tag: chevre

And the phyllo party continues chez moi. Part of my faceplant into fall is my obsession with orange vegetables: sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and butternut squash.

I found fresh sage at my greengrocer’s last week. I’d never worked with sage before — it’s not an herb that was easily found in LA markets, and I didn’t plant any in my herb box here. Besides, the slight fuzziness of the leaves freaked me out a little bit. But I sniffed the bunch of leaves and was immediately transported to the land of nutty warm fall dishes and… breakfast sausage? Well, sage is the main herb in American breakfast sausage, so no wonder.

Butternut squash is aptly named. With the creaminess of butter and a subtle earthiness along with a sweetness that’s magnified when the squash is roasted, it’s perfect paired with a tangy goat cheese. With bits of walnuts for crunch, these little phyllo pockets were filling and well-balanced snack.

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Posted in: appetizers, cooking, snacks | Tags: autumn, butternut squash, chevre, fall, goat cheese, phyllo, phyllo dough, sage, snack, spanakopita, squash, walnut | 4 COMMENTS

It feels like it’s all peaches, all the time on the food blogs right now. With good reason: peaches are going crazy this summer. Every single one I’ve brought home has been ripe and sweet, with not a dud among them.

We all know that the best way to eat a peach is out-of-hand, over the sink with juice dripping down your chin. But the aroma and flavor of the fruit pair well with so many things — especially in the savory, salty arena — it would be a shame not to experiment.

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Posted in: appetizers, cooking, party food, snacks | Tags: appetizer, balsamic, basil, bruschetta, chevre, crostini, goat cheese, ham, peach crostini, prosciutto, snack | 8 COMMENTS

Sometimes, you are invited to two or three apéro/cocktail/dinner parties in one weekend. And clearly, you don’t want to show up empty-handed. And it just so happens that it’s the enchanting time of year when lush, shining berries and figs, leaking juice, are all over the markets. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, make these. Take them to parties on a pretty tray.

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Posted in: appetizers, cooking, party food | Tags: appetizers, berries, butter, cheese, chevre, fruit, hors d'oeuvres, mint, puff pastry | 4 COMMENTS