148.2...Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschettas

One of the recipes I made for book club on Tuesday night was Fig & Goat Cheese Brushettas. They were insanely delicious. My only issue with it was that the fig preserves hardened really fast so you couldn’t use the preserves after awhile without reheating it too loosen it. I needed to follow step number 1 in the directions below better, adding more juice until the texture was right.  In any case, I’d make it again for sure. 

Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschettas (Serves 12)

Recipe from “Cooking for Jeffrey” by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

2 tsp. grated orange zest (2 oranges)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 3/4 cups sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 pounds fresh ripe purple figs, stems removed and halved lengthwise

12 slices sourdough bread, for serving 

8 ounces creamy goat cheese, such as Montrachet, for serving

Directions:

1. Place the orange zest and orange juice in a medium (10-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the sugar, vanilla bean, and figs to the pot. Cover and bring to a full boil over medium heat. (Don’t worry: it may look dry.) Stir the mixture and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat, and cook uncovered at a full simmer for 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the little bubbles to be throughout the pot, not just at the edges. After 45 minutes, refrigerate a small amount of the liquid to see if it becomes syrupy. It should be like a soft fruit preserve. Keep cooking just until the liquid starts to gel when cold. If the liquid is too firm, add a little orange juice or water, cook for a minute, and test it again until it’s right. Depending on how ripe the figs are, they will probably keep their shape, but it’s fine if they don’t.

2. Discard the vanilla bean and serve or refrigerate. 

3. Before serving, toast or grill the bread and spread with goat cheese. Spoon the fig preserves on top and serve. 

Printable Recipe

Thursday night I made a couple Trader Joe’s items for dinner. I followed the recipe on the back of this bag of shaved Brussels sprouts and they turned out delicious. 

I also made their Spatchcocked Chicken:

Yummy and easy!!!

Yesterday’s breakfast:

After I took the kids to school, I went to Orange Theory. Super hard strength workout. A lot of running with inclines. Ugh. I ran errands afterwards and came home for lunch.

Quinoa Tabbouleh with Feta, veggies, hummus and ranch dressing. 

Dinner was a bunch of leftovers from the fridge. 

Spaghetti, bolognese, sautéed veggies all topped with pesto. 

Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs with onions, mushrooms, and cheese with a side of salsa:

We are about to head out for our activities for the day. Happy weekend everyone!

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