Autumn Fuji Apple Crostini with Whipped Herbed Goat Cheese, Bourbon Caramelized Shallots, a Drizzle of Winter White Honey, + Fresh Basil on Bacon Fat Fried Baguette Rounds

Autumn Fuji Apple Crostini with Whipped Herbed Goat Cheese, Bourbon Caramelized Shallots, a Drizzle
of Savannah Bee Company's Winter White Honey, + Fresh Basil on Bacon Fat Fried Baguette Rounds

This recipe has quickly become my most requested appetizer by my friends + family. Every time I pull these out for a party, it literally turns into a party because everyone is so psyched that I had made them. In fact, they are so fabulous that I couldn't wait one more day to share this recipe with you. I had every intention of waiting until October/November because I actually named them "Autumn Fuji Apple Crostini". But it's just so damn good that you don't even care... you know when you sneak downstairs to eat ice cream for breakfast? Oh, y'all don't do that. Scratch that... me either (okay, I totally do). Anyway, funnily enough, this apple crostini was inspired by one of my favorite sandwiches, called "The Green Goat", from Starland Cafe in Savannah, Georgia. If you ever get to visit SAV (the city of my soul), you must go and eat there. All of their food is amazing, so there isn't really a bad choice on the menu. It is in the most adorable, painted bright blue, townhouse and it just makes you feel like you're at home and your mom is making the best panini in the world. So this "Great Goat Sandwich" starts off with grilled ciabatta bread, and then is smothered in whipped, herbed goat cheese, and layered with slices of a tart granny smith apple and caramelized onions before gets a drizzle of honey, and makes its way into the panini press to get all crispy on the outside and ooey-gooey in the middle. If you are adventurous like me, ask them to throw some bacon on the sandwich. Trust me, you'll thank me later! So after we tried the life-changing, mind-boggling, smack-yo-mama panini, I just knew I had to use those same flavors in one of my new recipes-- and boy did it work! Instead of a big, messy sandwich, I flipped the game up and made them into crostini. And they have been a hit ever since, not messing with y'all, my friends have an apple crostini radar or something because they show up the second that are assembled. So here's the game plan for y'all...

1. Start off by caramelizing your bourbon shallots (you can use onions, but shallots bring me life)
2. Make the herbed, whipped goat cheese until it is nice and fluffy
3. Slice up the baguette into rounds and fry them in bacon fat until they are lightly golden brown, but still have a little chewiness to it. You don't want a crumbly mess on your hands (And I know some of you aren't southerners and don't have 10 mason jars of bacon fat in your fridge, but we do, so if you don't, just use another oil)
4. Get all the side work done... thinly shave the Fuji apple, mince up the fresh mixed herbs, and get your honey ready
5. Assemble.... and demolish till you can't nom no'mo

Don't they already look so pretty?? I mean that's just bread, cheese, and onions, y'all! But I'm going to lay a truth bomb on you, you need a very specific kind of honey to make these crostini really go above and beyond. And apparently I'm only celebrating Savannah businesses today, so shout out to all of the lovely people there. You have probably have heard of Savannah Bee Company because it's at most grocery stores in the Southeastern region. Hopefully, your local store will carry the honey of all HONEYS, it's called Winter White Honey . Essentially what happens is a Savannah Bee spins together honey from the wildflower fields of the Rocky Mountains, forming it into a crystallized honey that is creamy, smooth, spreadable, and absolutely delicious. If you can't find it at the store, you can order it online some Savannah Bee Company or Amazon, and I promise it is worth buying!!

two large, glorious jars of winter white honey 

Anyway, once all of tasks are finished and your mis-en-place is all set up, it's time to start assembling them. Grab one of you bacon fat fried crostini, spread on a thick layer of the whipped, herbed goat cheese, followed by a lovin' spoonful of those bourbon caramelized shallots, and a couple thinly sliced shavings of Fuji apples. Now, gather up all of those semi-assembled bread rounds and place them onto a serving dish, grab a small spoon and just start drizzling that whipped, caramel-y honey all over the tops of the crostini. If you love honey (and this is pretty concentrated honey I must say), then go all out... if you're not into the sweet-salty-savory combination, then just do a tad. It's honestly up to y'all!! All that's left to do is to garnish with some minced up fresh basil (and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes if you want a little bit of a kick). And they're done... that's it! I hope that y'all will get around to trying this recipe because it is quickly climbing to the top of our list as one of our favorite things to me!! Enjoy y'all :)

