Gorgonzola Fig Crostini

Yesterday, I wrapped up some fun, low key Vday ideas. One of my favorite parts of the list? Staying home, cooking and eating together...but who am I kidding? This is never relegated only to Valentine's Day. Admittedly, this is one of my favorite activities. I also think that for a special occasion, it's nice to have multiple courses. Even if you start out with one small hors d'oeuvres and a glass of wine before dinner, it just makes the whole meal feel much more special. For this Valentine's Day dinner, I'm preparing a new find that I tested out for Superbowl and I have to tell you...it's pretty fabulous and destined to become a Humiston household staple. It's Gorgonzola Fig Crostini and mark my words, after one bite, you'll be hooked. It's no secret that I harbor a borderline obsessive love for all things sweet and savory and have been known to dabble in crostini from time to time. This recipe is the perfect way to fulfill both. And you may remember that I mentioned my new found taste for fig jam in January Favorites. I received more than a few questions about where to find it. Since I've been unable to find it for a reasonable price, I made my own. Scroll down for the super duper simple tutorial.

Gorgonzola Fig Crostini with Carmelized Onions
*Adapted from Recipe Girl
1/2 C Fig jam, at room temperature
4 oz Gorgonzola cheese (crumbled or soft), at room temperature
1+ tsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
1 Baguette, sliced into thin pieces
1 large onion, sliced not diced
1 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Turn your baguette slices into crostini by drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper and baking at 350 degrees for 5 minutes on each side. Separately, place gorgonzola crumbles in a mixing bowl along with a splash of desired dairy (whether cream or milk). I used merely a splash at a time just to hold the gorgonzola together so that it would be in spreadable, rather than crumbled form come spreading time. Place gorgonzola in a small dish and fig jam in another dish (again, if you can't find fig jam at your local grocery store, or simply do not want to pay $9 for a jar, scroll down for a tip on how to make your own) and crostini on a plate. In a small sautee pan, heat olive oil and add onions. Cook them on very low heat, stirring occasionally until they get brown, sweet, and delicious. Admittedly, when I made this last week, I did not give mine enough time to actually carmelize (which is why they are white in my photo, not golden brown). What can I say? The game was starting and I had to shake a tail feather. Though next time I plan to give 'em the full time the deserve, the onions were still soft and delish even if they weren't fully browned.

Put it all together:
Spread some gorgonzola on your crostini. Place a dollop of fig jam over the cheese. Top with a bit of carmelized onions. Enjoy!

And now for the Fig Jam tutorial. This was seriously so easy and so tasty. Let me know if you give it a try!
Fig Jam
*Adapted from Recipe Girl
1 C dried Black Mission figs
2 C water
3 tbsp granulated sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt

Cut stems off of figs.

In a food processor, combine figs and lemon juice, pulsing until it looks like this:
In a saucepan, combine chopped figs, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for a long time. The original recipe said 25 minutes, but after that time lapsed, mine looked like this:
Not exactly jammy, if you will. So I let it go for another 25 minutes, stirring occasionally or when it looked like it was necessary. Essentially, you want it to reduce enough so that it's thick and spreadable, not watery like the above photo. After the second 25 minute simmer sesh, it was ready to go, looking gorgeous to boot:
I mean, really, doesn't that look good enough to eat? And yes, there are a LOT of seeds in this bad boy. But don't worry, you hardly even taste them or notice they're there for that matter, and that's coming from a bona fide seed-hater. So is that simple enough for you? I'm going to go ahead and assume that this will also be out of this world on a grilled cheese sandwich...

So that's my Valentine's Day hors d'oeuvre. It's pretty, chic and tasty to boot. Oh, and notice the deep red and soft white colors involved? It's really the perfect holiday treat.

It's a Date

Shaun and I aren't big on Valentine's Day. Though a great excuse to celebrate during the post-Christmas season filled with bitterly cold days, there's something so...unromantic?...about forcing romance. Since this will be our tenth Valentine's Day together, we've moved past the over-the-top dinners and instead, use the day as a great reason to do something fun together; something we've been wanting to do but just haven't set aside the time to get 'er done.

Last year, Shaun and I headed into Manhattan for a relaxed day of strolling on the Upper West Side, eating Shake Shack burgers, fries, and milkshakes, and catching a showing of Gran Torino at Lincoln Square cinema. Greasy food and a nitty gritty Clint Eastwood flick - romantic, no? We topped off the night with a trip to the grocery store and a dinner at home for two. In fact, it was the first of many, many appearances of my Shrimp Sautee with Orzo. And the consensus of the day? A resounding 'yes, this is the best way to do Valentine's Day'. No stuffy restaurants, no spending a fortune on a fancy steakhouse dinner. Instead, just a day of things that we had wanted to do for months - see a decent flick at my favorite New York City movie theater and test out the highly touted chic fast food at the Shack.

Since it was such a success, we decided that this year should follow suit. And since Valentine's just so happens to fall on a three day weekend, we can have a mini-vacation without ever leaving a 5 mile radius. Here's what's on tap:

1. Visit the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA

2. Revisit Shake Shack or somewhere equally as delicious and inexpensive for a seriously decadent lunch

3. Make dinner together at home and enjoy while watching one of the many films on our To See list (this includes but is not limited to: Inglorious Basterds, The Big Lebowski, I Love You, Man...)

