Apricots with Goat Cheese and Almonds

Welcome to 2013!

The foundations for the southeast Asia trip have been started, I finally upgraded my phone, and I made and eaten a whole lot of awesome today. I. Am. Pumped. Oh, and it was sunny. It didn’t get above freezing, but that is absolutely beside the point. To see sun on the first of January, it’s a beautiful thing. Vitamin D is a total commodity at this point.

So these are goodies I brought to Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was just low-maintenance sandwich, cheese, crackers, and dips/chips kinds of stuff. That way no one has to slave over the stove two days in a row. I love it. It’s why I brought the salad and these apricots. We’ve turned Christmas day into a Mexican feast instead of Thanksgiving – Part II. Cue the coconut custard pie [which I’ll post soon!]. It’s like flan, but y’know, not. I can’t help but bring something new to the table most years while everyone else brings the usual goods. It’s an excuse to make new things. Speaking of, things I didn’t get to make but wanted to: Superfood Haute Chocolate, Chocolate Dipped Spicy Gingersnaps, Coconut Chai Coffee Cake, and Roasted Red Pepper & Bacon Goat Cheese Truffles. Someday. There is seriously too much food, so little time [which is exactly how I feel about travel].

So about these apricots — they’re supposed to be made with marcona almonds, which are a softer, sweeter, Spanish variety than the ones you’re used to seeing/eating, but they were out of them at both stores I went to. I substituted regular ones, and while good, I would highly suggest going out of your way for marcona. I can only imagine how absolutely perfect they would be with the creamy tang of goat cheese, and the sweetness of the apricot and honey. Regular almonds are pretty dang crunchy. I’m pretty sure I ate most of them that night, but that’s nothing new. It’s why I bring things like this to parties. I eat them like it is my job. Because it is. Sorta.

Inspiration: Shutterbean

Ingredients

  • dried apricots
  • marcona almonds
  • 4oz goat cheese, room temperature so it’s easily spreadable
  • 2 tablespoons chopped basil
  • raw honey to drizzle

Preparation

Make sure you have enough apricots as you do almonds. I had 30. Tracy at Shutterbean had 40. There is more than enough goat cheese for these amounts. Mix the basil into the goat cheese. Pipe little balls of the cheese onto the apricots with an icing bag [or make one!]. Top each with an almond. Make a mess Drizzle with the honey within an hour of serving.



5 thoughts on “Apricots with Goat Cheese and Almonds”

  • Aand now that coffee cake’s on my list of things I have to make. You’re right, there’s never enough time for all the good things that can be made. And all the fun places to be seen.

    I always want to like dried apricots, but then they still have that “fuzz” feeling to them…can’t eat/touch peaches either, unless someone else skins them for me. When I’m rich and famous and not in Italy, I’ll hire someone to come take the fuzz off of all the tasty fuzzy foods out there for me.

    • That cake. I’ve been drooling over that cake since it was first posted. I love it so.

      LOL — your poor fuzz issue. I think that totally warrants hiring someone to de-fuzz things. It’s like my weird texture issues with mushy things that shouldn’t be mushy [like wet bread, soggy cookies, pancakes with too much syrup, cereal that’s soaked up milk, etc] and the feeling of those little wood spoons that come in the individual apple sauce containers. It’s also why I don’t cook with wooden spoons. I’m not neurotic, I swear!! :p

      • Ewww, do some people like soggy cereal? I wolf down my bowls of it so I can beat the sog. Or just eat it straight from the box… And hmm, wooden spoons. When I come to Portland, I’ll stir everything, and you can peel everything. A kitchen match made in heaven!

  • These looks so good, and EASY. Appetizers, swift and sure! From the pics, I thought you were using blue cheese, and was all ready to write up a comment about substituting goat cheese–but you obviously beat me to the punch. 🙂

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