Recently, my husband's uncle passed away after several years of being ill. All of our immediate family attended the wake, then decided to stay overnight since it was almost a 2 hour drive home. We looked online and found a restaurant in the area (we were in Forked River, NJ) called Il Giordano Sul Mare and since it wasn't far from the funeral home, we decided to try out this sit down restaurant. It was impeccable and had wonderful items on the menu. Some, unique and some classic Italian favorites. That night, they were offering a special appetizer for Stuffed Figs. I can't remember exactly what they put in theirs, but they were incredible! I had never eaten a fig that way before, so my phone came out and in it went into my Notes section so I could create something similar on my own. Since I was hosting St. Patrick's Day dinner this past Saturday, I figured I'd try to make these stuffed figs as an appetizer. It was a little bit of a challenge finding them, and after several stores had some luck finding them in the aisle where they kept the raisins. Anyway, I thought the combination of goat cheese would go well with the figs and a nice lemon basil sauce would offset the sharpness. This appetizer was SO easy to make and tasted FANTASTIC! A definite keeper...it even got a "Good" from my father in-law, which means I can make it again. You just never want an "OK", which means "I'll eat it, but don't make it again". :)
Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs with a Lemon Basil White Wine Sauce
14 Dried Figs
1/2 c. Crumbled Goat Cheese
Lemon Basil White Wine Sauce
2 tbsp. Butter
1 tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
1 tsp. Lemon Zest
1 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
1/4 c. White Wine, I used Pinot Grigio
1/4 c. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (you can also substitute chicken or vegetable stock)
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Cut the top off of the fig and scoop out the inside seeds/pulp and place on a baking dish, then stuff each fig with the goat cheese. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the basil and lemon zest. Stir for about 1 minute, then add the flour to form a roux. Next, whisk in the wine, chicken broth, salt and pepper and it has a smooth consistency. Pour over the figs and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Transfer figs to a serving platter and spoon sauce over the top. Makes 14 figs.
Points+=2pts per fig
Enjoy!
I haven't made banana bread in a while and the kids have been asking for it as they like to take mini muffins for breakfast. Lucky for me, I had four rotten bananas that I wanted to use. I altered my original recipe by using bread flour (because I ran out of all-purpose and didn't realize I had), almond meal (which is simply ground up almonds that looks like the consistency of flour), and I added in vanilla and almond extracts. This bread (or muffin) was extremely moist and the addition of the almonds gave it a really nice flavor. Just grab a nice cold, glass of milk and you have the perfect breakfast or midday snack!
Almond Banana Bread
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
3 tbsp. 2% Milk
3/4 c. Canola Oil
4 Over Ripe Bananas, mashed
2 c. Bread Flour
1 c. Almond Meal (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Almonds, chopped
Cooking Spray
In a bowl, mix together the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, milk, canola oil and bananas until well blended. Next, add in the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix well then add in the nuts. Spray your baking pans with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for the desired method.
Mini Muffin Pans-Bake for 20 minutes or until top springs back when touched; Yield 36 Muffins
Loaf Pans-Bake for 1 hour or until top springs back when touched; Yield 2 Loaves
Enjoy!
About 2 weeks ago I took a photography course because I wanted to learn the proper way to use my camera. I'm not one to read large manuals, online or paper versions. I will also have extra parts left over when trying to assemble something myself too, but that's another story. We've had our camera (a Nikon DX) for about 2 years now and I simply left it on Auto mode because I had no clue what the other buttons meant. Which was fine for what I was using it for at the time, but even just the simplest one on one tutorial made it a little easier to use. I say "we" because, well, it's actually my husband's camera that he received as a gift one year, and I kind of took it over. I love to take pictures and still love to actually print them out and put them in scrapbooks to look at. If anyone ever needs a picture of something in our family, I'm the go-to person. I also recently read that a new lens came out for my camera which would be better for taking food photography (the 50mm 1.8) and after waiting for it on backorder for several weeks, it finally came in. See how the back seems a little blurry and faded out? This lens allows you to focus on the object and gives that look in the back, pretty neat huh! I still have a long way to go, but progress takes time and patience so bear with me while I figure this whole photography thing out! :)
And now for the recipe...
I don't know what I was thinking, but while shopping at BJ's Wholesale (which is like a Costco or Sam's Club), I bought a case (yes, 12 cans) of black beans. I don't know why, I only needed 2 cans at the time, but figured I'd use them up eventually and have slowly been incorporating them into our meals. I haven't been eating as healthy as I should be, mainly because I was so busy for the last 2 weeks and didn't plan anything so I decided that I'd make a bowl of this salad to pick on. Not only was it healthy and filling, it was so flavorful with the combination of fresh lime mixed with the sweetness of the berries and agave syrup and woodsy flavor of the rosemary.
Black Bean & Strawberry Salad
1 15oz. Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 pt. Strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1 Scallion, chopped
1 Lime, juice only
1 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Agave Syrup
3 tbsp. Canola Oil
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 4.
Points+=5pts
Enjoy!
