Roasted Grape and Goat Cheese Tartlets/Crostini

 What a football weekend this has been!  Our UNC Tar Heels lost, our Clemson Tigers lost, and our Carolina Panthers lost!  What's a girl to do?  Why try a new recipe, but of course!

A local gift and apparel shop has seasonal fashion show events where customers are invited to gather during "off hours" for cocktails, a private fashion show, and discounted shopping.  The owner's husband is the chef for these events and he does a superb job!  One of my favorites is his roasted grape crostini.  He doesn't divulge his secret recipes, but after researching online, I found a few roasted grape recipes and have used some ingredients and methods from several, combining them into my own.  If you have never experienced roasted grapes, most definitely put this on your to do list!  

I made a combination of mini tartlets and crostini. For the goat cheese, I found a 4-ounce log of honey goat cheese in the deli section of our grocery store, which complemented the grapes perfectly!  This is a very versatile recipe.  If you can't find the honey goat cheese, then regular will do.  If you don't like rosemary, then you can add thyme instead.  For convenience, I made the grape mixture ahead of time and had enough left over for another batch of these delicacies!  This is a new favorite appetizer!

INGREDIENTS:

·         3 to 4 cups red grapes, washed and cut into halves

·         1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt

·         ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

·         1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

·         4 ounces honey goat cheese

·         15 phyllo mini tart shells or toasted baguette slices

·         ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with Silpat liner or lightly grease.

·         Stir grapes, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and rosemary together in a medium bowl. Spread out in one layer in the baking dish. Roast, stirring occasionally until wrinkled and caramelized, 48 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven.

·         If using tart shells, cube the goat cheese and press a cube into each shell.

·         Top with the grape mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired.

·          (If using toasted baguette slices, spread goat cheese on each slice and top with grape mixture.)

French Onion Chicken and Rice

 (adapted from plainchicken.com)

Servings: about 8

Wowee!  I'm so happy that this recipe showed up on my Pinterest feed!  I played around it with it, adding a few ingredients, and it is so yummy!  Of course being a French onion dip lover made this dish a "no brainer" for me!  The French fried onion topping is the icing on the cake.  I served this with sauteed green beans and pineapple au gratin.  This makes enough to feed a crowd; or if you put it in two smaller pans you will have one for now and one to freeze.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 cups cooked chopped chicken (I used one rotisserie chicken)

2 cups instant white rice

2 cups water

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, chopped (optional)

2 celery ribs, chopped (optional)

8 ounces French onion dip (I used low fat)

1 can cream of chicken soup (I used chicken with herbs)

½ cup chicken broth (more if necessary for consistency)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (optional)

3/4  cup French fried onions

DIRECTIONS:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

·         In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add instant rice, cover and turn off heat.  Allow to stand for 5 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed.

·         In a small skillet, saute onions and celery in 1 Tablespoon butter until onion is tender.

·         In a large bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, French onion dip, cheddar cheese, chicken broth, celery-onion mixture and cooked rice.  Stir to combine.

·         Season with ground black pepper and herbes de Provence, stirring gently to combine.

·         Spread evenly into prepared baking pan and top with French fried onions.

·         Bake for 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

German Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

German Red Cabbage aka Rotkohl (pronounced rote-cole)

 Servings: about 8

This is a great dish to accompany beef, pork, or brats.  Patience is required because this dish is slow cooked but is well worth the wait!  Sweet, tangy, and colorful, it’s also a health food as it’s high in antioxidants and vitamin C.  I was asked to bring this to a German dinner party.  I can’t believe that I’ve never made this tasty side dish; so I turned to the internet and social media.  I ended up combining two recipes, one from a German friend and another from Allrecipes.  The result was delicious and got lots of “thumbs up” at the dinner party.  (a side note is that if you add too much salt, the cabbage will turn blue-ish)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 large head red cabbage, cored and finely shredded

1 medium red onion, diced

2 large Granny Smith apples, diced

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup apple juice or apple cider (a bit more if necessary)

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce with juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place butter and onion in large pot or Dutch oven, and cook until onions are tender.

Add cabbage, apples, vinegar, and apple juice.

Season with salt, pepper and cloves.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (the cabbage should be moist, not soupy; if necessary, add more apple juice during the simmer process).