Wine Wednesday | Pear + Goat Cheese Crostini

October 29, 2014

Happy Wine Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week, y’all! The past 7 days have been exceptionally exciting and I’m thrilled to be feeling the most inspired that I have in a very long time. Jake and I spent last weekend in Napa and we’re heading back tomorrow for a big project that we’re working on together for our company (more details on that later), but there have been a lot of exciting changes in the works 🙂 In the meantime, for Wine Wednesday, I wanted to share one of my absolute FAVORITE appetizer recipes that we whipped up for our Pink Party.

Inspired by one of my favorite salads, this Pear + Goat Cheese Crostini is basically an easier-to-eat/one-hand-required version that is perfect for a party or wine tasting. The creaminess of the goat cheese combined with the slightly sweet balsamic vinaigrette and pears are LEGIT with a well balanced Chardonnay (light on the oak, but not overly sweet). Get in my bellyyyy! Check out the recipe below and bookmark it for your next party so you can wow your friends and thank me later 😉

Prep: 20 minutes
Serves: 10-15

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
5 oz. arugula
3 oz. Goat Cheese
1 Pear (diced)
1/2 cup Glazed Walnut Pieces (I used Fresh Gourmet brand – available in the salad or crouton aisle)

Ingredients for Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating, slice bread into ~1/4″ slices.

2. Combine olive oil and minced garlic. Brush mixture onto bread slices. Place bread on baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes on lower rack or until bread has started to toast.

3. While the bread is in the oven, combine all ingredients for dressing until thoroughly mixed. I like to put everything in a mason jar and shake it up to get an even consistency. This also makes it easy to save leftovers

4. Remove toasts from oven. When they have cooled enough to handle, spread each toast with goat cheese. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until goat cheese has softened.

5. Remove toasts and transfer to serving platter. Garnish each toast with a few sprigs of arugula, diced pear and walnuts. Drizzle dressing over top and serve with a glass of Chardonnay. This one is awesome 🙂

Pear Salad

December 2, 2013

Following a weekend traditionally made up of non-stop eating, I figured we could all use a salad 😉 Exhibit A:

Believe it or not, until a few months ago I “hated” pears. I’d tried them as a little girl, decided they were “gross” and then never tried them again for probably 15+ years. I can not believe what I’ve been missing!!! When searching around for cocktail ideas for work, I kept coming across pear recipes and decided to overcome my ridiculous fear of pears and surprise, surprise… I completely fell in love with them! You guys, I’m SO happy about this… I think they might be my new favorite fruit and I crave them constantly. When I had a few left over from shooting this, I decided to put them to work in a new salad and figured it would be a nice change of pace from my go-to greens. I found this recipe for a Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette (yes, it’s even better than it sounds) and knew that the flavors would pair insanely well with pear.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients

5 oz. Mixed Greens (I used spring mix + arugula)
3 oz. Goat Cheese
1 Pear
1/2 cup Glazed Walnut Pieces (I used Fresh Gourmet brand – available in the salad or crouton aisle)

Ingredients for Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients for dressing until thoroughly mixed. I like to put everything in a mason jar and shake it up to get an even consistency. This also makes it easy to save leftovers 🙂

2. Combine spring mix, walnuts and goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing and mix. Top with sliced pear and serve with a crisp chardonnay. This and this are both great options for Chard 🙂

Cheers!

My Work on Style Me Pretty Living

November 29, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!!! Following a grueling drive from LA to SF on Wednesday, Jake and I were so happy to have arrived in one piece in time for a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. It has truly been a tremendous year that has flown by, but aside from feeling a little ~~huge~~ over-indulged at the moment, my heart is full knowing that those around us (as well as ourselves) are healthy, happy and on their way to big things. On the business side, I could not be more grateful to Style Me Pretty Living for featuring a cocktail I created for work this fall. It was one of my favorites that we did and is something light and refreshing to enjoy this weekend… a little change of pace following the holiday yet it’s still bursting with fall flavor and won’t disappoint 🙂 If someone told me 6 years ago as an International Relations major in Michigan itching for some ounce of creativity in my life, that I would be designing, styling and photographing fun spreads for a living, I never would have believed them. Seeing this feature was definitely a pinch me moment of gratitude. Here’s to a wonderful weekend filled with thanks and reflection. Cheers!

Pear and Sparkling Cider Cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total: 10
Serves: 8

Ingredients

2 cups chilled pear nectar
2 cups apple cider
2 cups ONEHOPE Sparkling Wine
4 ounces bourbon whiskey (I used Knob Creek)
1 pear, unpeeled and cored cut into thin slices lengthwise
2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cinnamon mixed for rimming

Directions

Rim champagne coups with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Combine pear nectar, apple cider, Sparkling wine and whiskey in a pitcher and serve immediately.
Garnish with sliced pear.

*Recipe adapted from here.

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