Today’s recipe isn’t much of an exact recipe as it is a suggestion for an appetizer. Got love the easy ones, right!? The inspiration comes from a local restaurant called Simmzy’s. It’s always packed, so one day we decided to try going add an off time, mid-afternoon. I wasn’t especially hungry, so I ordered an appetizer as my meal. It was chèvre with apricot and local honey, served with homemade crackers.
The combination of salty, savory and sweet was perfect. I decided to try making it at home and it turned out pretty fantastic!
Let’s start with the cheese. Chèvre is goat cheese. I bought a little 4 ounce package from Trader Joe’s and brought it to room temp. Chop up 3 dried apricots and mix in, along with 1-2 tablespoons of honey. I made it easy on myself and served it in the bowl I made it, but you could mold it back into a ball and put it on a mini serving platter, drizzling it with more honey.
The crackers are something I make a lot. Especially if I have bread that’s going stale! This time, I used a baguette from Trader Joe’s. Thinly slice it and place it on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake it at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes or until golden brown.
This looks absolutely fantastic! I recently bought some goat cheese from Holland that is amazzzzzinnng, so I probably should try this out. Trader Joe’s had this cheese with apricots in it, but I think it might’ve been too sweet for my liking. The sweetness from the apricots overpowered the savory cheese..so I never bought that again. Didn’t think to make it myself though! Beautiful pictures. 🙂
To make the chevre spreadable I mixed in some Neufatchel cheese, a little sour cream, and fresh goats milk to get a nice thickish dip consistency. Then mixed in chopped dried apricots sweetened with honey and hydrated on the stove with a a little water on the stove. Tried variously, fresh mint, dried thyme, and basil. Liked the thyme best. Nuts are nice for texture. Stuffed celery with it also dates. Fabulous.
I forgot, also stuffed jalapeños and wrapped with bacon bakes in oven. Killer!!!