Fig Date And Blue Cheese Bites Food

3-INGREDIENT BLUE CHEESE & FIG BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
• Unroll pie crust onto a clean surface. Roll the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut 24 2-inch circles out of the dough with a biscuit cutter, rerolling the scraps if needed. Place the dough circles in the prepared muffin cups, gently pressing the dough into the bottom and sides. Prick the dough with a fork. Bake until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon fig jam to each cup, then top with 1/2 teaspoon crumbled cheese. Bake until hot, 3 to 5 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chives, if using.

FIG AND BLUE CHEESE BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the baguette slices and toast on both sides until golden and crisp, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool, then spread with a little fig spread/preserves. Top with blue cheese chunks. Sprinkle on some basil.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTAS

Steps:

• Place the orange zest and orange juice in a medium (10-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the sugar, vanilla bean, and figs to the pot. Cover and bring to a full boil over medium heat. (Don't worry; it may look dry.) Stir the mixture and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat, and cook uncovered at a full simmer for 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the little bubbles to be throughout the pot, not just at the edges. After 45 minutes, refrigerate a small amount of the liquid to see if it becomes syrupy. It should be like a soft fruit preserve. Keep cooking just until the liquid starts to gel when cold. If the liquid is too firm, add a little orange juice or water, cook for a minute, and test it again until it's right. Depending on how ripe the figs are, they will probably keep their shape, but it's fine if they don't. Discard the vanilla bean and serve or refrigerate.
• Before serving, toast or grill the bread and spread with goat cheese. Spoon the fig preserves on, then the grated orange zest if using, and serve.

FIG AND BLUE CHEESE SAVOURIES

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 2. Place the flour, butter, blue cheese, and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.
• 3. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull it together. Then roll out to a 1/8-inch-thick circle with a floured rolling pin. Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch round cutter and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Reroll the scraps (no more than once) and cut more rounds.
• 4. Using the back of a rounded 1/2-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indentation in the center of each dough round. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of the fig preserves into each indentation, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentation.
• 5. Bake the savouries until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

FIG AND DATE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, combine the dates, figs, butter and baking soda. Pour in the boiling water, stir well and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Beat the sugar, walnuts and eggs into the date mixture. Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the date mixture just until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• In a small skillet, combine the vinegar and olive oil and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, then add the sliced figs. Simmer until the vinegar is reduced and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes more. In a small bowl, stir together the goat and mascarpone cheeses. Spoon the cheese mixture into the pastry shells, top with a drizzle of honey, a sliced fig, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Chop up the dried apricots and set on the side of the pastry shells on the plate.

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED FIGS AND BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat grill. You will need medium to high heat for grilling. The key is to crisp the prosciutto quickly and leave the blue cheese just melted with the inner part of the fig cool in temperature.
• Cut the figs in half and place a piece of blue cheese on each fig half. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig half, covering the cheese. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap.
• Grill each piece until the prosciutto begins to color and crisp, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill, lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm.

HONEYED FIG, PANCETTA AND BLUE CHEESE TARTLETS

Steps:

• 1.Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the pancetta, Honeyed Figs, rosemary, cheese and honey in a medium bowl. To make the Honeyed Figs: Place 6 whole dried figs, stems removed, into a medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup hot water and 2 tablespoons honey. Let stand for 1 hour. Drain the figs well in a colander. Coarsely chop the figs. 2.Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry sheet into 3 (2 1/2-inch wide) strips. Discard the remaining pastry. Cut each pastry strip into 4 (2 1/2-inch) squares, making 12 in all. Press the pastry squares into 12 (1 3/4-inch) mini muffin-pan cups. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons pancetta mixture into each pastry square. 3.Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Garnish with additional fresh rosemary, if desired. 4.Time-Saving: Fresh figs are in season in the fall and the spring. You can substitute 6 chopped fresh figs, stems removed, for the Honeyed Figs. Stir in with the pancetta, cheese and honey as directed in the first step.

LUXURIOUS FIG AND DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Finely chop the dates, figs and onion.
• Scatter onion into a hot pan, using just enough golden sugar to coat the onion well, and cook for just a few minutes. Do not allow to stick or burn.
• Add the dates and figs and stir regularly, turning down to a medium heat. Add just a little vinegar to prevent sticking.
• This chutney will absorb the vinegar and dry out quite quickly, so keep a watchful eye on it; stir gently, and continuously, topping up with vinegar as required, and add a little sugar if it becomes too moist. Once you have approximately double the depth in the pan that you had when it contained just the fruit and onion, and it is moist enough to not risk sticking to the pan, leave to cook.
• After about 15 minutes, the chutney should be thick and bubbling. Remove from the heat and pour into clean, pre-heated glass jars.
• Store for 1 month or more before using; ripens and improves with age.