Goat Cheese Truffles

When you hear the word truffle, what comes to mind?  Smooth, creamy, dense balls of chocolate dusted with cocoa that simply melt, as you eat them one by one.  However, while walking through Wegman's the other day, I was inspired to make a new kind of truffle: Goat Cheese Truffles.

These truffles are sweet AND savory; creamy goat cheese is formed into balls and then rolled in spiced pecans and dried cranberries.  These make perfect appetizers or toppings for salads.  They are simply adorable and would be perfect for a light holiday hors-d'oeuvre.

Goat Cheese Truffles

• 1 8 oz. Goat Cheese log, medium consistency
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup Spiced Pecans

1. Pecans:  Cover 1/2 cup of pecans in 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp curry powder. Cook in a skillet on medium heat until pecans have absorbed the syrup; let cool.
2. Chop cooled pecans and mix with cranberries in a small bowl
3. Roll goat cheese into 1/2 oz balls, making about 16
4. Roll the goat cheese balls into chopped pecan and cranberry mixture

Perfect PB+Js

Crunchy, smooth, grape, strawberry, crusts, no-crusts, uncrustable, star shaped, diagonal, vertical... how did we judge eachother in pre-school? PB+J preferences of course!

But in all seriousness, who does not like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?  With the help of http://www.womenshealthmag.com/ , I set researched consumer preferences determined by taste tests and nutritional benefits in order to build the perfect PB+J. 

So let's break it down:

1) Bread



"What hasn't been crammed into this loaf of bread? It's teeming with fiber, protein, and heart-protecting omega-3s."-Women's Health 



2) Peanut Butter



"Tastes like the stuff you remember eating as a kid, but has the addition of the omega-3s EPA and DHA, making it even more heart healthy. "-Women's Health



3) Jam



"This jar is jammed with antioxidants from red grapes, cherries, acai, and pomegranates, but sweetened only by fruit juice, so it has a third less sugar than other brands" -Women's Health

Other ideas:

1st Row: Whole Wheat English Muffin + Maple Almond Butter+ Fig Jam
2nd Row: Rice Cake+ Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter+ Cherry Jam
3rd Row: Whole Wheat Tortilla+ Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter+ Black Raspberry Jam
4th Row: Whole Wheat Pita+ Pistachio Butter+ Lingonberry Jam

    

(First three pictures http://www.womenshealthmag.com/)
(All other images http://www.amazon.com/)

Pumpkin S'mores (Microwaved)

My friend Kennedy sent me all sorts of awesome Fall food ingredients like candy-corn, caramel corn, and these crazy pumpkin marshmallows!

www.amazon.com

So I decided to make pumpkin s'mores in the microwave with spicy pumpkin butter, nutella, and crunchy graham crackers.  The flavor combination was just as beautiful as this fall day in Ithaca. This recipe could be personalized by adding nuts, regular chocolate, or apple butter.  Customize it, make it your own!  The best part is it only takes about 15 seconds to make this awesome treat and I bet you can't make just one!

Pumpkin S'mores

• 2 pumpkin marshmallows
• 2 graham crackers
• 1 tbsp nutella
• 1 tbsp pumpkin butter (Great Recipe Here)

1. Spread one graham cracker with nutella and the other with pumpkin butter
2. Place marshmallows on top of one with nutella and microwave open-faced for 15 seconds
3. Smush together :) 

Chili Lime Peanuts

When you are craving quesadillas and margaritas, but are far from summer's Mexican flavors these peanuts will help you through.  They are sweet, spicy and tangy simultaneously.  I could eat a whole bowl, if they weren't already all gone.  The best part is that they can be made up to a week in advance!

Chili Lime Peanuts

Yields: 2 cups of nuts

Cost: $$$$$

From Bon Appetit, February, 2009

• 2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix ingredients sugar, olive oil, and peanuts in a bowl
3. Transfer onto a lined, rimmed baking sheet and toast for 30 minutes
4. Remove from oven and add lime juice, cayenne, and salt
5. Let cool for at least 30 minutes

 

 
 

Pistachio and Goat Cheese Stuffed Raspberries

It can be near impossible to get good produce in college.  Fresh fruit in the dining hall consists of fruit salads in which the flavors become so muddled it seems as if every fruit is the same.  So, when my parents paid me a visit this weekend I was delighted to receive a carton of fresh raspberries.  When paired with a tangy goat cheese and nutty pistachios, the sweet berries become perfect little cups of complex flavors.  These are great to pop one by one as you study, or they could be excellent hors d'oeuvres!

