Roasted Figs

Ingredients
8-10 fresh, ripe figs
3 oz (+/-) chevre or ricotta
¼ C honey
1-2 T balsamic glaze
flakey salt


Directions
Preheat oven to 400˚.

Slice figs in half, lengthwise; place in baking dish, cut side up. Top each fig with a teaspoon or more of chevre. (To really dress up these figs, wrap the m with prosciutto before baking.) Bake 10-12 minutes, until figs are very soft.

While figs are roasting...
In a small bowl, mix honey and balsamic.

Cool figs slightly; drizzle with honey-balsamic mixture, sprinkle lightly with salt.

Date & Raisin Chutney

(Khajoor & Kishmish Chutney)

Ingredients

2 C pitted dates

½ C raisins (dark or golden)

¼ C tamarind pulp

½ C brown sugar

½ inch fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp salt – adjust to taste

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp red chili powder – adjust to taste

2 black cardamom pods

1½ C (about) water

Directions

Soak raisins in water for about ½ hour. Chop dates into ½” pieces. Remove shell from cardamom pods; crush seeds.

In saucepan, combine water, tamarind, sugar, salt, black pepper, red chili powder, cumin and cardamom. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes.

Add dates, raisins, and ginger. Return to boil, then remove from heat. Let sit at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature.

Chutney can be refrigerated for up to a month.

I used this as a marinade and condiment over a pork loin I roasted recently. Delicious!

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Spicy Yogurt Dip

Yum! So delicious and so simple, these have become my latest fixation. I've seen recipes with other ingredients (most often stuffing the dates with almonds or cheese, often Manchego cheese) but I'm a sucker for the simple two ingredient bites!


8 oz pitted dates
16 oz bacon

Yogurt Dip
6-8 oz plain yogurt 
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
     and/or
½ tsp hot chili sauce


Preheat oven to 400°.

Roll bacon strips around dates and secure with toothpicks. (If the bacon is thick cut, a ½ strip will do. And since today is a Seahawks playoff game, my toothpicks are blue and green.) Place on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil -- it makes clean-up a LOT easier! Bake 30 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

While they're baking, stir cayenne and/or hot sauce into 6-8 oz plain yogurt. I've been using a single serving container of good, thick Greek yogurt. More or less of the cayenne and/or chili sauce...do you want to actually be able to taste or just feel the heat?

Thanks goes to my cousin, Ryan, for the personalized "Savory Table" serving plate made especially for my blogging posts! Love it!!

Grilled Monterey Jack with Prosciutto, Basil, and Fig Preserves

Last April, Food Network Magazine ran a feature on dressed up grilled cheese sandwiches. I just ran across a page I'd ripped out. I didn't have the dates called for in the original recipe, but it inspired my own twist...with a smear of chunky fig preserves (from Snow Goose Produce near Mount Vernon, WA), a gift from my good friend Gayleen who knows I love to cook. :) I love the sweet-salty combination from the prosciutto and the fig!

Ingredients:
asiago cheese bread
butter
prosciutto
monterey jack cheese
fresh basil leaves
fig preserves with ginger

Butter one side of each slice of bread (any crusty bread will do, but I had the asiago on hand). Place slices, buttered side down on a hot skillet. Top one side with a slice or two of prosciutto and a slice of monterey jack, the other with a tablespoon of the fig preserves, basil leaves, then another slice of monterey jack. I had my cheese sliced extra thin, so two slices wasn't overwhelming...and as it melted it helped hold everything together. :)

If you can't find fig preserves, I imagine
an apricot jam would compliment the
prosciutto well, too.  -- or go for the
original idea of thinly sliced dates.

Prosciutto-wrapped Brie with Figs

6 dried figs, rough chopped
2 Tbls fig preserves*
¼ tsp Italian herb blend*
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
6 oz brie log
6 thin slices prosciutto
salt & pepper
olive oil
bread or crackers

* a complimentary preserve can be substituted for the fig...I used apricot and it was delicious. If you don't have an Italian herb blend, but have herbs, make your own combining rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, parsley, salt

Combine figs, preserves, herb blend, pepper flakes, and salt & pepper (to taste).
Cut brie log in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to gently press a trough in each half. Fill the troughs with fig-preserve mixture, and gently return half the log on top of the other.

Lay out prosciutto slices lengthwise, slightly overlapping edges. Place brie log near one end; gently roll log, tightly wrapping with prosciutto.Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté log (5-6 minutes), turning frequently so that prosciutto crisps on all sides.

Remove from pan, cool. (Chill if desired.) Serve with sliced bread or crackers.
Delicious with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.