With the holidays upon us, its time to entertain and everyone is looking for something new and perfect to serve. These are some recipes I like and think you'll enjoy making and serving to friends or family. One of my favorites to make, serve and eat is this delicious cherry-shallot confit. It has that sweet/savory combination of flavors that I love: wonderful, carmelized onion and shallots mixed with cherries and the subtle hint of thyme. Perfect on crusty bread slathered with a simple cheese.
One of the most amazing things about living in Austin is of course Central Market and I'm lucky enough to live just around the corner from the original. I had all of the making for the confit, but needed to pick out the cheese to go with out. Of course, their cheese department is larger than my apartment and I was instantly baffled. I usually serve it with a Machego or Parmesan, but confronted with all of the selection....I balked. Thankfully, CM has the a wonderful staff. The cheese lady asked what I was looking for and I told her about the confit. She suggested several things, but we finally settled on a Camembert made from both sheep and goats milk. Wanting to make sure that it was going to work, she opened on the packages and gave me a taste. Dense and creamy, it was the perfect foil for the confit. There are lots of cheeses that you could use, be adventurous and selective....once the onions and shallots are chopped, this goes together quickly, perfuming the house as it simmers.
Recipe: Cherry-Shallot Confit
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
8 ounces shallots, trimmed and quartered
3-4 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges (sweet if you can find them, but anything works)
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots, onion, cherries, and thyme. Cover, and cook until shallots and onion are soft and beginning to caramelize, 12 to 14 minutes. Stir in sugar. Continue to cook, covered, until shallots and onion are caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.
Add vinegar and 1/2 cup warm water. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and mixture is deep brown, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. Confit can be refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 1 week.
(Now, if you're lucky enough to have a little leftover, there are several things you can do with it, but for me its grilled cheese. Use the leftover cheese if you have some, or try and spreadable goat or a good melting cheese like fontina. Butter one side of each piece of bread, slather it with cheese and top with the confit. Fry until golden brown and the cheese is nice and melty. Divine!)
Barb-a-licious makes this dip for her annual fall party and other times during the years. It's great with Wheat Thins or some other small cracker, but I think it would also be delicious on cucumber rounds or with celery sticks for the carb-concious. She was kind enough to lend the recipe and let me publish it here. You can use the chutney of your choice, mango may be the standard, but this year she used apple and I thought it was perfect.
Recipe: Chutney Cream Cheese Spread
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup chutney, apple is good
1-2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon each curry, cumin, coriander
Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth, or a little chunky.
Other recipes on this site you might try are the pimento cheese spread or my mushroom-pecan pate.
One of the most amazing things about living in Austin is of course Central Market and I'm lucky enough to live just around the corner from the original. I had all of the making for the confit, but needed to pick out the cheese to go with out. Of course, their cheese department is larger than my apartment and I was instantly baffled. I usually serve it with a Machego or Parmesan, but confronted with all of the selection....I balked. Thankfully, CM has the a wonderful staff. The cheese lady asked what I was looking for and I told her about the confit. She suggested several things, but we finally settled on a Camembert made from both sheep and goats milk. Wanting to make sure that it was going to work, she opened on the packages and gave me a taste. Dense and creamy, it was the perfect foil for the confit. There are lots of cheeses that you could use, be adventurous and selective....once the onions and shallots are chopped, this goes together quickly, perfuming the house as it simmers.
Recipe: Cherry-Shallot Confit
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
8 ounces shallots, trimmed and quartered
3-4 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges (sweet if you can find them, but anything works)
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots, onion, cherries, and thyme. Cover, and cook until shallots and onion are soft and beginning to caramelize, 12 to 14 minutes. Stir in sugar. Continue to cook, covered, until shallots and onion are caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.
Add vinegar and 1/2 cup warm water. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and mixture is deep brown, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. Confit can be refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 1 week.
(Now, if you're lucky enough to have a little leftover, there are several things you can do with it, but for me its grilled cheese. Use the leftover cheese if you have some, or try and spreadable goat or a good melting cheese like fontina. Butter one side of each piece of bread, slather it with cheese and top with the confit. Fry until golden brown and the cheese is nice and melty. Divine!)
Barb-a-licious makes this dip for her annual fall party and other times during the years. It's great with Wheat Thins or some other small cracker, but I think it would also be delicious on cucumber rounds or with celery sticks for the carb-concious. She was kind enough to lend the recipe and let me publish it here. You can use the chutney of your choice, mango may be the standard, but this year she used apple and I thought it was perfect.
Recipe: Chutney Cream Cheese Spread
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup chutney, apple is good
1-2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon each curry, cumin, coriander
Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth, or a little chunky.
Other recipes on this site you might try are the pimento cheese spread or my mushroom-pecan pate.