Whipped Goat Cheese appetizer (from Drinks magazine, sort of.)
How Dom made it:
Make some whipped cream by pouring heavy whipping cream into a small metal bowl.
Dig in your cabinet for the oldest hand-held mixer you can find
Try to shout above the noise from said mixer since it sounds like the world is ending every time you turn it on
Add some soft Spanish goat cheese and mix it with the whipped cream
Cut some potato rosemary bread into thin slices
Put a small amount of the whipped goat cheese mixture on the bread
Add an even smaller amount of olive tapenade
Eat it
Possible Improvements:
For God's sake, use an artisan stand mixer, or at least a hand held one that isn't older than you are
Use a full 4 oz of goat cheese
Consider different toppings such as sun dried tomatoes
Use very thin, toasted bread or some sort of thin cracker. You don't want the bread to become the main focus or fill up your guests too much before dinner.
Walnut-Orange Cake (from Bon Appetit)
1 1/2 ground Walnuts (do not grind to a find powder)
1 cup flour
1 tbs. baking powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbs orange zest
1/2 olive oil
Mix eggs and sugar together for a few minutes, then add walnuts, orange juice, olive oil, zest, and then the flour and baking powder.
Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper sprayed with non-stick stuff. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. It's done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool for about 30 minutes before you take it out of the pan. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top, if you want. Go ahead, it tastes good.
Health Nazi Variations:
Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour. Please note that this is not the same thing as regular whole wheat flour, unless you want your cake to weigh ten pounds.
You could use egg substitute instead of real egg, but it won't be as moist.
My apologies to diabetics, but I won't put any subs in for sugar. Have a little sugar, if you can. That fake stuff is pure brain toxin anyway. We can get our brain toxins for free here in Houston every time we take a breath.
As always, comments on technique or suggestions for improvements are welcome but may be (will probably be) ignored. Happy eating.
