Whipped Feta with Roasted Red Peppers

This girls loves a cheese plate. Like, eat-the-whole-thing-without-realizing-and-then-be-too-full-for-dinner, loves a cheese plate. Something about sitting around with a glass of wine and good conversation before a meal is oh so pleasing. In college, when we were too poor for anything but the hot dogs sold until the EL train (true story), my roommate and I used to go out to my Aunt and Uncle's house and spend hours devouring their expertly selected cheese and antipasti. Heaven for food-loving 19-year-olds.

But here's the thing about cheese plate... everyone always seems to do the same thing. Yes, I love a triple-cream brie or a smoked gouda, but some times you gotta mix it up! This whipped feta is the perfect remedy for cheese plate boredom. The roasted red peppers bring some flair and the cheese....so damn easy. 

The ingredients are straightforward and easy to find. Crumbled feta, whipped cream cheese, lemon juice, red pepper and of course, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Food processors are pretty much man's greatest invention. Or at least the greatest invention for time-crunched and/or lazy cooks like myself. Yeah cars and life-saving medical devices are pretty swank, but come on, easy chopping and mixing up in here!

I mean, it 30 seconds it turns simple ingredients into this amazing, creamy goodness.

So the red peppers are easy too... you basically just burn the shit out of them. Seriously. Char their skin until it peels off. Boom.

Serve on a pretty board with cracker of your liking or freshly slice baguette. A spread of cheese and bite of pepper on top. Break the chains of cheese plate monotony. Onward food soldiers!

Whipped Feta with Roasted Red Pepper
2 red peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat oven broiler to high. Coat red peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Place directly under broiler and turn every few minutes, until all sides are charred and black. Times will vary by oven. Once cooked, remove peppers from cookie sheet and immediately place in a plastic freezer bag and seal. Allow peppers to cool in bag before peeling away blackened skins. Slice peppers, discarding seeds and stems.

In a food processor, combine feta and cream cheese. Slowly stream in olive oil until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crackers or sliced baguette. Cheese and peppers can easily be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated separately. Enjoy!

Lemon Lime Cilantro Shortbread Cookies

It's all about the butter. I don't make cookies that often, but when I do, it's all about the butter. Don't even start on any kind of margarine nonsense with me. Blaspheme! I'm not really about the big, filled-with-nine-candybar kind of cookie either. Simplicity is the way a cookie finds its way into my heart. With all this praise of butter, it's can't come as a surprise that I love shortbread. To echo the one an only Chris Trager on Parks and Rec, these cookies LITERALLY melt in your mouth.

But who says shortbread has to be borebread? There are so many flavors that can be added to jazz up this humble dessert. I was feeling summer-y ahead of a recent picnic, so citrus made oh so much sense. But plain lemon lime felt pedestrian. Then like a chorus of herbacious angels it occurred to me -- cilantro makes everything better. In this fair cookie, it gave just the extra hint of something special. Something to make you say "hmmmm."

Here we find our flavor stars -- lime zest, lemon zest and finely minced cilantro. Such a pretty little bunch and such natural friends.

But butter won't let those colorful characters steal the spotlight. No... butter knows this cookie is all about her. Zest and herb best step-off.

A friendly whir in the food processor makes friends of fat and flavor foes.

So like most shortbread dough, you need to chill it down before cutting and baking. I use plastic wrap to form the dough into a roll and then tightly seal the ends. My dough roll isn't perfect, which means that my cookies won't be perfect. I'm also not perfect, so it's fine.

Then into the freezer she goes -- at least two hours, preferably overnight.

Remember what I said about the roll not being perfect? Still looks like that out of the freezer. Still okay. Roll in granulated sugar and slice thinly.

Admire the pretty green flecks. Bake just until the edges are golden, not the whole cookie. This will keep them buttery and soft. 

Lemon Lime Cilantro Shortbread Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar (also called confectioner's sugar)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon cilantro, finely minced
2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold and cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lime juice
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar

In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, lemon zest, lime zest and cilantro. Pulse until evenly combined. Add cold butter and process until it starts to look like sand. Add lemon juice, lime juice and egg yolks; pulsing until dough forms.

Form dough into a 2-inch log on a layer of plastic wrap. Seal ends tightly and freeze log overnight (or for at least two hours).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough log from plastic wrap and gently roll in granulated sugar, ensuring sugar is pressed into dough. Using a sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Place cookies are a parchment lined tray (you'll use two) and bake for about 15 minutes, or until just the edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool on the tray for a few minutes, before removing to cooling racks. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Shortbread dough adapted from Everyday Food.

Garlic Cheddar Cheese Straws

So we've been picnic-ing a lot lately. I mean a lot! St. Louis has a full schedule of free concerts at parks throughout the summer and we've been taking full advantage. Let me tell you,there are some hardcore picnic-ers at these events -- think full catered spreads, stemless wine glasses and this table everywhere. After our first outing, I figured I'd get in on this!

Picnic foods can be a little bit tricky -- they need to be portable, they need to stand up to hot/humid weather, they need to be easy to eat (often without utensils) and they need to be made ahead of time. For my first big picnic affair with friends, I decided to start simple and keep it classic with garlic cheddar cheese straws.

The soft crunch of these guys keeps you coming back for more and these were real crowdpleasers amongst our friends. I opted for garlic cheddar this time, but the possibilities are endless. I'd love to do "everything bagel" style or something with loads of fresh herbs.

*Thank your Husband for breaking them in half to pack them. Remind yourself to buy a longer plastic container for such things. 

Puff pastry makes for a quick preparation. I try to keep a box in the freezer for unexpected occasions when I need a quick appetizer.

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Just a bit of light rolling out for this recipe, but the dimensions don't need to be exact.

A quick brush of beaten egg serves as the "glue" for your cheese and seasonings.

Use the tip of a sharp knife to slice 1/2 inch strips and then carefully twist. Some cheese is going to fall out... it's just going to happen. You're going to be alright.

Bake for just a few minutes until golden and the cheese is melt-y.

Garlic Cheddar Cheese Straws
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (but still cold)
Flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
1 cup aged white cheddar, shredded
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, lightly roll out puff pastry until it measures approximately 10x12 inches. Brush surface of pasty with beaten egg and sprinkle on garlic powder, salt, pepper and cheese. Gently press cheese into pastry.

Gently cut dough into strips and twist, taking care to keep cheese on dough. Place twists onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Cool straws completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker and Shutterbean