Risk-Taking and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad

Goat cheese.  It's one of those things that I am pretty sure I said at one point, "Bleh.  No thank you!"  Other things that were on that list?  Beets (because they smelled like the earth), dancing (because the rhythm gene was apparently absent upon my conception), and dating a Brazilian boy (because I had no desire to have some Rico Suave sweep me off of my feet just to break my heart a few days later).

Good thing we are willing to take risks, right?

I now love goat cheese and beets, dancing is one of my favorite things (rhythm or no), and that Brazilian boy?  I married him.

Take risks, Friends!  They pay off, trust me.

And if for some reason they don't, well, at least you tried.

So, if you love goat cheese, this salad is for you.  And if you don't, this one's for you.

Recipe from Everyday Food, March/April 2003

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for baking sheet
• 3 large red potatoes (about 1 pound)
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
• 1 twelve-ounce log fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon grainy or Dijon mustard (I used regular mustard)
• 8 ounces mesclun or mixed salad greens

Directions

1. Heat the broiler. Brush a baking sheet with oil; set aside. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer until fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Rinse potatoes under cold water until cool enough to handle, and cut into 1-inch chunks.
2. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl. Slice goat cheese into 8 rounds, and pat each into a disc about 1/2 inch thick. Dip disks in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, coating evenly. Place on prepared baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Slowly add 1/4 cup oil, whisking to emulsify. Set aside.
4. Brush disks lightly with remaining 1/4 cup oil, and broil until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.
5. Toss mesclun and potatoes in the dressing. Spoon salads onto plates, and top each with two cheese disks.
   
   

   COST: $5.59   COST PER SERVING (4): $1.40

It's a love/hate relationship these days... (Sweet Potato Pizza)

Love/Hate.

Words that are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Well, kind of.

I would say that love and apathy are on the opposite ends, in actuality.

But let's roll with this.  We hear it all the time. "I have a love/hate relationship with ______________." It might be a person, a situation, or in my case, a food.

Sweet Potato Pizza.  It's a love/hate thing, for sure.

Let's get the LOVE out there, first and foremost.

This might possibly be the best tasting pizza that has ever graced my kitchen.  Wait, might? Nah... IS.  This IS the best tasting pizza that has ever graced my kitchen.

The blend of garlic and sweet potatoes, combined with a Parmesan and fresh greens top... WOW.  And that Trader Joe's garlic herb pizza dough?  Um, HELLO.  This is vegetarian goodness that my super carnivorous husband asks for again and again.

So yes, we LOVE this pizza.

And for the HATE?

Well, that is primarily experiential.  The first three (three!) times I made it I looked at those vibrant oranges and greens, and I couldn't take pictures of it.  Darn sun that kept setting too early!  So I had to keep making it again.  And again.  And again.  Until finally I had enough light in the day to take pictures (hooray for Daylights Savings Time -- a food blogger's best friend).  But then my sweet potato was white when I peeled the skin away.  No vibrant orange for me.  Oh, the let down!  So you will just have to trust me that this is, indeed, a sweet potato pizza.

And the other bad thing?  Easy.  It goes away too fast when all I want to do is keep eating more... because really, I can't get enough.

I guess love wins.

SWEET POTATO PIZZA

ingredients

• 1 pack fresh pizza dough or make your own (I used Trader Joe's... $1.29)
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced                                                     
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 1 T olive oil + 2 T more
• salt/pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1 cup fresh greens (baby lettuce, arugula, etc.)

directions

1.       Prepare pizza dough according to directions on package.  Mix sweet potato, onion, and garlic with 1 T. olive oil and a bit of salt/pepper in roasting pan.  Cook at 400*F for 10 minutes or until soft. 

2.      Spread dough out on pizza pan or baking tray.  Brush with remaining olive oil.  Spread cooked sweet potato mixture on top.  Top with cheese.  Bake for 13-15 min. at 400*F or until lightly golden brown.

3.      Remove pizza from oven and top with fresh greens.  Cut and serve.  ENJOY!

 COST: $5.24           COST PER SERVING (3): $1.75

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