{"id":1622,"date":"2006-09-12T06:38:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-12T06:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elitemporaryblog.wordpress.com\/2006\/09\/12\/sheer-luxuries-with-chevre"},"modified":"2015-09-24T03:54:02","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T03:54:02","slug":"sheer-luxuries-with-chevre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/09\/sheer-luxuries-with-chevre\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheer luxuries, with chevre"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love to cook. But if there\u2019s one thing that I like even more, it\u2019s having someone else cook for <\/em>me. Playing hostess is very nice, but it has nothing on the sheer luxury of sitting (or heck, even standing) in someone else\u2019s kitchen, sipping a glass of wine (or, in a pinch, a cold Pabst), and watching that someone whip up a meal for me. Just tell me where to show up and when, and I\u2019ll be right over. I\u2019ll also reward you with a prompt thank-you note. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a cheeseburger or a four-course country-French hoop-dee-doo: it\u2019s all pretty wonderful to me. And as luck would have it\u2014which is also pretty wonderful\u2014I have, over the years, amassed a good collection of Friends Who Like to Cook<\/strong>, which means that often I don\u2019t have to. Among types of friends, this is my favorite by far. Cooking is what we do, and even more importantly, it\u2019s what we do for each other.<\/p>\n

Just last week, for example, there was Jimmy<\/a>, who baked eggs and bacon while I sat, thanked my lucky stars<\/strong>, and sipped a Mimosa. The week before that, there was Shauna<\/a>, who served up pork chops with a sweet-tart sauce of Italian plums<\/a>, and all I had to do was set the table. [A blessedly low-pressure task, since I was, ahem<\/em>, a bit slowed<\/a> by our champagne aperitif.] And then there was my friend Keaton and her man Mark<\/a>, who invited us to dinner this past Saturday. The evening was billed as a birthday celebration for Brandon and me\u2014both Virgos, born on the 10th and 14th, respectively\u2014but really, mainly, it was an excuse to spend a few hours together, and to stand around the kitchen and sip something cold on a warm night. Best of all, it was a delicious meal, and all I had to do were the hors d\u2019oeuvres<\/strong>. Keaton knew just what I wanted for my birthday.<\/p>\n

In keeping with the spirit of things, I wanted to make something that was supremely unfussy. So, recalling a recipe that I once clipped from Saveur<\/em>, I sliced a log of goat cheese into thick, white discs, which I lay like loose paving stones in a shallow dish. Then I ran a bath of olive oil over the top and scattered around lemon zest, herbs, and sea salt. Standing in Mark\u2019s kitchen<\/a>, we scooped up drippy hunks of the soft cheese and ate them with water crackers and beer<\/strong>, which I highly recommend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
It was almost as good as the late-summer meal they made for us: a salad of sweet onions, okra, and homegrown tomatoes; slices of pan con tomate<\/em> with slivered manchego; eggplant involtini<\/em><\/a> filled with onions, sweet peppers, and something else that I ate too eagerly to identify; a spicy, brothy stew of olive oil, artichokes, and potatoes; and a two-layer coconut cake. It was sheer luxury, the stuff of great birthdays\u2014right up to the sad moment near midnight when Brandon and I were soundly defeated at Trivial Pursuit<\/a>. But we got to take home the leftovers of the marinated goat cheese, and no crappy Millennium Edition<\/a> can cast a shadow over that.<\/p>\n

In fact, we so loved this cheese that on Sunday, I found myself making a second go-round\u2014a one-off riff this time, inspired by a recipe of my sister\u2019s\u2014for a second birthday gathering with friends that night. Next to not cooking at all, it is the easiest thing I can imagine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Marinated Ch\u00e8vre with Lemon Zest and Fresh Herbs<\/strong>
Inspired by Laura Chenel and Saveur
<\/em>
This recipe marks one of the rare occasions on which I am choosing to not give precise quantities<\/a>\u2014mainly because I didn\u2019t use them myself. [Brandon is so<\/em> proud of me.] I put this dish together by eye, mostly, and so far as I can tell, it would be hard to go wrong. The original formula calls for Italian parsley and chives, but I used basil, thyme, and marjoram instead, because that\u2019s what we had on the patio. The only element to be careful with is the lemon zest, which can easily overwhelm the other flavors. I like this best after it has had a good day to rest in the refrigerator, where the lemon flavor softens wonderfully and melds with the oil and herbs. It makes for an easy, refreshing, end-of-summer appetizer.<\/p>\n