Pistachio and Goat Cheese Stuffed Raspberries

• One carton raspberries
• 2 tbsp crushed pistachios
• 3 tsbp creamy goat cheese

Simply stuff the raspberries with the goat cheese and sprinkle the pistachios on top!! A wonderfully simplistic snack!

Roasted Rosemary Grapes

When my dad tasted these grapes he said "they taste like apple pie!" What could be better than mini apple pie bites that have practically no caloric intake? Nothing. These grapes are so easy, fast, and delicious that I could honestly eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  They are the perfect snack.  Add to honey greek yogurt and you have a parfait parfait (perfect parfait).

Roasted Rosemary Grapes

• Two cups red grapes
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• Spray olive oil

1. On a sheet tray spray the grapes and rosemary with desired amount of olive oil, roast at 350 for 15 minutes until grapes are caramelized.

Healthy(er) Creamsicle Chipwich

Chipwiches are pretty fantastic: crunchy cookies vs. creamy ice cream.  I love to take classic desserts and make them a little bit healthier, while never compromising the flavor.

This open faced creamsicle chipwich hits the spot as we enjoy the last few warm breezes.  I took a crunchy, decadent chocolate chip cookie and topped it with frozen yogurt infused with orange zest and dotted with chocolate chips.  The result blows your orange-chocolate mind (my mom's favorite flavor combination.) Enjoy snackers!

Creamsicle Chocolate Chipwich

• one chocolate chip cookie
• 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1 tbsp chocolate chips
• 1 tsp orange zest 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp orange extract

1. Mix all of the ingredients together except the cookie
2. Dollop on top of cookie and enjoy!

Tailgate Food for Homecoming!

My high school did not have a football team.  So Saturday will be my first football game where I cheer for the school I attend. To say I'm excited is an understatement... and as you can see I have already cooked some tailgate themed food to celebrate.

My friend Devin told me he was going home for the weekend and that he would bring me back some jalapenos from his garden.  I thought, great! I'll make some salsa, maybe some biscuits. It turns out Devin invented Miracle Grow, because he brought back over 30 jalapenos.  Most recipes use 1-2 jalapenos maximum because they are so spicy.

So jalapeno poppers were the perfect fit to both celebrate homecoming and use massive amounts of jalapenos! However, fried food is pretty hard to do in a dorm, because you need a ton of oil, and preferably... a fryer.  So I decided to go the healthy route and bake them.  I filled them with low fat cheese, salsa, and light cream cheese so that they are less fattening than your average bar's jalapeno poppers.  Then instead of a thick breading, I topped them with crushed pretzel bits, to add crunch and saltiness.  The verdict... amazing!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers with a Pretzel Crust

• 18 jalapenos
• 1 cup light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or cheddar
• 3 tbsp salsa
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 mini bag of pretzels, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Slice jalapenos in half and take out the seeds
3. Aline on a foil covered sheet tray
4. Place a pinch of shredded cheese in each halve
5. Mix cream cheese, salsa, cilantro and honey in a bowl
6. Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the peppers
7. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese
8. Cover with crushed pretzel bits
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, serve with salsa

Birthday parties, picnics, ziploc bags on a hike all had one thing in common in the 1990's: Puppy Chow (or Muddy Buddies).  This delicious mix is made from cereal, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar.  It is fun and easy for kids to make (it involved shaking a large plastic bag for the easily entertained)!  So simple, easy and cheap.... but a flavor combination to die for. 

Everyone in my dorm was craving puppy chow and my lovely room-mates bought me some Krispix to make some for a late night snack.  It went fast.  Hands were diving. It was madness. 

Puppy Chow aka Muddy Buddies

Yields: 18 cups 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes!

Cost: $$$$$

• 1 box Krispix Cereal
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

1. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter together in microwave
2. Add vanilla extract and stir until smooth
3. Empty cereal into a large plastic zip bag
4. Add chocolate mixture and shake until completely coated
5. Add powdered sugar and shake until coated
6. Empty onto a sheet tray to cool
7. Serve in a large bowl

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