Cami's Sun Dried Tomato Jam

These are so elegant! I think they would be great served at a restaurant as an appetizer or at a fancy dinner party.

I love the flavor. It is very savory and rich. Thanks to Danielle's suggestion I decreased the sugar by half and that seemed to help with the sweetness. I think it was just right. My husband doesn't usually like sun dried tomatoes but he thought this was really good. I think the onions have the dominant flavor.

These take a while to make, so I can see the advantage to making a huge batch. In the future I will probably do that. Hyeyoung, does it freeze well?

Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam

I'm usually not a huge fan of stuff with sun-dried tomatoes, but when my friend Kristal brought this to a little get-together I had a few weeks ago, I started dreaming about it.  The recipe is easily doubled, which I usually do when I make it because it keeps well in the fridge for a week or two. 

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam:
1 (8-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Crostini:
1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the baguette slices with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes.

Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.

To assemble:
Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese and herb mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Notes:  I usually buy the big jar of sun-dried tomatoes at Costco and make about 3 double batches of jam.  You can chop up the tomatoes by hand, but if you don't like the messy oily mess, a food processor works great if you have one.  When I make it, I don't do the goat cheese part because I'm not a goat cheese girl.  Kristal said you could also use cream cheese, but it doesn't really crumble, so it's harder to put on top, although you can spread it on your crostini and then put the jam on top.  I usually don't add all the water and also cook it for about 10 minutes longer than it calls for because I like it thick.  It will look like there's a lot of liquid even after it's been boiling, but as it cools, it does thicken up.  I don't like to spend money on fresh herbs that I don't use much of, so I use dried thyme and I don't notice a huge difference, especially in the jam.  Finally, I usually broil the crostini directly under the flames (in a gas oven).  It's faster...although it means it can burn much faster, too.

Cami's Orzo

This was really good. I like shrimp a lot more than I used to and orzo is my all time favorite pasta. I have so many orzo recipes and this will be added to the collection.

Mine didn't turn out dry but since I knew it had a tendency to be dry I poured the juices out of the tomato pan into the big pot. I also added 6oz of goat cheese. I really like Feta but I love goat cheese. I substitute it for feta any time I find them similarly priced. If you haven't tried it, you should. It is a really nice soft cheese.

The spinach held up well the next day. It made a lot so we had leftovers for a few days. I didn't think the dill was as flavorful as it could have been. I haven't cooked with dill before and maybe it was my inexperience.

Danielle's Chicken & Tomato Relish

This was a super easy, super tasty dinner. I don't make a lot of the same things twice these days, but I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up on our table again sometime.

As usual, I made some alterations. I was a little short on tomatoes, so I decided to add in cucumbers. I think the cucumbers went really nicely with the relish. The flavors meshed well and it added some crunchy texture. I think I'll make it the same way in the future. I also couldn't bear to shell out (or should I say, have Max's mom shell out) $8 for a jar of kalamata olives when it's not an ingredient I use regularly (or ever). So I got a $2 can of burgundy olives instead. I don't know how they taste different than kalamata olives, but I liked the flavor.

I loved the mint! The mint with the other flavors was fantastic. So fresh tasting. I'm always happy to have any excuse to use fresh mint.

This dinner gets two thumbs up.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Tomato, Olive, and Feta Relish

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cherry tomatoes (about 10 ounces)
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 1/2 ounces)

4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 6 to 7 ounces each)

Mix cherry tomatoes, olives, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, mint, and vinegar in medium bowl. Gently stir in feta cheese. Season relish to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush chicken on both sides with remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken just until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates and slice, if desired. Top with relish and serve.


Cook's Notes: I often substitute goat cheese for the Feta. I prefer goat cheese in general so I try to switch it in whenever I can. I'm making it later this week so I don't have a picture to post yet.

Since I already answered this round of questions I won't bore you again. Have a great week and give this easy recipe a try!

Cami's Potato, Goat Cheese and Spinach Quesadillas

These are so tasty. I never would have thought to put these ingredients together and I don't think I would have used this recipe just by looking at the ingredients. We made them two nights in a row because they were so good! I'll definitely make these again.

