Yesterday was my dear friends birthday; Kathleen Nolan of Ojai, CA.
Every chance I get I like to experiment with new recipes on my friends- so I wandered through Whole Foods & bought some amazingly creamy & delicious, aged Cypress Grove “Humboldt Fog” Goat Cheese,
& 2 heads of Organic Endive- as a starting point for my dish-
Once home, I carefully pulled apart the endive, one layer at a time,
gently cutting as little as possible off the base to free up more leaves; (wash, spin & sit aside)
I placed a handful of “Mariani Cranberries” (sweetened, dried), in a small saucepan with:
1/2 c. “Absolut Vodka“
2-3 T. Ojai Habanero Jelly
dash of caper brine
4 sprigs of organic lemon thyme
I slowly simmered this mixture, I occasionally gave it a little jostle to mix. Once the liquid is mostly cooked off (about 10 minutes), set aside & cool.
Use a butter knife to transfer about 1/2 t. of the “Humboldt Fog” Goat Cheese onto the base end of the
endive (at this point, the cheese was almost room temperature & a bit gooey).
I placed the filled endive on a large, black serving plate & added:
1 cooled Vodka-Habanero-Cranberry
1 caper
& 1 tiny piece of a candied pecan
I had some left over “Humboldt Fog” Goat Cheese & cranberries, so I put them in a little bowl in the middle of the platter with a small serving spoon, for guests to apply more Heat & Sweet IF they so desired (& they did!).
enjoy!
