photo by: Alan Richardson

This recipe for poached halibut with lemon and capers sounds so good and easy – you know I’m a sucker for recipes with a low number of ingredients.

Throw together a simple salad, or choose a fancier one like Rachael’s Beet and Walnut Salad.

Slice crusty bread and you’re done.

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©iStockphoto.com/Ivan Mateev

My friend Stacy Fisher Hamby is a great, healthy cook and I love getting recipes and dish ideas from her. She posted this recipe for Fig and Pear Tapenade with Whipped Honey Goat Cheese on Jackson Whole Grocer’s website and I made it for a party a few months ago! YUM.

She keeps the fig and pear separate from the whipped goat cheese and I’m sure it looks absolutely gorgeous and fancy like that. I just mixed all the ingredients together because  I didn’t want my guests to have to balance the topping mixture on top, and  I didn’t want to spend the time doing it ahead of time!

Either way, it comes out really well and is an easy make-ahead party food.

Fig and Pear Tapenade with Whipped Honey Goat Cheese

I love this appetizer because it is so incredibly easy to make, and even easier to serve. This recipe thrives throughout late summer when figs are in season, and also in fall when pears are best.

• 1 pear, chopped into small cubes
• 15 dried or fresh figs, sliced thinly lengthwise
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 t lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl.

• 1 small goat cheese tube (4 oz)
• 2 T honey

Whip goat cheese and honey (by hand) until smooth. To achieve a creamier and sweeter cheese mixture, add more honey as desired.

• 1 fresh baguette, sliced thinly
  *May also be toasted after slicing

Self-service for your guests. Spread cheese/honey mixture onto a slice of bread and top with a tablespoon of fig/pear mixture. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings

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The Economist

I have never made bread at home, probably because I like immediate gratification and bread takes a reeeeally long time. This bakery is inspiring me to develop patience, though.

http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/story/bread-going-green

As customers trickle in and out, many comment on the bread, which tastes pure and anachronistic. It is the kind you wish you could make at home. “I’m so glad someone is making such wonderful sourdough here,” says an elderly man. The sourdough are proved – i.e., left to rise - for up to 48 hours, which allows the bread to develop in flavour and texture. “It’s also healthier,” explains Glendinning, “because as gluten matures it becomes more fragile and easier to digest, unlike supermarket breads.”

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It was a gorgeous meal, and honestly, so simple that I often make it for myself when I feel like putting a little extra effort into my dinner and making something special.

Sole Meuniere (adapated from Ina Garten)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Vege Sal
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 fresh sole fillets (3-4 ounces is a good size, but you can buy them as large as will fit in your pan)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

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By Jason Merritt, Getty Images

So it was a fun time.

By the way, I love love love the Fug Girls for the red carpet rundown. Check them out, if you haven’t already.

Anyway, back to the shindig: I made two kinds of tea sandwiches, lemon cookies, my skinny margaritas and a grapefruit champagne cocktail that knocked me on the floor because it was SO tasty that I couldn’t stop myself. So tasty that I forgot to take a photo of it, even as I announced to everyone in earshot how good it was and how it was definitely going on BB&B in the morning. So tasty that I didn’t wake up in time to write this post before morning class and am now posting it well into the afternoon and frankly Ithinkwe’veallbeentheresothere. OKAY?

Raspberries on lemon cookies

The spread

Please continue for the recipes . . .

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

• white bread (I used wheat, but I think it would be better with white)
• seedless cucumber
• cream cheese/Tofutti
• salt

Cover bread with cream cheese (or Tofutti, which I used for a vegan friend and it actually tasted really good and was far fewer calories, so I am now a Tofutti fan). Peel a seedless cucumber, cut very thin slices, and place on the cream cheese-covered bread. Sprinkle salt over the cucumbers. Put the top piece of bread on and cut crusts off.

Apple and Boursin Open-Faced Tea Sandwiches

• oat bread
• Boursin cheese
• apples
• curry powder

Cover bread with Boursin cheese. Cut thin slices of apple, of whatever kind you like: I used Red Delicious, but green apples would be tasty also if you like a more tart flavor. Place on bread and sprinkle a tiny bit of curry powder over the apples.

It’s helpful for spreading to have the cheese at room temperature and the bread a little frozen. I popped it in the freezer for about half an hour before starting. I cut the open-faced apple sandwich into triangles, and the cucumber sandwiches into rectangles. It’s also fun to use cookie cutters to cut them into shapes.

Grapefruit Champagne Cocktail

• champagne/sparkling wine
• grapefruit juice
• Grand Marnier

Pour a glass of champagne or sparkling wine 3/4 full. Pour in grapefruit juice until the glass is almost full, and top with a splash of Grand Marnier. Enjoy attempting to exercise more self-control than I did.

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Aside: I have discovered that I LOVE BUTTERMILK. That is all.

The farls came out thick, soft, crispy on the outside, and with a lovely flavor that really doesn’t need anything changed. The buttermilk did its work well! These would be perfect for simple and healthy breakfast entertaining. Just cut into triangles and put out all sorts of garnishes: butter, jam, soft cheeses, yogurt, honey, maple syrup, nutella, marmalade, clotted cream, some fruits.

I served them with butter and jam, and later, ate them with a soft Brie-like cheese and cured meats. Then I left town for a week, and when I came back they were still moist! Amazing. I dipped a piece in greek yogurt for a tangy snack. In other words, I highly recommend with anything you can think of.

Please continue for the recipe.

Buttermilk Oatmeal Farls
Adapted from living in the woods and making stuff

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix oats with 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (reserve the remaining 1/2 cup for later) in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or put parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Stir flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small mixing bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to buttermilk oats mixture to form a soft dough. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Put dough on baking sheet and shape into a flat circle, about 1 inch thick. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until set and crispy on top.

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I whipped this up for the Super Bowl and for the Opening Ceremonies, and it was a big hit – which is saying something when it’s competing with nachos, cake, brownies, chips, etc.

Dill, Sour Cream and Onion Vegetable Dip
Adapted from Recipezaar

Don’t forget vegetables for dipping – baby carrots, broccoli florets, red and yellow peppers, snow peas, or cucumbers are all great choices.

• one 16 ounce container of sour cream (I used full fat, but feel free to try lower fat sour creams)
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 of a sweet yellow onion, minced
• one small container of baby dill (about 1/4 cup before chopping)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Vege-Sal

Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together. Yes, I made this in a very unattractive plastic tupperware because I was bringing it over to my mom’s later for the Opening Ceremonies and didn’t want to dirty an extra dish. I’m practical like that.

Remove the dill leaves from the stalk.

Chop finely.

Chop the onion and add, along with the Worcestershire sauce and salts. Mix thoroughly and add seasonings to your taste.

Chop up whatever veggies you chose and dunk away!

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