Azle Garden Tour, May 15, 2011

Time to eat!



Front walkway



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We are ready!

 Several months ago, our friend, Peggy Davis, an Azle resident and chair of the Green Scene committee, asked us if we would agree to have our home on the garden tour this year.  Benefits from the tour will go toward a new "welcome to the city of Azle" sign.  I not only agreed, but offered to do a cooking demonstration during the tour of our house.  Was I crazy or what?  I have a full time job, after all, and then the part time chef business.  My husband let me know right away that we would both be working in the garden overtime to make things look good.  We also were out of town for more than a week in March during prime "getting the garden ready" time, so our vegetable garden was a little late.  Somehow we got everything done and the garden(s) looked fine.  Then I had to figure out what to cook.  I decided on a crostini with Italian sausage, herb goat cheese, and heirloom cherry tomato jam.  I also made lemon cormeal cake with blueberry sauce and gave out samples of strawberry jam I had made with strawberries from our garden.  The recipe for the lemon cornmeal cake is in a previous post in this blog.


Lemon cornmeal cake with fresh strawberry jam



Lemon cornmeal cake with fresh blueberry sauce


Crostini
1 baguette, 2 inch diameter, cuit into thin slices
1lb. Italian sausage, grilled and cut into slices
cherry tomato jam
herb goat cheese

Heirloom Cherry Tomato Jam
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 pints heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 4 inch sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until translucent but not browned.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Increase heat to medium high and add the tomatoes, rosemary, and thyme.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes burst.  Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.  Serve at room temperature.

Herb Goat Cheese

8 ounces goat cheese
1 tsp basil, minced
1 tsp thyme, minced
1/2 T dill, minced
1/2 T cilantro, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp milk
1 pinch ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and roll into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to use.

Prepare the baguette by brushing with olive oil, then baking in 400 degree oven for 3 minutes, turn bake 3 more minutes.  Place on large tray, spread herb goat cheese, a spoonful of tomato jam, topped with a slice of sausage.


Crostini with herb goat cheese, heirloom tomato jam, and Italian sausage