Goat-cheese a couple ways

For my birthday last year, I received a wonderful Martha Stewart cookbook and a subscription to MS Living. It’s true. I confess that I LOVE the woman. Don’t agree with her business practices, but her complete perfection in all things “homey” is enviable. If I only had a million dollars I would certainly have turkeys in my backyard and fresh cut flowers in every room. Even then, I’d never be able to do it with such class and refinement. But that’s ok! As a young woman and a young mom in particular, I’m coming to grips with who I am and who I’m not…which isn’t to say there’s no room for growth. It just means that I’m trying to be gracious with myself as I learn new skills and attempt new challenges. Like this blog for instance! Since I’ve started this little webpage, I’ve been reading other peoples’ food blogs and have come up against some serious stage fright. There are so many wonderful chefs, photographers and writers out there. What else could I possibly contribute to the internet foodie culture? I’m not sure yet, but I know the answer won’t come by silencing myself prematurely. So here’s the deal. In being patient with my shortcomings (and being realistic with my current stage of motherhood), I’m not going worry about perfection. I’m going to post my favorite recipes and share some stories and leave it at that!

Without further ado, I’d like to share a couple ways of preparing goat cheese for salad. They have both come out of Martha’s cookbook that I was talking about: Great Food Fast. They’re simple in technique but boast complex flavor.

We’ll call the first recipe Walnut-Crusted Goat Cheese Medallions. First, toast 1/2 C walnuts at 350 until they smell delicious, about 10 minutes. After they’ve cooled, chop them finely and place in a shallow dish (you can use a bread pan, casserole dish, pie plate, cake pan, whatever you’ve got). Then, take a log of goat cheese, separate it into 12 pieces (if using a 6 oz log) and form them into balls. Roll them one at a time in the walnuts and then gently with your fingers, flatten them into disks.

The second recipe we’ll entitle Baked Goat Cheese Medallions. First, chill a 12 oz log of goat cheese in the freezer. In a shallow bowl, whisk an egg with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place 1 1/2 C plain breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl. Take the cheese out of the freezer and slice it into 8 rounds (freezing makes it easier to slice). Then, pat the rounds into 1/2 in thick disks. Dip them in the egg and then evenly coat them with the breadcrumbs. Spread them out on a baking sheet and brush them with 1/4 C olive oil. Broil until crisp, about 5 minutes. Make sure to watch your oven! If baked for too long, the cheese will come out of the breadcrumb casing. This happened to me and although they were still tasty, they weren’t very pretty! Next time, I think I’ll try adding some herbs to the breadcrumb mix. I bet rosemary or thyme would be delicious. It’d also be fun to try this with herbed goat cheese as my dear friend Katie suggested.

As I mentioned above, I like these tricks because they’re easy…yet they can dress up any salad. Yum! If only I had some goat cheese in my fridge, I’d be making these tonight! Better yet, if I were Martha Stewart, I could go out back, milk some of my own goats and make my own cheese! Then again, I probably wouldn’t have time to take Maren to the park, which is a must on days like today. 75 and sunny! Hello Birmingham!

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