Tag Archives: goat cheese

A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday… Classic April Fool’s Day pranks on YouTube (and more), New trend: dyeing chicks instead of eggs?

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-o- Happy day after April Fool’s Day! -o-

- History of April Fool’s Day from The Washington Post.

- NPR‘s list of headlines, products of several members of the staff, that could have made it as the April Fool’s Day headline. The winner? “NPR Source: Tweets Will Shrink to 133 Characters.”

- Google News picked up a prank news item and ran it as a legitimate piece, according to Mashable. Here’s the article and the screenshot from Gawker.

- The most serious literary figures, such as Virginia Woolf and Edgar Allen Poe, came up with some pretty playful pranks. Check out “April foolery of the literary heavyweights” by John Dugdale of The Guardian.

- Also: Classic April Fool’s Day pranks on YouTube, from Mashable.

-o- Longest kickball game EVER -o-

Seriously. A game of football in Connecticut with players from several parts of the United States set the Guinness World Record for the longest kickball marathon. Why the epic game? To support cancer research. Here’s the article from the AP. Pretty cool, huh?

-o- Hiring slump at an end? -o-

According to this Reuters article, the time of long, tough job searches riddled with rejection and disinterest is coming to an end… at least for recent college graduates.

Here’s an excerpt from the leading paragraph of the piece:

“Sean Chua expected the hunt for his first job after college to be tough. After all, he watched his brother struggle to find a position when he graduated back in 2008. But his fears were unwarranted. The 21-year-old justice major at American University sent out only seven resumes before getting an offer earlier this month from IBM for an IT consulting job, making him a beneficiary of a turnaround in the labor market for U.S. graduates.” - Jilian Mincer and Jennifer Merritt, Reuters

-o- What came first, the dyed chick or the dyed egg? -o-

Anyone have a problem with coloring chicks for Easter? Here’s a New York Times article discussing the controversy over these dyed baby birds.

(Image Source: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg News)

-o- What to do with all those leftover Easter eggs? -o-

- Here are some cooking ideas for leftover eggs from Epicurious. Among them? Scotch eggs.

Scotch Egg

(Image source: Zach DeSart, Epicurious.com)

-o- Recipes of the Week -o-

My friend Lindsey is coming over tonight and we are making Parmesan Chicken with Caesar Roasted Romaine and a side with goat cheese, red peppers and maybe baby spinach. Currently I’m ogling these Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers from FoodieMob and these Mini Cheese Stuffed Peppers from The Simple Skillet. How does one decide between goat cheese and the winning mozzarella-ricotta combination? I also love the look of this simple spinach sauté from Beantown Baker.

Parmesan Chicken with Caesar Roasted Romaine

(Photo credit: Romulo Yanes, Epicurious.com)

A funny thing happened on the way to this Monday… Peyton Manning to sign with the Broncos, Successes and Pitfalls of online dating algorithms

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-o- I visited old friends in Brooklyn! -o-

Okay, so that’s not news… but it was still very funny (and fun)… details in my travel post on Thursday!

-o- Peyton Manning in talks to sign with the Broncos -o-

The waiting looks to be over and lots of people are disappointed… perhaps especially San Francisco football fans, who saw a Super Bowl title in their future with Manning on board. The biggest losers? Tim Tebow and all the Tebowmaniacs  out there. But maybe that’s a good thing considering where Lin-sanity has landed.

Here’s the news from Reuters.

(Source: Sports Illustrated.com)

-o- In-vitro and arcane survivor benefit laws -o-

A new Supreme Court case seeks to decide if a child conceived after the death of the father is entitled to survivor benefits.

In this case, after the husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and facing sterilization from chemotherapy, the couple decided to freeze some sperm so their already living child could grow up with siblings. Sadly, the father passed away, but true to his dying wish, the mother impregnated herself through in vitro fertilization. Once the child was born, she applied for Social Security survivor benefits.

The Social Security Administration balked and (like a true American) she sued. The case is now before the Supreme Court.

-o- Online Matchmaking:  Success?-o-

Jonah Leher of the WSJ offers an interesting piece on the nuances of online dating sites. About 20% of love birds now meet online with eharmony alone accounting for 5% of new wedding bells. (People are still unsure of where drunk in Vegas ranks.)

Despite the growth and popularity of the concept, Leher poignantly points out the many pitfalls of being matched by a computer algorithm.

