Fresh goat cheese, deeply flavorful Blenheim apricots (tangier and sweeter than Turkish apricots) and stubby, rich Marcona almonds are worth using here, because in a recipe this simple, the flavors are really noticeable.
I really enjoyed this recipe, very tasty yet easy to make. I had trouble finding Blenheim apricots in the store so I got them from Bella Viva Orchards online: http://www.bellaviva.com/blenheim-apricot
This was easy to make and the fresh basil was great. I soaked the apricots I had, in hot orange juice which had a splash of Grand Marnier. . The presentation was beautiful since I piped the goat cheese with a star tip. Everyone at the party, loved the flavor and texture combination.
Very easy to make and tastes fantastic. I agree that only 1 TB of milk is necessary. Also, I had only regular almonds with skins on, so I toasted them - tasted great!
Wow! We tasted the Bienheim apricots and they were incredible then tasted the Marcona almonds and were totally blown away. We don't care for goat cheese so we used a sheep's milk Feta. Worked wonderfully. Used a fresh sweet basil with a minimal licorice flavor. Couldn't decide if we liked them better with or without the honey so made a plateful of each. Definitely an outstanding recipe. Great for company.
I took this to a dinner party and everyone seemed to enjoy them immensely. They were easy to make and could be made the day ahead. I would be careful about adding too much liquid to the cheese. I think I added too much and mine mixture was a bit runny. It did harden in the refrigerator.
Made these tonight and enjoyed the apricot, honey and cheese combo. Fresh basil certainly adds a zing to it, while the almonds enrich the texture. Next time, however, I'd probably let the dried apricots soak in lukewarm water for a minute or two, so that they taste more velvety... sort of :)
Awesome recipe!
Thanks for the tip - I made the endive stufffed with goat cheese and walnuts and it was phenomenal!!! Loved it and so pretty too!
Pretty good and extremely easy, just not the perfect chemistry of flavors I was hoping for, especially with these high-quality (and not cheap) ingredients. I got the Laura Chenel, the Blenheims, and the Marconas. My only deviation was in using basil that comes frozen in little cubes. Maybe fresh basil would have made all the difference in the world. I'll probably never know! If you want a REALLY great appetizer from this site, look for the goat cheese, walnut & orange stuffed endive. It's fresh and delicious.
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