And since the specifics of the day are not set in stone, it got me thinking of some fun and relaxing things to do on any day, let alone Valentine's Day. And the best part? You don't need a significant other to enjoy any of it! Whether with a significant other, your mom, a friend, or even solo, here's some low key Vday ideas:

Early morning movie sesh. And by early, I mean first showing of the day early. Not only will you pay half price, but you're likely to have the theater to yourself! (tested and proven!)

Cook together. Fortunately, Shaun and I have found a mutual love of all things food which include preparing it and, of course, eating lots of it. Is your man or lady kitchen-deficient? No worries. Put on a fun iPod playlist and divy up the tasks. If one of you makes a mean pasta, but the other can't even boil water, hand over some simple tasks to the culinary-challenged, like setting the table or slicing up cheese for a wine & cheese aperatif. Are neither of you kitchen-savvy and don't care to learn? Set a pretty table and order in!

Drink delish cocktails. If you want to get out, but don't want to break the bank, head out for an early evening cocktail before heading home for dinner. Places like Sweet Revenge in the Village offer wine pairings with, wait for it, cupcakes. One drink can really be a fun and special treat. (And yes, I do plan to hit up Sweet Revenge in the very near future so stay tuned)

Make a list of fun things to do together over the coming year, not just on a special occasion. Why only make the effort on Valentine's Day? By making a list of things that you want to do together, it keeps the fun going all year long. Shaun and I recently created a list of places we've been wanting to go and restaurants we want to try. Our list ranges from visiting the Statue of Liberty (yup, both born 'n bred in Jersey and currently live in the same town as Lady Liberty, and neither of us has been since we're kids) to enjoying fondue at Artisinal to exploring the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA (which we hope to scratch off the list this weekend) to testing out Bobby Flay's burgers at Bobby's Burger Palace in Paramus (a place I've yet to venture). 

And now, in the spirit of the season, check out a major throwback image of Shaun and me...

So what are you doing this Valentine's Day? Getting gussied up for a night on the town? Staying in with your besties? Continuing a special tradition?

No Reservations About Prague

This past Monday on Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, one of my all-time favorite cities was featured - Prague, the city in which my sister Kimberly decided to study abroad and Shaun and I deemed the perfect opportunity to catch some Eastern European culture.

From the cobblestone streets to the orange-topped homes, the former Soviet stomping ground just so happens to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world and one in which I could picture myself living. While remnants remain of the Soviet regime - buildings with rowed windows and smokey, underground cave-like clubs and bars – the untouched nature of the city brings an experience of Old World excitement over the history that has passed here. On the famed Charles Bridge, orange rooftops dot the horizon and winding cobblestone streets weave their way through the city.

Oh, and did I mention the food? After watching Tony's recap of the picturesque city in his signature snarky tone that I love so much, I couldn't help but wish I was back there. His completely accurate rundown included the staples of any visit to Praha:

Lots and lots of beer. In fact, Prague is the home of beer. From widely-known Pilsner Urquell to local varieties like Budvar and Staropramen (which by the way, I enjoyed this past summer at Zepplin Hall, the Jersey City Biergarten!) to serious microbrews that are merely numbered or named after someone in the bar, there's never a shortage and there's never a time too early to start drinking.Shaun enjoying a beer of the Budvar varietyLots and lots of meat. Sausage, to be specific. I'm not sure what it is about Europe and meat products, but just as we did during our trip to Germany in '06, Shaun and I left Ceska in dire need of a vegetable diet detox to compensate for the extreme overconsumption of pork and venison (a meat served up with whipped cream and berries...really). Consuming this for days on end can really get to ya. Tony travels to the outskirts of Prague, where locals break down entire animals in their own backyards to stock up on meat for the winter...a culturally telling display that was enough to make even a serious carnivore such as myself squirm in my seat.

Lots and lots of fried cheese. At the bottom of Wencelsas Square, a place where KFC and McDonald's fill in the gaps between local eateries, a street cart, the true test of a culture’s food, serves up mayo-slathered fried mozzarella cheese sandwiches so delicious that it’s impossible to eat just one. The cheesy goodness is a standout, not only due to its salty, gooeyness but also due to its reminiscence of high class Jersey Shore fried fare...only at no Jersey Shore I've ever known. Your only concern will be what to wash it down with and the answer inevitably reverberates: hot wine.Kimmi and I warm up with hot wine after getting stuck in the rain (note the wet manes!)

Served with a bit of cinnamon bite and a slice of orange, hot wine is the ideal beverage for a city plagued by cool weather for most of the year. It warms from the inside out, just as a good adult beverage should.

Things he neglected to highlight:
Outdoor cafes chock full o'lattes. One of my ultimate loves in Prague is the abundance of outdoor cafes with large heating units, keeping us warm while we sipped on creamy, indulgent lattes in the middle of March. Oh, what a world where this is common practice in the middle of the day. Enjoying lattes at our favorite cafe

Our favorite musical quartet. Though Tony does not point this out, one of my, Shaun's and Kim's favorite/most interesting/most mind-boggling memories from the trip was a musical quartet – one man on a cello, one on a clarinet, one on guitar and one keeping the beat by tapping a CD case.

Drums? Who needs ‘em? I should mention that with fried cheese sandwich and alcoholic beverage in hand, there’s nothing left to do but to people watch. After all, the next CD tapping musician could be just around the corner.

So what do you think? Did you watch No Reservations on Monday? Have you been to Prague? Have you traveled anywhere with absolutely amazing or memorable food options?