Danielle's Potato and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I have to say I was skeptical of the ingredients in this recipe... spinach, goat cheese, and potatoes with salsa and pepper jack? But I was pleasantly surprised. They worked together much better than I imagined, and these quesadillas tasted great! I'm really a fan of goat cheese so I was happy to have a new reason to use it.

For the tomatillo salsa, I used this Emeril recipe (although I tweaked it slightly*). I think it worked really well with these quesadillas. If any of you like homemade salsa, you should try this. Yum!




*I roasted the veggies on our bbq, and they smelled so delicious! I tried a similar recipe that called for boiling the veggies, but roasted tastes so much better! I also added an avocado to the salsa to make it thicker. You can't really taste the avocado, but I like the consistency.

Melanie W.'s Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I have consistently been impressed with the recipe selections on here. These are no exception. They proved to be flavorful, filling, and a nice break from the normal boring stuff I tend to make. I'm not a huge fan of goat cheese, but I used it anyway and it was actually really good! Maybe I should use goat cheese more often. I did as Jeannie recommended and I used whole fresh baby spinach and put cheese on both the top and bottom. It stuck together pretty well. For leftovers I only used 1 tortilla and it flipped a little easier than 2 full tortillas, so I think next time I would use the fold-over method. I used red potatoes since that's what I had, and I forgot to get tomatillo salsa so we just used red salsa. They were yummy.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Normally, when I think of quesadillas I think of an easy, no-brainer meal option. Something quick to put on the table that everyone will enjoy. But I came across this recipe and loved the idea of goat cheese and a little more substance (and vegetables) to enhance this main dish.

At first glance, these seem like more work than what you'd expect in a quesadilla, but I think it's worth the effort. We've made them 3 times now and they've always been well-received.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
From Bon Appétit | March 2008
Posted on Epicurious.com

yield: Makes 4

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (5 to 6 ounces)
1 1/3 cups jarred salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
4 2/3 cups coarsely chopped stemmed mustard greens (from 1 bunch), divided
4 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
3 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 275°F. Steam potatoes until tender, about 8 minutes. Place in large bowl; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Toss to coat. Cool potatoes 15 minutes. Mix in Jack cheese*. Meanwhile, blend salsa and 2/3 cup (packed) greens in mini processor until greens are finely chopped.

Arrange tortillas on work surface. Divide remaining greens between bottom half of each. Top greens with potato mixture, then goat cheese and 2 tablespoons salsa mixture for each. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling, pressing to compact. Brush with oil.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas, oiled side down, in skillet. Brush tops with oil. Cook until quesadillas are brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 quesadillas.

Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 wedges. Serve with remaining salsa.

Cook's Notes:

• I've never used Yukon Gold potatoes-- just russets-- and they've tasted great
• We've tried it first with mustard greens and then with spinach leaves the next time and have liked them with spinach better
• I've always made them flat using 2 tortillas per quesadilla instead of folding one, as the recipe says
• *I didn't think of this before, but they would stay together better after cooking if you spread the pepperjack cheese out over the bottom tortilla, put the greens, potatoes (minus the pepperjack), goat cheese, and sauce on, and then sprinkled the remainder of the pepperjack on top before you put on the second tortilla*

Do you have any pet peeves?
Sadly, too many to name. But the worst is when people smoke outside our window. Then the smoke seeps into our apartment and stinks up the whole place. Yuck!

Any other hobbies besides being an amazing cook?
Is eating a hobby? I do love to eat, more than I like to cook, actually. But I also enjoy reading, singing, acting, going for walks on the beach, swimming, photography...

What is your favorite summer activity?
Swimming. Or anything to do with the water.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I would so love to be a morning person because they seem to be much more organized, but I am definitely a night person.

Are you a go-go-go sight-seeing kind of vacationer or lie-on-the-beach-all-day kind of vacationer?
I think that I like a little bit of both. If I'm going to a foreign country, I love to see as much as possible but also spend some time on the beach, by the pool, etc. if possible.

What is your favorite store?
Cost Plus World Market. Or maybe Target. It's a toss-up.

What is your favorite beverage?
Water. But I also love Vanilla Coke every once in awhile.

If you had to go back to school, what would your major be?
Not for any sort of practical reasons, but I would love to study theater and acting (I almost minored in them!).