Saag Paneer with Pure Luck Feta

Boxing Day always puts me in the mood for curry and a pint. It's a welcome change after stuffing my face with holiday hams and sugar cookies. I use Pure Luck's raw milk feta in lieu of traditional paneer. This dish is super simple and will make your kitchen smell amazing. Because fish and company start to stink after a while.   

6 oz Pure Luck Feta
1 lb fresh spinach, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Kosher salt
2-3 tablespoons Sola Stella Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
1 pinch, red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon curry powder
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tablespoons tapioca flour
8 oz Lucky Layla Plain Yogurt 

Using a mortar and pestle or the flat part of a knife, make a paste with garlic, ginger and a pinch of kosher salt. Heat oil over medium heat and cook garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in evoo, about two minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in curry powder, salt and pepper, then add spinach and cook until it begins to wilt. Stir in a dusting of tapioca flour and cook until flour turns slightly golden (like a roux or gravy). Add plain yogurt and cook gently. Lastly, add feta and continue cooking until warmed though. Serve over jasmine rice, with naan. 

Mint Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches with Chevre Frosting

This is going to seem very Ebinizer Scrooge of me, but I do not like Christmas music. Apparently, I'm the only one at the shop that will develop an eye twitch after 8 hours of yuletide carols. However, one holiday tradition I can happily celebrate is baking cookies. I caught myself humming a familiar tune while baking these cookies... I blame the dairymaids.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup TCHO Natural Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Lucky Layla Golden Butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon mint extract

Frosting:
4 oz Pure Luck Chevre, room temp
4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 cup confectioners' sugar 

Directions:
Cream butter and cream together in a large bowl. Beat in egg and mint extract. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa, and salt together. Add flour mixture into creamed mixture in batches, beating well after each addition. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 5 hours. Heat oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, roll out cookie dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a small cookie cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10 - 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely before assembling sandwiches and frosting. For frosting, combine cream cheese, chevre, confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

*yields about 2 dozen cookie sandwiches

Devil's Gulch Hoagie

I consider myself a bit of a lunch snob. I won't settle for a quick bit of just anything and I avoid drive thrus at all costs. Sometimes this gets me into trouble and a side of me comes out that I refer to as "She Beast". She's an angry troll that you need to feed immediately. I take sandwich building very seriously, if it's not too late for lunch-pocalypse. This hoagie is loaded with the Cowgirl Creamery's winter seasonal - Devil's Gulch, a sweet and spicy triple cream. The parsley aioli and beautiful winter greens makes for one mean sandwich, perfect with a cup of soup. 

For Hoagies: 

4 bolillos

1 ripe avocado, sliced 

1 bunch escarole and micro greens 

1 round Devil's Gulch, sliced (each sandwich uses about a 1/4 round) 

For Parsley Aioli:

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 cup Stella Sola Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon fresh curly parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 

Directions: 

In a food processor, combine egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, and garlic. With food processor running, pour olive oil in a slow, steady stream, until mixture emulsifies. Add parsley and process to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside or cover and keep refrigerated until needed. To assemble hoagies, toast bolillos until lightly golden. Slice each bolillo open on one side. On bottom half, spread a generous amount of parsley aioli. Top with avacado slices, Devil's Gulch and greens. 

*Makes 4 Sandwiches 

The World's Easiest Mousse - 3 Ways

I'de like to think my quirkiness shows in my photography and recipes. Some people may think my frequent use of bacon and bourbon is unhealthy. Or that it's dorky to play Fire Place for your Home because you don't have a fireplace. It's true, I do my own thang. I took some TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles home to experiment with and make a few varieties of chocolate mousse. Naturally, I default to a bourbon bacon mousse. The egg nog mousse ended up being my favorite, but all three are delicious! And this really is the world's easiest mousse, just whip and chill. Then relax by the fake fire.

Egg Nog Mousse:
1/4 cup store bought egg nog, scalded in a sauce pan until hot
3 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles

Espresso Orange Mouse:
3 tablespoons brewed espresso, hot
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles
*Garnish with fresh orange zest

Bourbon Bacon Mousse:
1 tablespoon vanilla infused bourbon
3 tablespoons hot water
3 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles
*Garnish with chopped bacon

Whip ingredients in a standard blender or with an immersion blender. Poor single batch into a demitasse or ramekin. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight and garnish as directed above.