For the Whipped Herb Goat Cheese:

4oz Softened Cream Cheese (room temperature)

½C Heavy Cream (chilled)

10oz of Goat Cheese

¼C Mixed Fresh Herbs (we used basil, rosemary, chives, thyme, + parsley), Finely Minced

Salt + Pepper, To Taste 

For the Caramelized Shallots:

6 Shallots, Thinly Sliced

4T Unsalted Butter

1T Bourbon

Salt, Pepper, + Heavy Pinch of Sugar

For the Autumn Fuji Apple Crostini:

1 Skinny French Baguette, Sliced into Rounds

Rendered Bacon Fat, For Frying the Bread (olive oil is a good substitute)

Prepared Whipped Herb Goat Cheese, (room temperature)

1-2 Fuji Apples, Thinly Sliced (any apple will do though, but Fuji has been the best flavor)

Savannah Bee Company’s Winter White Honey, For Drizzling on top of the Crostini

Fresh Mixed + Minced Herbs, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Whipped Herb Goat Cheese: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the softened cream cheese, roasted garlic cloves, and salt until thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides and turn the mixer to medium-high speed and add in ¼C heavy cream. Continue whipping, while continuously adding a little bit of crumbled goat cheese at a time, until the goat cheese is combined throughout. Add in the remaining ¼C heavy cream and beat on high until it is light & fluffy. Next, season with salt, pepper, + fresh mixed herbs to season it to taste for the goat cheese. And then, spoon this mixture onto the prepared crostini.

2. For the Caramelized Shallots: Remove the ends from one shallot and peel the outside "paper" layer. There will be onion layer of onion that needs to be removed. Once that layer is removed, the shallot will naturally split into to sections. Repeat with the other shallots. Heat a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat, and melt butter in the skillet. Thinly slice each shallot section creating rings. Add shallots to melted butter, and stir to coat shallots in the butter. Cook until shallots start to become translucent, stirring often, about 4 to 5 minutes. The shallot rings will begin to break into individual rings, which is a good thing. Add whiskey, and stir. Once whiskey is absorbed into the shallots, reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking, stirring often, until shallots are soft and caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes. Once they have been caramelized, remove them from hot pan to a bowl (this is an important because they need to cool, so it will not melt the whipped goat cheese).

3. For the Bacon Fat Fried Baguette Rounds: In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, and put in the rendered bacon fat. You will want about 1-2 inches of melted bacon fat. Next, begin to fry the baguette rounds for a couple minutes until they are golden brown and slightly crunchy. Repeat the bacon fat process as well as frying the baguette rounds until all of the bread has been fried/toasted. Let these cool for a few minutes.

4. Assembling the Fuji Apple Crostini: Spread a generous layer of your herbed whipped goat cheese on top of the cooled fried bread slices. Next, spoon on a dollop of the caramelized shallots and spread them out over the whipped goat cheese, making sure not to mix them up too much with all of the cheese. Now, thinly slice the Fuji apples and into the shape of a moon. Drizzle on some of Savannah Bee Company’s Winter White Honey all over the crostini. This honey is what dreams are made of… this white honey feels somewhat crystallized and packs double the amount of intense honey flavor anytime you use it. Finish it all off with a sprinkling of fresh mixed herbs. Place all of the crostini onto a big serving platter and enjoy every last bit, and I’m going to put it out there, these are the best crostini I’ve ever had!!

