I recently had the chance to do a small catering job for my Mom, Lydia Williams who is an amazing photographer. She had many of her award winning photographs on metal and also featured on puzzles, Christmas cards, calendars, magazines and pamphlets at an exhibit held at our local library. One of the dishes I made was a goat cheese whip. It was a huge hit; everyone enjoyed this and it was a fabulous addition to my cheese board! So next time you are putting together a cheese board add this you will not be disappointed !
INGREDIENTS
5 ounces of goat cheese, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon honey, more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pomegranate arias, plus more for garnish
Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.
DIRECTIONS
In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl add goat cheese and cream cheese. Using the whisk attachment, whisk on high until light and fluffy, this takes a couple minutes. Add honey, salt and pepper. Whip again about 30 more seconds. Add pomegranates and fold into the mixture. Transfer to your serving container, sprinkle with additional pomegranate, drizzle with a bit more honey and serve with crackers or baguette slices.
If you would like to see some beautiful photographs please feel free to visit my Mom’s website at http://www.lydiawilliamsphotography.com
Enjoy!
This recipe comes from Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and it is so easy, moist and delicious! This will be making it on my dinner table many, many more times! The herb butter really keeps the chicken moist and gives such a nice flavor…not over powering at all! This is such a nice change from the usual chicken dishes! I should also mention our dog was going crazy while this was cooking and let me tell you she was dancing when it came out of the oven! She too enjoyed this dish!
INGREDIENTS
1 3 to 3 1/2 pound whole chicken
1 stick of butter
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped tarragon
DIRECTIONS
Bring your butter to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the butter, parsley and tarragon together until well incorporated. Using your hand slightly push the top of the skin away from the meat of the chicken and add all of the butter under the skin patting it down to make an even layer of butter under the skin. Place chicken on a roasting pan and roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to roast for another 35-45 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Enjoy!
I love one pot dishes that come together easily with everything I have in my pantry! To make this dish even easier I used a store bought rotisserie chicken. This is definitely a great dish on a cold evening. The BBQ sauce gives it that warm flavor and what’s not to love about a pasta dish with bacon! Add a salad and your dinner is complete!
INGREDIENTS
6 slices of bacon, diced
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 onion diced
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, not drained
1/2 cup milk
3 cups dry pasta shells
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded cheese
3/4 cup BBQ sauce, I used a honey BBQ sauce
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside. Add the onion and jalapeño to the pan and cook stirring frequently until the onion is tender and begins to brown. Stir in the chicken broth, tomatoes and the juices, milk and add the pasta shells, stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the shells are cooked al dente. Stir in the bacon, add the shredded chicken, corn and let warm through. Add the cheese and BBQ sauce stirring until the cheese is melted. Add salt if desired, remove from heat and serve warm.
Enjoy!
Over the holidays, I was planning a family Christmas party that included an overnight at a hotel in North Conway, New Hampshire. I needed to find a fabulous restaurant for us all to enjoy an early dinner before going to the hotel for some family fun. This proved to be a little difficult as many restaurants in the area do not take reservations and with the group of 20 people that included various kids raging from infant to late teens I really wanted to make sure the restaurant could accommodate that large group. A few friends recommended Moat Mountain along with a couple of my nieces who had been there and really enjoyed it. I called them and spoke with their manager who was absolutely incredible. Although Moat Mountain also does not take reservations they were more than accommodating and said not to worry they would take good care of us!
Before I tell you about the food and service I want to make sure you know where to find Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery. They are at 3378 White mountain Highway (Rt. 16) in North Conway, NH. They also have a website, and are on Facebook and Twitter so be sure to give them a little love and maybe a Facebook “like”! Their menu is extensive along with the beer they brew so be sure to check out their website and look at their menu. They also have a small inn that is on the second floor of the restaurant! Only five rooms that are cozy, modern and with king size beds. If you are in the area shopping, skiing or other fabulous things that North Conway offers, this would be a great place to stay!
This picture is an old ski gondola that they have in front of the restaurant! When you first walk in they have some fun signs hanging up at the entrance. A very cool feature in the restaurant is just in front of the hostess stand in the waiting area. There is a clear piece of glass on the floor that allows you to look at the actual brewing area and people working there to give you some great tasting craft beer!
Ok, ready to hear about the food? I’m ready to tell you and you are going to love it! I’m going to start with what seemed to be the most popular and most loved dish a number of people in our group ordered, the ultimate slider combo. This dish was $20.99 and worth every penny! This dish came with three different kinds of sliders. You get two of each kind… the traditional beef slider, crab cake slider and BBQ pork slider with chipotle aioli. That’s not all, you also get a mound, yes mound of Cajun fries that are absolutely delicious! I did not order this dish but the reviews from family members said it was amazing. Adam (my niece Becky’s boyfriend) particularly enjoyed the crab cake slider and he was nice enough to share his fries with me. They were perfectly spiced and crisp when it comes to flavored fries and these fries are at the top of my list!
