Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini

I realize that for a while there I was posting about crostini ALL THE TIME, and I needed to get ahold of myself.  But it's been a while now, and I can only resist the crostini siren song for so long, and so here I am back again in my crostini groove.  This time with fig jam and blue cheese.  Can you blame me?  I can't blame me.  

So, just to repeat what I have already said a million times before, crostini is as simple as grabbing a loaf of french bread, slicing it on the diagonal into nice thin slices, brushing them with olive oil and baking them until they are just a little crispy.  We're not looking for brown here, except maybe around the edges...just a nice toasty feel.

Cool 'em down, and then all that is left to do is spread them with a little fig jam or chutney (I used jam) and a small slice of your favorite blue cheese.  I had some Maytag blue, but a creamy Gorgonzola would be heaven as well.

And there you are, right there on the crostini highway with me.

Blue Cheese and Fig Jam Crostini, adapted from Real Simple

• 24 thin slices baguette (from 1 small loaf)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 3/4 cup fig jam or chutney


• 4 ounces blue cheese, thinly sliced

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the bread with the oil. Bake until just crisp, about 10 minutes.


2. Dividing evenly, spread the jam or chutney on the toasted baguette slices and top with the cheese.

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Prosciutto Rolls with Goat Cheese, Arugula and Fig Spread

Believe it or not, it's now March and I am still working my way through some of the very many wonderful cooking-related goodies I got for Christmas, and one of those goodies was completely perfect for this latest entry in the Friday Night Lights series of nibbly suppers the Southern husband and I are having on, um, Friday nights.   And that goodie is this:

A beautiful jar full of rich, tantalizing, gorgeous...

Fig jam.  I have a long-standing love affair going with fig jam, and in my humble opinion, a person can't have enough of this stuff around the place.  In a pinch you can sub in apricot, or even peach, but if you can find fig jam, the real thing, you will be in such a happy, happy place.

So, this particular jar of fig jam came in handy for this latest appetizer recipe, which goes like this:  Get some nice thin prosciutto and lay it out in nice long strips.  it might tear here and there but don't worry, because by the time you roll it up, the layers will hide any rips or tears.  Now you spread a thin layer of soft goat cheese that has been mixed with a little minced garlic onto the prosciutto.  Next comes the fig jam - thin layer spread on the goat cheese.  Lay a couple of arugula leaves on top, and then drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, lemon peel and lemon juice.

Now cut the piece in half, right down the middle (otherwise the rolls will be too thick), and roll them up.  You are now done, and you have a lovely plate of prosciutto/goat cheese/fig jam/arugula heaven.  I decorated mine with some fresh oregano sprigs, because my Aerogarden is still in full tilt.

Easy, right?  And on Friday nights, that is the name of the game. 

Prosciutto Rolls, from Saveur 

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 oz. soft goat cheese, at room temperature
2–3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
12 slices (not paper-thin) prosciutto, halved crosswise
1⁄2 cup fig preserves
1⁄2 bunch arugula, trimmed
Freshly ground black pepper


1. Whisk oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice together in a small bowl and set aside. Mix goat cheese and garlic together in another small bowl and set aside.
2. Spread a thin layer of the goat cheese mixture on each piece of prosciutto, spread a thin layer of fig preserves over cheese, and top with 1–2 arugula leaves. Drizzle with some of the lemon vinaigrette and season to taste with pepper. Roll prosciutto up around filling and arrange on serving platter, seam side down.  Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

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Fried Goat Cheese and Fig Salad

Okay, so I will tell you right now, this salad is a complete and total show-stopper.  If you are looking around for a first course to make for the holidays, look no further...you're there.  And best of all, it is super easy in addition to being one of the best things you will ever eat that doesn't involve either bacon or chocolate.

This recipe comes from a gorgeous new cookbook called The New Brooklyn Cookbook.



Some of my favorite people live in Brooklyn so I loved this cookbook at first sight, and once I found out the recipes were taken from some of the most fantastic restaurants in Brooklyn (Buttermilk Channel, I love you!!), I was in, and this was the very first recipe I tried from this book.  Because among other things, it involves fresh figs, which are my current obsession.

I did alter the recipe by adding a bed of chopped frisee lettuce, but that is because (after figs) frisee lettuce is my other current obsession.  It's just so dang FANCY.  You put a nice handful of it on a plate, and then grab a few of these babies.

Chop them in half and pop a couple on the lettuce.  Next, take a piece of thin-sliced prosciutto and lay it elegantly in the center.  Now you are ready for the most dramatic part.  Heat up some canola oil in a saucepan until it is nice and hot - you want it to be about 350 degrees.  Roll up some soft goat cheese into one inch balls and stick them in the freezer while the oil heats up.  When the oil is good and hot, take the cold goat cheese and dunk them in beaten egg and flour twice, and then drop them carefully in the hot oil.  In about 3 minutes they will be golden brown...scoop them back out and put a couple on your plate.  Last but not least, drizzle on some honey, some olive oil and just a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar.

Now serve it up and sit back while the rave reviews wash over you.  Because they WILL.  Thank you, New Brooklyn Cookbook!

Fried Goat Cheese and Fig Salad, adapted from the New Brooklyn Cookbook

• 1 head frisee lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1 eleven ounce log goat cheese
• Canola oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 6 fresh figs, cut in half
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
• Honey
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Sea salt

1. Roll the goat cheese into half-dollar sized balls and place on parchment-lined sheet.  Put in freezer for 20-30 minutes.

2. Heat about 4 inches of oil in large deep pot until hot, about 350 degrees on a deep fry thermometer.

3. Place the eggs and flour in two separate bowls.  Dip the goat cheese balls in egg, then flour, then egg again, then flour.  Using a metal slotted spoon, carefully lower the cheese balls into the hot oil and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.  Using the slotted spoon, gently remove and drain on paper towels.

4. Assemble the salad as follows:  place a handful of frisee on each of four plates.  Arrange figs, goat cheese and one slice of prosciutto on each plate.  Drizzle with honey, a little balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil, sprinkle with red pepper and salt and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Fig Jam and Cheese Bites

It's time to face the inevitable: it's November, and that means we are entering the holiday season.  And with the holiday season come holiday parties.  And with holiday parties come HORS D'OUEVRES.  And the only thing harder than figuring out how to spell hors d'ouevres is figuring out what they should be.  I'm all for a good cheese ball, but there's nothing like coming across a new nibbles idea that is both easy AND delicious AND different.  Because after the nibbles you still have the main course, the dessert,  and the holiday cards that all still have to be done.

Help is on the way.

Here's my latest favorite appetizer (and my extended family?  If you are reading this?  Spoiler alert!).  All you need for this one is a nice french bread baguette, your favorite jam (I like fig, but peach or apricot will work just fine), and a nice soft triple cream cheese - Brie, Camembert, or my current obession, D'Affinois.  A little fresh chopped thyme and you are in business.  Cut the baguette into thin slices and spread each slice with a little jam - I used fig jam, but peach or apricot would work just as well.  .  Slather on a bit of soft cheese.  Sprinkle a few bits of chopped fresh thyme.  If you want to get REALLY fancy, grind some fresh pepper on top. 

That's it - you are done!   Not even a recipe needed.   Put them on a nice platter, pour some mixed nuts into a bowl and now all you have to worry about is the next two courses.   And the holiday cards.  And the shopping.  Ho ho ho!