Use Goat Cheese to Liven Up Holiday Meals!

Be the hit of your holiday gathering with these delicious recipes from Goat Cheese by Maggie Foard!

Espresso cheesecake brownies

[makes 16]

7 ounces 70 percent bittersweet chocolate, broken into chunks

1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 extra-large free-range eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pecan halves

Topping

4 ounces fromage blanc or fresh chèvre

1/4 cup shot of freshly made espresso or very, very strong fresh drip coffee, cooled

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 beaten egg (about 2 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment that is oiled

or buttered on both sides. Melt the chocolates with the butter over simmering water in a double boiler; or do it my way—on the defrost setting in the microwave—until the chocolates are just about melted. Remove

from heat and whisk in the salt and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. The batter should be satiny and dark and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Scatter the nuts on the bottom of the prepared pan. Spoon all but 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture into the pan.

Topping

Whisk together the fromage, cooled espresso, powdered sugar, vanilla and egg. Drizzle the fromage mixture over the chocolate batter. Dot the remaining chocolate batter over the top of that and run a knife back and forth through the batter to create kind of a swirl pattern over the top. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30–35 minutes, or until the top is set but not dry. Cool on a rack. Chill thoroughly before cutting if you want nice

neat pieces, but be sure to take the brownies out of the fridge a little while before eating. The flavor

is so much better when they are at room temp!

Fresh tomato tapenade

[makes approximately y 2 cups ]

1 pound fresh ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced and poached in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for 1 minute

1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup chopped basil

3 ounces crumbled goat feta

Salt and pepper to taste

Organic Roma or San Marzano tomatoes are best for this dip, but any full-flavored tomato can work.

In the dead of winter when I crave tomato bruschetta, I use diced organic tomatoes from a can.

Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl shortly before serving at room temperature with bruscetta. For a change, omit the feta and serve the tapenade with slices of fresh goat mozzarella or goat brie.