holiday cheer: christmas brunch

This holiday season we are blessed to have almost all of our family coming to town. My brother, sister-in-law, and sweet nephew arrived this week from Cairo (yes, THAT Cairo), and my brother and sister who both live in Seattle got in yesterday. Todd's brother, our sister-in-law, and niece and nephew will be in from Denver next week and we cannot wait. The only ones missing will be my brother-in-law and sister-in-law-to-be and we will miss them dearly but can't blame them for wanting to enjoy a sunny vacation this year.

Needless to say, all of the family in town means that we get to spend a ton of time with them and these two weeks are going to be family packed and the best kind of busy.

honey lavender goat cheese crostini

When I have people over, or if I'm bringing a dish to a friend's house, I like to bring something that is, or at least seems, just a little bit adventurous or creative. It's a great opportunity to try something new. Yesterday, a friend hosted a girls' night and I knew I needed the dish I brought to be quick and easy to make since I'd be putting it together after work with E underfoot.

Enter goat cheese crostini.

On nights when I don't have time or energy to produce much of a meal, I like to make crostini. It's so simple, you cut the bread, add some olive oil, toast it up, and top it off. Easy peasy.

Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to work with because it's so versatile. It can be used in sweet or savory dishes, it plays nice with other ingredients, and of course there's that delicious tang.

Add a goat cheese mixture to crostini and you have a surprising simple little treat that's beautiful to boot.

Honey Lavender Goat Cheese Crostini

1 loaf baguette

1/4 cup olive oil

10.5 ounces (or so) soft goat cheese

1/2 cup milk of your choice

2 teaspoons culinary lavender

2-3 tablespoons honey

10 blackberries, halved lengthwise

Heat oven to 425 degrees. 

Cut your baguette into thin slices, say a quarter-inch thick. I like to cut mine on an angle, it adds more surface area for extra toppings. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper if you'd like then place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Brush each slice with olive oil, then flip the slices and repeat.  Bake the slices for 6-8 minutes, flipping half way, until the edges start to toast, then remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Whisk together goat cheese, milk, lavender, and honey.

Once the toasts have cooled a bit, spread with goat cheese mixture. Top with blackberry halves. Bon appétit!

Next time you need a quick dish to pass, try these out.  If you don't like these flavors, you can try all sorts of combinations: goat cheese with figs, apricots or strawberry and balsamic - basically any fruit would be good, mushrooms, ricotta with mint and peas, try blue cheese or brie, or add prosciutto or bacon, even shrimp. Pick whatever you love and, I promise, these will become a fast favorite.

pancake party

If you hadn't noticed, it's cold. So cold, that Elia's school is closed for the third time this month. In fact, my office is also closed for the third time this month, something I never guessed I'd see happen. So, what to do with another unexpected snow day? Pancake party, of course!

"Whoa," says Elia.

For some reason last night, I got it in my head that E must try pancakes as soon as possible. Maybe it was that new tooth peeking through. Maybe it was the fact that she is nine-going-on-ten months old and I'm bored with all of the sensible veggies and fruits she's been eating so, assume she must be too. Whatever the reason, as soon as I found out that I too had a snow day, the pancake party was on.

"You say this is a what?  A pancake?  If you say so, Mom."

"Hmm.  This is pretty good."

"Smells good, too."

"I think I like these."

As you can see, the pancakes were a hit, as much for the mess that they created as the flavor, I'm sure.

To make the pancakes, I simply used a box mix that we had. It's a snow day after all, you've got to work with what's on hand. As a special treat, and for some bonus nutrition, I added some banana to Elia's pancakes.

Wild Blueberry and Banana Multigrain Pancakes

1 cup Archer Farms Wild Blueberries & Multigrain Pancake and Waffle Mix

2/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons applesauce

1 egg

1 banana thinly sliced

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Spray lightly with cooking spray.

Combine pancake mix, milk, applesauce, and egg in a bowl.  Stir until slightly lumpy, batter will be thick.

Using a tablespoon, scoop approximately one tablespoon of batter on hot skillet.  Place one slice of banana in the center and top with an additional tablespoon of batter.

Flip pancakes when edges around banana begin to cook and bubble, about two minutes.  Because of the banana in the center, don't be afraid to let the pancakes cook longer than normal to ensure batter cooks through.  Pancakes are done when they are a nice, golden brown.

Let cool, then start the pancake party!