Fried Goat Cheese Crusted-Pickled Green Tomato Napoleon with Candied Bacon, Brussel Sprouts Salad, & Boursin Cheese, Drizzled with Homemade Pepper Jelly + Balsamic Reduction

Fried Goat Cheese Crusted-Pickled Green Tomato Napoleon with Candied Bacon, Brussel Sprouts Salad,

& Boursin Cheese, Drizzled with Homemade Pepper Jelly + Balsamic Reduction

Yeah, I know what you're thinking... why does this girl continually post recipes that have titles as long as paragraphs. I'm sorry, I apologize, but I guess it's my thing. I want all of y'all to know, up front, what the dish is. Yes it can be overly descriptive and unnecessary, but whatever, it's necessary (minus the -un). This "salad" is so completely decadent that it is not even allowed to be called a salad. So, in my book, it's now a stack or a napoleon. I got some pickled green tomato slices and coated them with some goat cheese, and then crusted them in panko breadcrumbs... then they went straight into the skillet to get extra crispy. During that time I made some candied bacon and my favorite brussels sprouts slaw to put in between the fried green tomatoes. Because one creamy cheese isn't enough, I sprinkled some boursin cheese on the napoleon layers... we gotta do it up big here, y'all. I had also made some homemade pepper jelly a while back, and I love fried green tomatoes with the spicy, sweet jelly so I drizzled that around the plate, along with a balsamic reduction for acidity. There are so many components, yet they all fit together in such harmony. And I know there are a couple of you na'sayer's out there, not believing that I would have all of these ingredients just laying around... BUT, I did. This was literally a last minute dinner, roughly made at 8:30PM, for my Mountain Man who was starving. I don't know if that means I just have a well-stocked fridge or if I am just good with what I got... well, maybe a little bit of both (deal?). Who knew that you could make a dish that's so gourmet and delicious with stuff just lying around in the kitchen? I think I'm onto something here... maybe I need to do this once a week, just to challenge myself. I definitely think so!! Enjoy :)

Ain't nothin' wrong about that, y'all. 

For the Fried Goat Cheese Crusted-Pickled Green Tomatoes:

4 Slices of Pickled Green Tomatoes, Dried of Excess Moisture (we used a paper towel)

4oz Goat Cheese, Cut into 1oz Slices

1C AP Flour

1 Egg + ½C Buttermilk

1C Panko Breadcrumbs

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

Salt & Pepper, For Sprinkling

For the Napoleon Stacks:

Prepared Fried Goat Cheese Crusted-Pickled Green Tomatoes, Hot & Crispy

Slices of Candied Bacon

Homemade Shaved Brussel Sprout Slaw

Crumbled Boursin Cheese

Homemade Pepper Jelly, For Drizzling

Balsamic Reduction, For Drizzling

Directions:

1. To Make the Fried Goat Cheese Crusted-Pickled Green Tomatoes: Remove the pickled green tomato slices from their jar and place the slices on a paper towel. Let the tomatoes drain for 15-30 minutes. After they have drained, dry the tomatoes a little more with some paper towels, removing any excess moisture. Pinch off or cut off about 1oz of softened goat cheese, and then using your hands, pat the cheese to form a disc roughly the same size as the tomatoes (just work with the cheese until it is pliable enough to make the compact shape). Then, press the cheese into one side of the green tomato... you want to make sure that it is completely adhered to the tomato, so the two will remain together throughout the breading process (there is no right or wrong way to do this, just kind of play around with it in your hands until the cheese has filled in the gaps in the green tomato).  Next, you have to set up a battering station. I use 3 pie tins. For the first station, I used plain flour. For the second station, I whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. For the third station, I used Panko breadcrumbs. Now, place the slices of dried green tomato pickles into the flour mixture, then into the egg wash, and finally the panko (making sure they are completely covered). Put the breaded slices onto a plate and then put it into the refrigerator and let the slices rest & chill for about 15-30 minutes (this helps the cheese to get firm again, ensuring that the cheese won't leak out of the breading during frying).
2. Frying the Tomatoes:Heat your deep sauté pan to medium heat with vegetable oil. Once the oil has heated, pull the chilled slices out of the refrigerator. Fry the slices for 2-3 minutes each (depending on the size of your fryer, mine is pretty small, so I do 2 at a time). The green tomatoes should be golden brown on the outside, but cooked, yet still firm on the inside (with no goat cheese seeping out of the crust, so don’t overcook them). Once they are done frying, place them onto a paper towel to drain, and sprinkle them with salt & pepper immediately. Once all of the tomatoes are fried, you can begin stacking your napoleon.

3. Assembling the Napoleon: Place a slice of a fried green tomato pickle onto the plate, and then begin stacking with the candied bacon, brussel sprout slaw, and crumbled Boursin cheese. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until the napoleon stack has been finished. Garnish the stack with a drizzle of homemade pepper jelly and balsamic drizzle.