Herbed, Roasted Chicken Salad Fresh Raspberries, Crumbled Gorgonzola, Praline Pecans, Chopped Fuji Apple, Shaved Red Onion, Spring Lettuce Mix, + Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Springtime is quickly approaching the South, y'all. This can only mean that I can enjoy the weather outside on our porch for hours on end, go to the local farmer's market, and make yummy meals that are so fresh that they don't weigh you down. It's truly a gorgeous sight to see when all of Buckhead's flowers begin to bloom and I can actually enjoy it with the top down of my convertible. So when we went to the grocery store yesterday, we were craving something light and refreshing, and ultimately a salad is what we decided on. It begins with herbed, roasted chicken that is unbelievably moist. The rest of the recipe is easy-peasy. You just add all of the ingredients into a large salad bowl and toss it together. I love the balance of flavor that you get when adding fruit and cheese... one is slightly acidic + sweet while the other is creamy + salty. Raspberries and Gorgonzola just seems to be a match made in heaven, quite honestly. And hey, all cheese pairs beautifully with apples as well. But the other ingredients play their part as well, the thinly shaved red onion gives the dish a pop, the praline pecans give it some crunch, and the spring lettuce mix just soaks all of that goodness up. I love to pair creamy poppy seed dressing with any kind of fruit salad, so I made a classic recipe that is boosted up with some garlic, lemon zest, and white balsamic reduction. Really all you have to do is toss the salad together and enjoy :)

For the Herbed, Roasted Chicken:

2 Skin-On, Bone-In Chicken Breasts

2T Dried Herbs (we used a mixture of basil, thyme, oregano, & cilantro)

2T Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

2-3T White Balsamic Reduction

¼C Fresh Herbs (we used a mixture of basil, thyme, parsley, & oregano

¼t Dried Red Pepper Flakes

For the Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing:

¾C Mayo

¼C Buttermilk or Heavy Cream (you can add a little more or a little less if you want it thicker)

3T White Balsamic Reduction

6T Sugar

8t Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Lemon, Zested

1 Garlic Clove, Finely Grated using a Microplane

4t Poppy Seeds

Kosher Salt + Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

For the Salad:

Prepared Herbed Roasted Chicken, Pulled into Pieces

6oz Spring Lettuce Mix

8oz Fresh Raspberries

1C Praline Pecans (roughly chopped)

½C Crumbled Gorgonzola

½ of a Red Onion, Thinly Shaved or Sliced

1 Fuji Apple, Diced

Prepared Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with Pam.

2. For the Herbed, Roasted Chicken: Start off by washing and drying the chicken breasts and then toss them in the mixed dried herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the chicken breasts in the prepared pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Once they have cooled, discard the skin, remove the meat from the bones, and pull the chicken into bite size pieces by hand. Place the pulled chicken into a small mixing bowl and toss it with the white balsamic reduction, fresh herbs, and dried red pepper flakes. Season it to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. Set the chicken aside while you assemble the salad.

3. For the Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing: Put the mayo into a mixing bowl and whisk until it is smooth with no lumps remaining. Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking to combine; until you have reached you desired thickness. Finely grate a lemon for its’ zest and a large clove of garlic using a Microplane, and add it into the mayo mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season to your liking. Set aside while you make the salad.

4. For the Salad: In a large salad bowl, add in the spring mix, fresh raspberries, chopped praline pecans, crumbled Gorgonzola, shaved red onion, diced Fuji apple, and herbed roasted chicken. Toss those ingredients together until they are evenly distributed throughout the spring lettuce mix. Lastly you can either add the dressing, and then coat the entire salad with the dressing or you can serve the salads individually and drizzle the dressing over the top of each portion. 

Blood Orange Mulled Red Wine with Spiced Brown Butter

Blood Orange Mulled Red Wine

HI GUYS. I am terrible. I left y'all high + dry. But but but but, I can explain. See last week the world ended. What? You guys didn't hear? That's shocking, I know, but so true. Well, if you didn't hear, I'll give you the quick rundown of how it snowed two inches in Atlanta and the whole city shut down. I'm not making this up. Luckily for me, I work from home, so I really didn't experience anything too badly. Actually, we were quite excited at first...

the beginning of snow fall

yep, it snows in the south

starting to cover the ground

shots at 5AM in honor of the "state of emergency" 

snow day with my little pup.

