Tag: pepper

Debbie Arnold: Feta with Peppered Honey and Toasted Almonds {Foodie Friday}

By Debbie Arnold of Dining With Debbie
 
One of my favorites for summer dining is a simple cheese and fruit plate, such as this Feta with Peppered Honey and Toasted Almonds served along with locally grown Arkansas peaches.  This plus a fresh-from-the-garden salad (or local farmers’ market) and probably some crunchy bread might easily be a meal at our house.  If needed, a simple protein, perhaps a chicken breast, thrown on the grill could round it out.
 
The fruit and cheese plate serves two roles: as an appetizer or as a dessert. It’s summer in the south, ya’ll and that means it’s hot!  While most Southern belles “glisten,” I sweat, especially when the oven comes on.  Fortunately, Hubby’s great with the grill and the smoker, and he really doesn’t mind a light meal at all. 

The man has will power.  He does so well with his weight.  I wish that trait passed on to me by osmosis.  Or something that doesn’t involve dieting and exercise (aka work). But he does have a weakness for desserts, nuts and cheeses.

feta with honey 2 Foodie Friday

Ta – dah!  This Feta With Peppered Honey and Toasted Almonds works perfectly to satisfy his cravings (and mine), and it borders on healthy when served alongside fresh, locally grown summer fruits.  I think peaches , such as those we get from our Arkansas Grown friends at Peach Pickin’ Paradise  (Twitter) in Clarksville or Barnhill Orchards in Lonoke, are perfect but you can use whatever fruit you like.  I usually use slivered almonds, but here again,  you can use toasted walnuts or pecans if that’s what you have and what you prefer. I prefer the honey I get from  P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm hives.  If you’re lucky enough to have your own hives, or have a neighbor who does, then definitely use that. 

Don’t limit yourself to feta for this dish either.  Goat cheese or homemade ricotta (check that out next week on Dining With Debbie) work very well.  I like feta because of its sharpness which contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the honey.  And you just won’t believe what the cracked pepper does until you give it a try!  Not a pepper fan?  Leave it off.  There’s nothing hard and fast about the cheese plate — always suit the tastes of yourself and your family.  Be brave.  Experiment.  Some of my best dishes, okay and some of my worst, have been through experimentation.  

feta with honey Foodie Friday

If you have edible flowers available, such as nasturtiums, use those as garnish.  The peppery flavor of the nasturtiums goes quite nicely with this dish.  Or, garnish with basil or mint for a different palate pleaser.

Summer is all about relaxing, and this dish definitely fits that bill.  Take it easy, ya’ll.

What are some of your go-to summer dishes?  I hope you’ll share.

 

Feta with Peppered Honey and Toasted Almonds
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 8 ounces chunk feta
  2. 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
  3. 1/4+ cup honey
  4. 1/4 + cup toasted slivered almonds
  5. Fruit or crackers
  6. Mint or edible flowers for garnish, optional
Instructions
  1. Dry feta and place on a serving platter. Chill.
  2. Prepare fruit (slice peaches, etc.)
  3. Stir together cracked pepper and honey.
  4. When ready to serve, pour honey mixture over feta and arrange fruit around the cheese.
  5. Garnish
  6. Serve with crackers, if desired.
Adapted from Gourmet's Casual Entertaining
Adapted from Gourmet's Casual Entertaining
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Debbie-Arnold-1 Dining With Debbie

 Debbie Arnold serves as a co-administrator for Arkansas Women Bloggers and pontificates and eats at Dining With Debbie.  She and her Hubby split their time between Central and Northwest Arkansas.  She loves to cook, develop recipes and have play dates with her two perfect grands.  Mostly, she has play dates with the Perfect Ones.  If you’re interested in writing for Foodie Friday, she’s the one to contact.

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Ceri Wilkin A Matter of the Heart for Valentines {Foodie Friday}

By Ceri Wilkin of Recipe Doodle

From our first Valentines together, my husband and I have always cooked at home, a matter of the heart rather than the menu.

Initially it was simple, luscious pasta dishes, both of us inhabiting the kitchen, easily and joyfully cooking together. Then, as we moved out of our cocoon for two, and included friends in our celebration, the dinners became more complicated, transforming into elaborate, four course meals but still maintaining the fun and intensity from those evenings early in our relationship.

This year, I wanted to move outside of my comfort zone, to surprise and delight my wonderful husband and our friends. In relationships, food, and in life, I believe it is important to try new things. These recipes are an interesting, unexpected, surprising, but delicious and delightful mix of sweet and savory.

Ceri pork tenderloin with white chocolate sauce

 

Coffee Encrusted Pork Tenderloin with White Chocolate Sauce
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Ingredients
  1. 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  2. 3 teaspoons flour
  3. 3/4 cup broth
  4. 2 ounces white chocolate
  5. 1 pork tenderloin, sliced into 3/4 inch pieces
  6. 6 tablespoons finely ground coffee, for dredging
  7. salt and pepper
To make the White Chocolate Sauce
  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the flour and mix well.
  2. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly. Let the sauce cook on low heat for approximately 10 minutes, stir regularly. Add salt to taste.
  3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the white chocolate, stir until melted.
For the Pork Tenderloin
  1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet, over medium heat
  2. Season the slices of pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, then dip them into the ground coffee, coating both sides.
  3. Cook the pork until done, about 5 minutes on each side.
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/

Ceri White pepper ice cream

 

White Pepper Ice Cream
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Ingredients
  1. 1 3/4 cups milk
  2. 1 1/4 cups cream
  3. 2/3 cup sugar
  4. 1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns, lightly crushed
  5. 6 egg yolks
Instructions
  1. Over high heat, bring milk, cream, half the sugar plus peppercorns to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, cool, whisking constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat, cover and let mixture steep until infused with nots of peppery spice, about 15 minutes.
  3. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, into a bowl, discard peppercorns. Wipe saucepan clean and return mixture to pan; bring to a gently simmer over medium heat.
  4. Whisk remaining sugar with egg yolks in a bowl until thick and smooth. While whisking constantly, slowly pour half of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture to temper the yolks and keep them from curdling. Stir tempered yolk mixture into remaining milk mixture in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens to a custard-like consistency and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 20 minutes.
  5. Transfer custard to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly against the surface of the custard to keep a skin from forming.
  6. Chill custard completely.
  7. Pour chilled custard into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturers instructions until custard is churned and thick.
  8. Transfer ice cream to an airtight storage container, freeze until completely set, at least 4 hours.
Adapted from Saveur
Adapted from Saveur
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
 me by noel

 

 

 I am a wife, mother and recipe follower. For years I have tackled one new recipe a day – some are fabulous, some are not. In a past life I was an Occupational Therapist, rugby and netball player, belly dancer, lesson taker of golf, tennis and wine appreciation. My husband owns pizzerias, my father was a butcher, my mother a caterer, my older brother makes the absolute best birthday cakes and desserts you will ever taste, my younger brother owns restaurants in New Zealand and my kids love to eat. I am thrilled to share my cooking adventures and the recipes I have tried with you.