About 6 oz. fresh, mild goats\u2019 milk cheese, such as Laura Chenel\u2019s Fresh Goat Log<\/a>
Good-tasting olive oil
About 4 pinches of finely grated lemon zest
About 1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
About 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
About \u00bd tsp chopped fresh marjoram
Sea salt, such as Maldon<\/a>, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste<\/p>\n

Slice the cheese into \u00bd\u201d-thick slices, and place them in a single layer on a serving platter or in a shallow dish. Drizzle olive oil over the cheese to just\u2014or nearly\u2014cover. Scatter the lemon zest and herbs over the top, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow the cheese to sit for a couple of hours at room temperature, or, preferably, in the refrigerator for a day or so. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving with crackers, such as water crackers, or warm, crusty bread.<\/p>\n

Yield: 4 or so servings<\/p>\n

_____________<\/p>\n

\n


My Sister\u2019s Marinated Ch\u00e8vre<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
My sister Lisa made this delicious mixture at Christmastime a few years ago, and with a bit of prodding, she wrote the recipe for me on a sheet of lined paper, which I have kept in my clippings file ever since. My mother thinks that the recipe may have originally come from my father\u2019s cousin Sharon, so perhaps I should call it \u201cMy Father\u2019s Cousin\u2019s Marinated Ch\u00e8vre, as Made for Me by My Sister.\u201d Either way, it makes a rustic but elegant appetizer and, like the recipe above, is wonderfully easy. If you can, make it a day ahead, and stash it in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld.<\/p>\n

1 lb. fresh, mild goats\u2019 milk cheese, such as Laura Chenel\u2019s Fresh Goat Log<\/a>
2 cloves garlic, cut in half and smashed under the side of a chef\u2019s knife
\u00bd tsp dried rosemary (or a bit more, minced, if you use fresh)
\u00bd tsp dried thyme (or a bit more, minced, if you use fresh)
\u00bc tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp peppercorns, either black or multicolored
1 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil
\u00bd cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
\u00bc cup sun-dried tomatoes
Good-tasting olive oil<\/p>\n

Slice the cheese into \u00bd\u201d-thick slices, and place them in a single layer on a serving platter or in a shallow dish. Place the garlic pieces among the slices, and sprinkle with herbs, pepper flakes, peppercorns, olives, and tomatoes. Add olive oil to nearly cover the slices. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow the cheese to marinate for a few hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few days. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving with crackers, such as water crackers, or warm, crusty bread.<\/p>\n

Note<\/em>: On a whim, Brandon put part of a batch of this into the food processor, and it became a delicious creamy spread that would be perfect for sandwiches of grilled vegetables or meats, or on a crostini. Mmm, mmm.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yield: Quite a bit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love to cook. But if there\u2019s one thing that I like even more, it\u2019s having someone else cook for me. Playing hostess is very nice, but it has nothing on the sheer luxury of sitting (or heck, even standing) in someone else\u2019s kitchen, sipping a glass of wine (or, in a pinch, a cold Pabst), and watching that someone whip up a meal for me. Just tell me where to show up and when, and I\u2019ll be right over. I\u2019ll also reward you with a prompt thank-you note. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a cheeseburger or a four-course country-French hoop-dee-doo: it\u2019s all pretty wonderful to me. And as luck would have it\u2014which is also pretty wonderful\u2014I have, over the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSheer luxuries, with chevre | Orangette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2006\/09\/sheer-luxuries-with-chevre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sheer luxuries, with chevre | Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I love to cook. But if there\u2019s one thing that I like even more, it\u2019s having someone else cook for me. 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