See? We welcomed the snow, with open arms. I was tooooo excited, I hadn't seen snow since probably my middle school days. It started innocently enough, but then I got a phone call from my Mountain Man around noon, saying that he got released from work early due to the possible inclement weather. I was TOTES excited. However, I just waited and waited and waited... I watched the news. EVERY major highway, intersection, and street was practically shut down. Black ice was everywhere. Children were stuck at school, or worse, in school buses. Finally 9PM had rolled around I had yet to see my Mountain Man because he had been stranded for over eight hours. In the same spot. I mean it couldn't get any worse. I was stranded at home and couldn't possibly rescue him. It got so crazy, he and one of his friends, abandoned their cars and walked about 7 miles in the sleeting snow back to our house. I can't even tell you how crazy it all was, and it was all over a pathetic two inches of snow. People had to sleep in grocery stores, hospitals, gas stations, and even their frozen cars. It was just straight up ridiculous. By 10 o'clock, the Governor officially called a "State of Emergency" and cancelled all non-essential work/travel for two days. If you guys watch The Walking Dead, this is really how Atlanta looked. No joke. We had no food, or barely any at all, so we ate a lot of potatoes and leftover roasted chicken. Not fun. We did, however, have a lot of red wine... and blood oranges. So, I decided that I would try my hand at making mulled red wine. This classic winter cocktail never really gets enjoyed here because well it's always so-dang-hot and DEFINITELY not snowing. It was the perfect occasion. The flavor was boosted with those gorgeous red citrus fruit, fresh ginger, mulling spices, apple, a-whole-lotta-booze, simple syrup, and a homemade spiced brown butter. The brown butter/compound butter is perfect for any fall drink, but especially anything mulled or it would be fab in a hot buttered rum too! This was the bomb to drink while the snow kept collecting on the ground... and it warmed my Mountain Man up real fast. So all of y'all that are still cold up in the Northern states can enjoy it as well!! Enjoy :)

juicing the blood oranges.

winter citrus art.

gorgeous blood orange slices in mulled wine

a generous slice of homemade spiced brown butter

ready to drink!

For the Spiced Brown Butter:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Browned & Softened

2C Homemade Dark Brown Sugar (or store-bought can be used)

1 ½t Cinnamon

1t Fleur de Sel

½t Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Bourbon Smoked Paprika, & Ground Ginger

¼t Cardamom, Cayenne, & Black Pepper

For the Mulled Red Wine:

2 Bottles of Red Wine

4 Blood Oranges, Zests Peeled & Sliced

1 Apple, Sliced

1 Inch Knob of Fresh Ginger (peeled)

2 Cinnamon Sticks

¼C Mulling Spices

2 Star Anise Pods

1C Homemade Mulled Simple Syrup

1 Vanilla Bean Pod, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½C Brandy, Bourbon, & Apple Jack

Nutmeg, For Grating

Homemade Spiced Brown Butter, For Serving

Directions:

1. For the Spiced Brown Butter: Cream together the butter, spices and sugar. At this point you can roll up the mixture with parchment into a log. Cover well and refrigerate or freeze for later use. In the fridge the mixture will keep for two weeks, in the freezer a couple of months.

2. For the Mulled Red Wine:Peel the zests off the blood oranges, and then cut up one of the oranges into slices and juice the remaining three. Throw them into the pot, along with the sliced apple, cinnamon sticks, mulling spices, star anise pods, mulled simple syrup, vanilla bean pod, and fresh ginger. Let this mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the wine and bring back to a simmer, about another 5-10 minutes. Turn the heat off the burner and toss in the brandy, bourbon, and Apple Jack. Stir to combine.

3. For Serving:In a mug, add a tablespoon of the spiced brown butter. Top with a few ladles of blood orange mulled red wine. Grate some fresh nutmeg over the top and serve with a cinnamon stick for stirring. The ratio of the ingredients is really preference.

Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing Bread Pudding with Sausage, Apples, + Caramelized Leeks

Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing Bread Pudding with Sausage, Apples, + Buttered Leeks

