.

The next time you need something to munch on between meals, give these a try!

Almond Granola Bars

Yields about 9-16 small squares, Adapted from Carrots ‘N Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs chia seeds (I added a little more)
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Method

batter up

  1. Preheat oven to 325. Line an 8×8 baking pan (or a pan with an equivalent area) with parchment paper (it’s just easier that way).
  2. Combine everything in a mixing bowl, and make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
  3. Pack the batter into the parchment lines baking pan. Press down to ensure bars hold together.
  4. Bake 25 minutes until top is lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely before you slice.

yum

 

New to Me

Sadie1 Comment

Here are a few recent discoveries that I’ve made that might not really be new, but they’re new to me!

1. The TV show Parenthood on NBC. This show definitely flies below the radar. It’s not a scandalous reality show, trendy drama, or hilarious sitcom. It came on right after another show I was watching a few weeks ago, and I’ve started to get hooked. It has plenty of big stars: Lauren Graham, Ray Romano, Dax Shepard, etc, which sometimes backfires, but all the characters are so down to earth in this show, that all the ensemble cast of big names really works.

parenthood

2. Almond butter. I realize that all the fitness and healthy lifestyle bloggers have been putting almond butter and other exotic nut butters in their oatmeal for years now, but I’m new on the bandwagon. I’m kind of obsessed with Justin’s brand almond butter with maple syrup. I love it in oatmeal, or with carrots as an afternoon snack.

maple-ab-jar

3. Toms shoes. I needed a pair of commuting shoes that fit between Ugg and Rainbow seasons. Something for the 40-60 degree days in the spring and the fall. I like to wear different shoes while I’m commuting so I can be comfortable and preserve my work shoes a little longer. Usually Toms are about $50, but of course the ones that caught my eye were about twice as expensive. While I don’t think they’re supper supportive walking shoes, they’ve been great for commuting and weekend errands so far!

Toms

4. Squeegees! I enjoy a clean house. I think I’ve mentioned that before. The main window in my living room is three sliding doors that lead out to my balcony, and I noticed they were getting dingy. I attempted to clean them with Windex and a paper towel, and they came out very streaky. Not OK. So the other day, when I was cruising the cleaning aisle in Target, the squeegees caught my eye. The rest is mirror and window cleaning history.

Squeaky clean!

5. The TV show Southern Charm on Bravo. This one is new to me and everyone else because it just premiered a few weeks ago. It’s similar to some of Bravo’s other recent reality show about 20, 30, and 40 somethings living the good life in a fun city (i.e. Shahs of Sunset, 100 Days of Summer, etc.). This one is about a bunch of well-off friends in Charleston, SC. It’s such a beautiful change of scenery from the standard LA or NYC, and I’m already totally hooked. Bravo gets me every time!

SouthernCharm