What do you think? Personally, I think online dating seems like a way to meet people, if nothing else, and that is getting harder in today’s world of smaller yet ever more interconnected spheres.

-o- Spiders flee Australian flood – in pictures -o-

There were torrential rains in eastern Australia earlier this month, and large parts of New South Wales flooded. Daniel Munoz, a Reuters photographer, found an area swathed in spiderwebs. Why? How? Read the story to find out!

This is AMAZING: Gallery and story from The Atlantic.

(Source: Daniel Munoz, The Atlantic)

-o- Recipe of the Week: Goat-Cheese Stuffed Chicken Meatballs -o-

A new feature to conclude my Monday post… this week, Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Meatballs from Inspired Taste. Made this with my friend Amanda this weekend and will be making them with my man this week. Enjoy!

(Source: Inspired Taste)

Three yummy salads: Beet and Goat Cheese, Chicken Caesar and Caprese in miniature

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For Brian’s birthday, we invited his family and my family to our apartment for a little party. I stressed sooo much over the food but it ended up being delicious! I served three salads at the beginning of the evening. They all went over very well and were relatively easy to prepare. Enjoy!

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-o- Caprese Skewers -o-
serves 10-12

Ingredients:

1 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes (any color)
25-30 fresh basil leaves (I purchased a fresh plant and mined the leaves)
1 lb. boccacini (mozzarella balls)
2 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
sprinkling of kosher salt
sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

Slice the tomatoes in half (I found it easiest to slice them horizontally through the middle). Slice the boccacini in half. Wash as dry the basil leaves. Collect all the ingredients and a bunch of skewers/toothpicks (I used 4 in. toothpicks, but you could also use long wooden skewers and serve the mini salads in tall glasses, or small party toothpicks).

In a pie dish, combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

You can begin with either a folded basil leaf or a piece of mozzarella, but you want the tomato halves to be last so you can stand the finished product up on a plate. Assemble the skewers, moving them to the oil and balsamic mixture as they are completed, and then to a platter.

Drizzle the remaining dressing over the platter. Either serve immediately or chill for up to two hours, covered.

Finished Product:

Inspiration: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe’s Caprese Skewers

-o- Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and Sourdough Croutons -o-
serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts
1 1/2 heads Romaine lettuce
1/2 loaf sourdough bread, cubed
3 oz. fresh Parmesan cheese

Your favorite Caesar dressing (or make your own! I didn’t – I used Ken’s Lite Creamy Caesar – but here’s one I considered: I’mTopsyTurvy’s Creamy Caesar Dressing)

Method:

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Marinate in about 2 tbsps. of Caesar dressing in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350. Toss the sourdough bread cubes with 1 tsp. of olive oil on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until just hard, tossing occasionally. Remove and set aside.

Wash, dry and chop lettuce. Set aside.

Heat a grill pan or a frying pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side or until done. Let cool and slice.

Just before serving, toss the lettuce with the dressing. Add the croutons and chicken and toss again, gently. Top with shredded or shaved Parmesan.

Serve with more cheese alongside.

Finished Product:

 

-o-  Roasted Beet Salad with Wilted Greens, Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese -o-
serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Salad:
6-8 medium beets, greens attached
3 tbsps. hazelnuts, chopped
2-3 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 – 1 lb. mixed greens (or baby spinach, or arugula, or whatever you like!)

Dressing:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. minced shallots
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:

Salad:
About two hours before you want to serve the salad, preheat the oven to 350. Separate the greens from the beets, leaving the top intact; wash the greens and set aside. Wrap the beets loosely in foil with a few drops of oil in each packet. Roast for about an hour until tender and the skins peel away easily when you rub them with your fingers.

When cool enough to handle, peel and chop into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.

Toast the nuts in a pan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Watch carefully; nuts burn easily! Remove and set aside. In the same pan (and with a splash of water, wine or chicken stock if necessary), wilt the beet greens. Let cool slightly.

Toss the young greens with the dressing (method below). Top with the wilted greens, the beets, the crumbled goat cheese and the hazelnuts.

Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in a Mason jar and seal tightly. Shake to combine, taste and adjust if needed. Store in the fridge and shake again before serving.

Note – you may not need all the dressing. Start out with half and add if necessary.

Finished Product:

 

Inspiration: The Kitchn’s Roasted Beets and Sauteed Greens with Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese

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