Goat Cheese & other good things…

On a recent trip to my favorite local cheese shop, the staff mentioned some great goat cheese that had just come in. So with this being one of my favorite cheeses, I bought a couple of different types and used them in several ways, including snacking with crackers with a good glass of wine.
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Midnight Moon™
Aged six months or more, this pale, ivory cheese is firm, dense and smooth with the slight graininess of a long-aged cheese. The flavor is nutty and brown-buttery, with prominent caramel notes.

Bûcheron
An ivory-colored pâte surrounded by a bloomy white rind. Soft, but semi-firm in texture, this cheese when young provides a somewhat mild flavor that becomes sharper as it matures. As it ages, its texture becomes drier: the mouthfeel of the center is dense and claylike, with the crumb dissolving on the tongue, while the section near the rind is almost creamy and can be gooey at room temperature. It is a good cheese for salads or for snacking with hearty grained breads, crackers and grapes.

Rivers Edge St. Olga™
Made from raw milk and aged for two months or more. Saint Olga is washed in brine using Siletz Brewery's Oatmeal Cream Stout, resulting in the distinctive flavor and aroma and beautiful color of its rind. An excellent cheese for eating alone or cooking, Saint Olga has a complex flavor and a character all its own.

Black Pig Jamon iBerio™
A hard cheese from Extremadura, in Western Spain. It is a round cheese that has a semi-hard rind. The traditional presentation of the cheese is to cover it in paprika or oil, giving it a reddish hue and spicy flavor. The cheese itself is semi-hard, with small holes throughout the wheel. Inside it is waxy yellow or dark ochre in color.
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One of my favorite ways to enjoy goat cheese is with a good, fresh pear, so I have been eagerly scouting the markets, hoping to find that perfect piece of complementary fruit. While it may be a great time of year for pears my neighborhood supermarkets pears have been a little on the hard side recently—they may look great in the produce display, but are often just a little too firm to eat right away. But with a little help like roasting them in the oven is an easy way to soften them and bring out additional flavor as well.

For a quick one-dish meal at home, I combined some crumbled goat cheese with roasted pears, walnuts, a couple of handfuls of greens and penne pasta. This is wonderful served warm, or as a cold salad the next day. Enjoy!

Penne with Roasted Pear, Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta, such as penne
2 Bosc pears, ripe but firm (firmer varieties of pears work best)
1 tablespoon plus 3½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
½ cup baby arugula
½ cup baby spinach
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425° F. Slice the pear into thin wedges, leaving the skin on and removing the center core. Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil, coating lightly, then place in baking dish and roast in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then cut into smaller bite sized pieces.

Mix together the remaining 3½ tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Cook penne according to package directions. Drain pasta and mix in the olive oil-vinegar-lemon juice mixture, then mix in the chopped pears, arugula and baby spinach. If desired, add a little sea salt to taste. Divide among plates and top with crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnut pieces.

Serves 4-6

Option: Skip the pasta and just serve with extra greens as a salad.

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Another favorite way to include goat cheese in a dish is topping a homemade pizza with it. Goat Cheese adds a distinct flavor and gives a unique taste like no other cheese. Here is a pizza I made up, because I had all the ingredients on hand.

Goat Cheese Sweet Leeks Pizza

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon butter
1 medium bunch leeks, course chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 store bought pizza crust
8 ounces of goat cheese
1 cup walnuts, course chopped
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
In a large sauce pan with 2 tablespoons of butter, gently sautéed some sweat leeks with thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the leeks mixture over pizza dough punched out to a round or square. Sprinkled goat cheese and walnuts over the leeks; then drizzle olive oil all over the top.

Bake in pre-heated 500° F oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. The baking time will vary depending on whether you bake on a stone, a screen or in a pan. Be sure that your oven is well pre-heated before putting pizza in.

Serves 4