Do y'all absolutely hate me?? I'm guessing that's the case... and I sincerely apologize. Blah blah blah, I know. I've been missing from the count and I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. That means blogging... regularly. So you probably have sooooo many questions--mainly why have I been MIA. Well, with the launch of my Etsy store, Haute + Heirloom, I have been slam-damn-packed. LIKE SERIOUSLY Y'ALL. If you haven't gotten the chance to check the store out, then please head over. I'm excited to announce that it has taken off and been uber-popular :) Yay, go me!! But today, I'm back... with a way-overdue recipe from Thanksgiving. I know, it's shameful, though it's far too delish not to share. This would be the perfect substitute for stuffing at your Christmas dinner table, so it's totally relevant. To get started, it's a play off of the popular holiday dish, but slightly different, because it is transformed into a savory bread pudding. Savory bread pudding is relatively new to the scene, mainly due to the fact that we all associate bread pudding as a sweet recipe. But y'all, don't fear it--embrace it!! It's my jam. Really. And to only make the situation better, the stuffing/bread pudding is loaded with cornbread, buttered leeks, sausage, caramelized apples, wine, fresh herbs, and a creamy custard. All of the components are soaked and baked until the middle is soft and smooth, but crusty and cooked throughout. I love the texture so much here. Sometimes stuffing/dressing can be far too dry or far too wet, this is substantial yet pillowy. You know what though, it's even better the next day!! Yes, it's very true... I love to slice up some of it, toss it in a french toast batter, and then fry it until golden brown & crispy. A french toasted-bread pudding-stuffing cake... OMG, melt in yo mouth. So, c'mon y'all, you gotta try this stuff, especially because I'm posting a recipe for the most killer Thanksgiving Club sandwich tomorrow. Don't wet your pants in excitement!! Enjoy :)

sliced up + ready to be french toasted :)

crispy fried sage

Oh just the most ridiculous Thanksgiving Club Sandwich

see dem layers??

You're gonna wanna piece of dat.

For the Thanksgiving Cornbread Straffing:

4C Stale Cornbread, Cut into 1-inch Cubes

4C Stale French Bread, Cut into 1-inch Cubes

2C Stale Crusty & Chewy Italian Loaf, Cut into 1-inch Cubes

1C Leeks, Cut into ½-inch Thick Slices (white & light green parts only)

2T Unsalted Butter

1T Olive Oil

1lb Ground Sausage (regular, spicy, or sage flavored sausage can be used)

2 Chicken & Apple Sausage Links, Cut into Small Cubes

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

1 Large Vidalia Onion, Chopped

2 Ribs of Celery, Chopped

2 Granny Smith Apples, Diced (you can leave the skin on or peel it off)

2T Maple Syrup

5 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1C White Wine

2T Fresh Sage, Minced

2t Fresh Rosemary & Fresh Thyme, Minced

1T Fresh Parsley, Minced

¼t Turmeric, White Pepper, & Paprika

5 Large Eggs

2C Chicken Stock (depending on how moist you liked your stuffing, you could add 1C more)

1 ½C Heavy Cream

1C Whole Milk 

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper, To Taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking dish with Pam. Set it aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the cubed cornbread, French bread, and Italian bread.

3. For the Caramelized Leeks: Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the leeks into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until the leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the 2T butter. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft, about 20 minutes. Remove the caramelized leeks into the bowl of cubed bread.

4. In a deep sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the ground sausage, making sure to break it up into small pieces and brown it well until completely cooked through. Remove the crumbled sausage by straining it from the fat in the pan, onto a paper towel to cool (making sure to leave the rendered fat behind to sauté the vegetables). Melt the stick of butter in the same pan and add in the chopped onions, celery, and apples, seasoning with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes or until translucent or caramelized. Drizzle the maple syrup over the sautéed vegetables and toss in the minced garlic. Continue to cook, over medium heat, until the garlic softens slightly and becomes fragrant. Carefully pour in the wine, add the herbs and seasonings, and cook to reduce the liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Pour this mixture into a bowl, along with the cooked sausage and bread.

5. Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together the eggs with the stock, heavy cream, and milk. Place the tossed, cubed bread into the prepared baking dish, making sure it’s an even layer and that each bread is mixed throughout. Distribute the vegetable-sausage mixture over the bread cubes, tossing well. Pour the liquid mixture over the bread (tossing a little to mix it well). Sprinkle the top with a little salt and pepper, if needed. Let the bread pudding soak for at least 3 hours, but can be soaked overnight and baked the next day.

6. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake for 15-20 minutes, and then remove the foil, and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the dressing is cooked through and the top is crispy. Keep warm until ready to serve.