Fried Goat Cheese

I think that the name speaks for itself. We love to add the fried goat cheese to a salad, but I'll leave that up to you.

1 lb goat cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts (you can substitute walnuts if needed)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the salt, pepper and flour in a bowl. Beat the eggs and set aside in a bowl. Process the nuts and combine with the bread crumbs in a third bowl. Slice the goat cheese into 8 or 9 patties that are about 2 0z each. Dredge the cheese through the flour and coat thoroughly. Next coat the cheese in the eggs and then place in bread/pine nut mixture and make sure that the cheese is coated completely. Place on a plate, cover and refrigerate until chilled. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the cheese when the oil is hot. Cook until lightly browned on each side, or about 3-4 minutes a side (depending on how hot you get the oil). Spoon the cheese onto a paper towel to remove excess oil and enjoy. Buon Appetito.

As I said earlier, we enjoy the fried goat cheese in a simple salad of iceberg lettuce with a little arugula thrown in as well. Throw in some toasted pine nuts, some pomegranate, and top with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is a great, simple, and tasty salad. We like it with spinach, but you could really use any lettuce you want.

1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
4 cups fresh spinach
Strawberry Vinaigrette

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and toast the walnuts for three to four minutes. Combine the spinach, cheese, strawberries and walnuts and top with the vinaigrette. We like Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette, but you could just go with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or make your own. Here’s a quick and easy recipe.

½ cup olive oil
½ pint fresh strawberries, chopped (you can also use frozen strawberries)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp tarragon
¼ tsp white sugar
Add everything to a blend or food processor and blend until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Caprese Salad

This is one of my favorites. Quick, easy, yummy.

sliced tomatoes (the quantity depends on how many are eating and if it's the main course or not. for a meal, I eat one tomato all by myself)

sliced fresh mozzarella (the best is mozzarella di bufala, but that is pricey and hard to find. most places nowadays have bocconcini, which are sufficient) one for each tomato slice

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

basil (fresh is best, but if you don't have any, dried will do)

a dash of salt and pepper

Layer the tomatoes, cheese and mozzarella then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top off with salt and pepper. Every now and then I'll throw in some olives if we have any. They are a nice compliment to the tomatoes and mozzarella, plus I just really like olives. Buon Appetito!

Pasta Belligerence*

This dish that owes it's name to the excessive amounts of pasta eaten by missionaries in the Italy Milan Mission, and was named by Kimball Hobby. It also goes by Pasta Primavera, but is markedly different than another dish with the same name. This is a pasta salad, eaten cold and is comprised mainly of fresh vegetables. It is a perfect dish for either a light lunch or dinner, especially in the spring or summer.

2-3 tomatoes
1-2 bell peppers
1 cup olives - kalamata or large green
8 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lb penne pasta
salt
pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

The above are the basic ingredients, but for those willing to go the extra mile, your taste buds will be rewarded. The extra mile also includes:

8 0z pancetta (if you can't find any pancetta, cubed bacon will do)
8 0z Italian sausage (I prefer hot)
1 can artichoke hearts

This dish is extremely simple. Boil enough water (I couldn't tell you how much water to boil, I always eyeball it, better too much that too little) for the pasta, adding about a tablespoon of salt and olive oil to the water. Dump in the pasta and cook until al dente. When the pasta is done, empty it into a colander and briefly (2-3 minutes) run it under cold water and then place in the fridge. Chop up all of the veggies and cheese and then combine them in a salad bowl. If you are going the extra mile, cook the pancetta and the sausage (I prefer them slightly overcooked and somewhat crunchy, adding a different texture to the salad) strain off the grease, and add the meat to the salad bowl as well. Once the pasta is cold, add the pasta to the rest of the ingredients.

When we serve the pasta, I prefer to let each individual dress it according to taste, with the chopped basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. The pasta keeps well in the fridge for a few days, except for the cheese. So if you are planning on keeping it around as left-overs like we often do, plan on keeping the cheese separate from the rest of the dish, so that it doesn't become too mushy. Buon Appetito.

*At it's most belligerent, I made this with roughly 6.5 lbs of pasta, 15 tomatoes, 15 bell peppers, 7.5 lbs of fresh mozzarella, and four pounds each of pancetta and sausage. All for four elders. It was all eaten. Forza Grifoni!