Recipe: Megan Marshall

• 4 Tbs. Salted Butter
• 10 oz. log Fresh Goat Cheese
• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1 Tbs. Honey
• 1 Orange, zested
• 1/3 cup Craisins, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

1. Let all ingredients come to room temperature
2. Whip cheeses, butter, and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3 minutes.
3. Add in orange zest and craisins and mix until evenly distributed. Place into plastic wrap, form into a ball with the wrap and place in fridge to harden.
4. After cheeseball has hardened, roll in a mixture of Craisins and pecans, and place on serving dish. Enjoy with crusty baguette or crackers.

with Sherry, Apricots and Herbs

Recipe: Jean Heimann

• 1 lb Green Beans
• 1 ½ Tbs. Sherry Vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbs. Sherry
• ½ tsp. Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. Shallot, thinly sliced
• ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt
• 12 Apricots
• ½ cup Sherry
• 1 ½ Tbs. Mint, minced
• 1 ½ Tbs. Cilantro, minced
• 1 ½ Tbs. Parsley, minced

1. Trim the green beans while bringing salted water, enough to cover the green beans, to a boil.
2. Put apricots in a heat proof bowl and pour over ½ cup sherry and add ½ cup boiled water. Let the apricots soak.
3. Add the green beans to the boiling water and let boil for 2-3 minutes, maintaining a little snap in the bean. Drain and set green beans aside.
4. Add the sherry vinegar, brown sugar, sherry, garlic, shallot, and salt to the pan. Cook over medium high heat until the dressing has thickened slightly. Turn off heat.
5. Drain and mince the apricots. Return the green beans and minced apricots to the pan with the sherry dressing and toss until well coated. Taste for balance and add more salt or vinegar if needed.
6. Toss with herbs just before serving warm, or at room temperature.

Recipe: Megan Marshall

Filling:

• 1 cup Shallots, sliced
• 8 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter
• 2 Tbs. Rosemary, chopped
• 1 Tbs. Thyme, chopped
• 2 cups Parmesan Cheese, shredded
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Black Pepper, freshly cracked
• 2 Large Eggs, scrambled

Crust:

• 3 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Duck Fat, chilled
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 4-6 Tbs. Ice Cold Water

Filling:

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.
2. Add butter and let melt prior to adding in shallots. Cook shallots 2 minutes then add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook 8 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in herbs. Allow mixture to cool then stir in cheese and eggs.

Crust:

1. Place flour and salt in bowl of food processor. Pulse once to blend in the salt. Spoon in the chilled duck fat and pulse until crumbs the size of peas form.
2. Slowly add in water 1 Tbs. at a time until dough just comes together. Refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350˚F. Roll out pie dough to 1/3” to 1/2”. I found that the thicker dough held shape easier then transferring to the mini tart pans. Cut out circles larger than the pans you wish to use by at least 1” in diameter.
4. Form pie dough into pans and bake for 10 minutes. If desired use dried beans or weights during this phase.
5. Remove from oven and spoon in filling to ¾ of the way full. Bake an additional 16 to 20 minutes. Pie swill be set in the middle and have some browning on top.

Worth the Effort

Recipe: Jean Heimann

• 2 ½ pounds Good Quality Bread, cut into 1 inch dice
• 8 Tbs. Butter
• 1 ½ pound Sage Sausage, loose
• 4 large Ribs Celery, minced
• 1 large Yellow Onion, minced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. rubbed Sage
• 1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
• ½ tsp. Black Pepper
• ¼ tsp. Savory
• 3 ½ cups Water
• 1 ½ tsp. Chicken Bouillon
• 3 large Eggs
• ¼ tsp. Parsley

1. Adjust oven racks to the lower and middle position. Preheat the oven to 275˚F . Spread bread pieces over two baking sheets. Place trays in the oven, lower and upper.
2. Let bake to dry out for 50-60 minutes, occasionally rotating the pans and stirring the bread during the cooking time. When completely dried out remove from oven and allow to cool.
3. Turn the oven heat up to 350˚F and grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.
4. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sausage meat and stir to break up the meat and cook until no longer pink. Add onion, celery, garlic, and spices. Stir and cook until vegetables have softened. Remove from heat.
5. Mix the chicken bouillon and warm water together until bouillon is incorporated. Add half of this to the sausage and vegetable mixture.
6. In another bowl whisk together the other half of the chicken broth the 3 eggs and the chopped parsley. Slowly mix this egg mixture into the sausage and vegetable mixture. Add the dried bread to this mixture. You can split the mixture and breadcrumbs in half if you need to and mix the bread and sausage-veg mix in shifts.
7. Gently fold the mixture letting the dried bread soak up the liquid and the meat and veg become evenly disbursed. Scoop this mixture into the pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
8. Take out of the oven, remove the foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

You can make this recipe a day ahead; just wrap the unbaked 9×13 inch dish of stuffing and refrigerate overnight. The next day let sit out 1 hour before baking as directed.