Chevre Tartine Recipe

We're hosting a family gathering this weekend so my baby Aria can meet Papa's entire family. To prep for the party, I experimented and made a few tartines today using leftover baguette bread, chèvre, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, flat-leaf parsley and dill. Once the chèvre was warm, I sprinkled it with coarsely chopped sesame cashew nuts for extra crunch.

The reason I made these little appetizers is that my husband Lulu is a vegetarian. I'm going to serve a few vegetarian bites so Lulu won't starve, but the main dishes are going to be all meat. Can't wait to see everyone; we haven't gathered every single member of Papa's family in the same room since I was a little girl. Now all the cousins are all grown up and married with kids; it's going to make me feel old for sure!

Parmesan and Hearts of Palm Crostini

These hearts of palm appetizers are a recipe for success. Roasted red bell peppers meld with the sweet and mellow warmth of roasted heads of garlic in this hot dip that is used as the topping for these vegetarian appetizers. The main ingredients are baby spinach, hearts of palm and invigorating Serrano peppers.

Spread the dip on grilled bread, sprinkle with a little cheese and pass through the broiler for a few minutes; you'll have the most amazing crostini ever!

Tomato Crostini with Anchoiade

After Mike from New West KnifeWorks sent me their 9-inch Chef Fusionwood knife, I went on a crazy chopping spree. Just like many of their knives, which are, by the way, all manufactured here in the US, this Chef knife is pretty nifty. I chopped a tomato medley (Heirloom peach tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, sweet 100 and San Marzano tomatoes) with a few grapes from our garden. With the razor-sharp blade, I was able to comfortably cut all the fruits. I quickly sautéed them in garlic with roasted green bell peppers and sweet peppers that my husband Lulu planted several months ago. I used the mixture as a topping for crostini and finished them with Manzanilla green olives wrapped in anchovies. 

New West KnifeWorks is giving away a block set of 7-piece Fusionwood knives (a $995 value!) and you have a chance to win. Sign up for the contest through August 13^th to win one of the 7-piece block sets on Facebook and Twitter. You can also register on New West KnifeWorks' microsite. Good luck!

Shrimp Crostini with Saffron Aioli (+Saffron Giveaway)

This is a recipe that combines two of my favorite ingredients: shrimp and saffron. Specifically, I made a shrimp crostini with saffron aïoli. I flavored the mayonnaise with garlic and freshly ground saffron threads. I placed the shrimp on a bed of toasted bread to create a nice contrast of texture. The taste of the saffron is so intense in the aïoli sauce that it feels almost sinful.

Today's giveaway is an awesome combination of pure saffron threads & vanilla from Saffron.com. There are few things in this world as fragrant, exotic or luxurious as saffron. I love using it in drinks, savory and sweet dishes. It's as versatile as it is unique. Quality can vary greatly, and the saffron from Saffron.com is some of the best I've had, which is a tribute to the passion of the owner, Juan. For a chance to win, just enter on our 25 Days of Giveaways page.

We’re in the home stretch of the giveaways, and we have some really special ones in store for you, including a Zojirushi rice cooker, some very fine chocolates from John Kelly Chocolates, and a huge assortment of AMAZING goat dairy products from Redwood Hill Farms. Don’t forget to enter!

Make sure you're a fan of PhamFatale Facebook fan page or follow @Phamfatalecom and tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy, you can just copy and paste this tweet if you’d like: "Win Saffron and Vanilla #Giveaway from @Phamfatalecom: http://bit.ly/sp4V7y".

Goat Cheese and Fig Crostini Recipe

We were lucky enough to be able to pick a lot of figs in our garden this year. We had so many, I made several kinds of fig preserves. One of my favorite ways to use fig preserves is to pair it with goat cheese and it just so happened that I received delicious goat cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre today. I spread the two ingredients on crostini for a nice contrast of texture and flavor. I grilled day-old baguette and smeared a layer of goat cheese. The warmth from the bread let the goat cheese ooze and become creamier. The last layer was the fig preserves. I have to admit this easy appetizer is my favorite snack. I love them and could eat a ton!

I have a little story that might sound silly to you but Cypress Grove Chevre goat cheese is very dear to my heart. I remember when I first got married, my husband Lulu surprised me and took me on the 17-mile drive in Carmel, which I had never seen before. I remember he prepared the most romantic picnic on the beach and fed me wonderful Cypress Grove chevre. I had never heard of the company before that picnic but the cute packaging and beautiful scenery has since made it unforgettable to me. The cheese is rich and creamy and absolutely captures what I love about French chevre. It is one of the few American-made cheeses I’ve had that rival its French counterparts.

Cypress Grove Chevre will be a part of our December giveaways, so be sure to check back for your chance to win. Doesn't that sound awesome?