Another crazy popular dish with my family was the BBQ Burger for $11.99. This burger is cooked to your desired doneness and finished with cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and thinly sliced red onion and Austin BBQ sauce! Every burger that came to the table was juicy and cooked to perfection for each individual! The burgers also came with a choice of hand cut fries or spicy Cajun fries. Also served with a homemade sour dill pickle spear!
Up next I’m going to tell you what I ordered! I had a house salad ($7.99) with a grilled lemon oregano marinated chicken breast ($4.99). I had this with the house made blue cheese molasses peppercorn dressing. I should add all of the dressings they offer are house made! My salad was fresh and crisp, just as you would want but the chicken, oh the chicken, absolutely juicy and full of flavor. This is the best grilled chicken I have ever had. I shared a bite with Adam and he also agreed it was tender and delicious with lots of flavor!
The last dish I am going to share with you is the soft Bavarian pretzel they serve as an appetizer, the pretzel is served with beer cheese made with their own Matilda’s Red Rage Ale! ($8.99) I have to apologize for the picture! It was crazy getting pictures with so many people and dishes but I do want to be sure to share it as the pretzel and dip were gone in an instantl…absolutely perfect! The beer cheese sauce was rich, smooth and full of flavor.
There is still so much more I want to tell you so I’m going to give you a few more highlights. I should also mention they work with many local farms to source the freshest ingredients!
Ok, so a few more menu items I thought were definitely worth mentioning starting with the appetizer’s. How does New England style hush puppies sound? These are served with New Hampshire maple syrup. I will be trying those next time or maybe you want to be a bit healthier and have this house made flatbread and hummus, but Jim was liking the look of the pot stickers!
There are just so many great choices throughout this menu! Lots of nacho and quesadillas and wood fired pizza to choose from. A number of the pizzas caught my eye, the BLT pizza looked like something I would enjoy! This was a cheese and marinara pizza that is cooked and then topped with crisp romaine, bacon, tomato and mayo mixed together and put on top of the pizza after being baked! Some other pizzas include a spicy black bean pizza, a Thai pizza and a BBQ chicken pizza!
A few other main entrees that I know would be fabulous is their grilled steak, sesame yellow fin tuna, ribs, chicken, brisket or maybe a hearty slice of BBQ meatloaf?! They also have many side dishes that you would recognize and enjoy and some with a twist…how about yam fries? Or would you expect black beans and Spanish rice?! The choices are endless and delicious!
I did mention this is a brewery and how we could see them brewing through a piece of glass in the floor right? Well there was plenty of beer flowing at our tables! Everyone was enjoying various ales from light pale ales to brown ales and wheat beers! They even have a blueberry ale, now that’s a New England beer for sure! They have a number of beers they keep daily but also have some great seasonal beers that are on the menu during various seasons. Some the the seasonal beers include a Belgian golden ale, Oktoberfest lager as well as an imperial stout to just name a few.
Needless to say not only is the food selection fabulous, but the large selection of beer will keep everyone happy. They also have a full bar if beer isn’t your thing!
Our experience at Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery was fabulous start to finish! I can’t end this post without telling you about the fabulous servers we had! With a group of twenty from infant to adults the food was all served at the same time and no one ever had an empty glass…all done with a positive attitude and smile! One of the best overall dining experiences to date! Thanks Moat Mountain! To all my local friends take some time to check out Moat Mountain you will LOVE it!
Enjoy!
Only three ingredients for this tasty dish. These would be great as an appetizer or a simple dessert. I made these over Christmas but with the berry jam it might be just as nice for Valentine’s Day! These are definitely best served shortly after coming out of the oven. They do need to cool slightly but don’t wait to long to take that first bite!
INGREDIENTS
1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
3-4 Tablespoons of Smuckers Fruit and Honey Triple Berry Fruit Jam
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Place the puff pastry sheet on top of a piece of parchment paper. Apply fruit spread evenly over the puff pastry sheet. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese on top. Roll up the puff pastry from both sides until both sides meet in the middle being sure it’s wrapped nice and snug!
Wrap the roll in parchment paper and place in the fridge for 30 minutes; this will make it easier to slice. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the roll has chilled, slice into 1/4 inch slices. Place each slice on the parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown. Let them cool slightly but enjoy warm!
Enjoy!
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