Figs & fig jam are so good with cheese I thought why not add them to the ultimate cheese dish, mac & cheese. To step up the cheese flavor I used two types of cheese, cheddar & brie. Oh, what a rich cream mac & cheese. The goat cheese melted beautifully & has such wonderful flavor. The figs are surprisingly good in here & their sweetness cuts through the richness nicely. It's a pretty classy version of mac & cheese that I think would make a great side dish with a lovely steak.
Figgy Mac & Cheese
3 oz penne pasta, cooked
1 t unsalted butter
2 t all-purpose flour
6 T milk
1.5 oz Woolwich goat milk cheddar, chopped
1 oz Woolwich goat milk brie (I removed the rind. That is a personal choice but the rind won't melt as smoothly)
1 t white wine
salt & pepper
3 dried black mission figs, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour & stir while cooking for 1 minutes. Whisk in the milk & cook until hot, thick & bubbly. Next, whisk in the cheese until melted. Stir in the wine then season with salt & pepper to taste.
Mix the cheese sauce with the cooked penne & chopped figs. Pour into a small ramekin. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown & crispy on top.
One main dish serving or two sides.
Figgy Giveaway!
See those dried figs I used here & the ones in the Figgy (Bread) Pudding earlier this week? Well, those were graciously given to me earlier this year by the CA Fig Advisory Board. They are just so handy to have in the pantry to add a little something extra to recipes or make a quick appetizer. Now they want to send one of my readers a fig gift pack too. One winner will get dried Calimyrna and Black Mission figs, a fig t-shirt, a shopping tote & lots of fig recipes. Here's how to enter....
1. Leave a comment here telling us how you'd use your dried figs. You MUST have an email where we can contact you in the comment or on your profile. Comments need to be left on the post do not email us to enter.
2. Twitter about this giveaway & let us know with another comment.
We will chose a random winner from all entries on Wednesday, December 15th. Contest is open to US residents only.
Hey, while you are entering to win why not also vote for us in Iron Foodie 2010!?
Disclaimer: The CA Fig Advisory Board has sent me figs & a fig gift package plus a package to giveaway to a reader. They did not pay me in any other way to write about figs or tell me what to write.
Disclaimer 2: Woolwich Dairy compensated me through Kitchen Play to develop recipes using their goat cheeses.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski
28 comments:
You know? I love figs, but haven't had any in recent memory. All the wonderful figgy recipes I'm seeing lately, have reignited my desire. LOL! That sounds like a great gift I'd love to play with.
And that mac & cheese of yours, just might be first! Yum!
Love FIGS! I would make a fig simple syrup for holiday cocktails or a fig and pistachio biscotti.
I would love to use figs to make a recipe for fig and walnut tapenade I've had for ages and haven't been able to try yet.
Not to be uncreative, but I want to use the figs to try this recipe! Looks amazing.
Yum! I would probably throw together a quick fig vinagrette for a spinach salad with goat cheese and toasted walnuts.
Ooh...I'd make cucidati (fig cookies), a fig conserve for a cheese platter, add some to my next batch of granola, and I just found a great recipe for Figgy Cranberry sauce that I marked to try!
Muffins! Salads! Maybe something with wild rice (instead of the apples or cranberries that I sometimes see in wild rice dishes.) Yum!
missionamanda at gmail dot com
They'd go perfectly with a cheese and nut platter during the holidays. Or better yet, reconstituted for a jam!
Contact (at) duodishes (dot) com
I think I would make @Burp_Blog's Lamb Burgers with Figs, Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese. That recipe calls for fresh figs, but i think the dried figs would be just as fun. I would, of course, also try your incredible mac & cheese.
And I just re-tweeted about your fun contest.
I'd used them for a fig bread pudding of my own . Thanks!
Chris
zekks at yahoo dot com
I would coat dried figs in bittersweet chocolate and add a sprinkle of sea salt on top. Delicious!
I'm too far away from you for the fig pack BUT still wanted to say what a great idea to have mac and cheese with figs - love that its a bit of fun that turned out so delicious!
Love this combination! If I won the figs, I would make this dish!!!! Dried figs are not really prevalent where we are, so it would be really special to receive some for holiday baking!
I think served with great bread, honey and gorgonzola. I'd want to treasure each one fairly simply.
I think I would make a muffin or some sort of dessert! There are so many yummy things I could make with those!
glm612 at hotmail dot com
Figs are great as a puff pastry pizza with goats cheese. I carmelize the figs with balsamic and put it on the puff pastry (cooked) with goats cheese. Makes a great appetizer.
You know, I've never thought about adding that subtle sweet element to macaroni & cheese. But, it's a great idea. I love figs & goat cheese! I might try making my own version of this dish.
Of course, I also love making fig bars -- which is probably what I'd do with these lovely fruits.
I would make these fig/blue cheese bundles!
http://pinksposts.blogspot.com/2010/09/fig-and-blue-cheese-bundles.html
I'd probably add those figs to a salad or rice pudding or serve them on a cheese plate with our honey.
isn't there something called figgy pudding? i seem to recall a carol lyric referring to such. that's what i'd make, whether it exists or not. :)
I have a friend who loves figs, so I would send them to her for a gift.
I love figs, both fresh and dried.
Yum- figs would make a great addition to so many recipes! I came across one that sounds simple and would pair nicely with other holiday appetizers: Dried Fig, Brie, and Rosemary Bites (courtesy of Whole Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/143)
I would make my favorite dissh ( I have yet too post it) Pork Tenderloin with Port Wine Fig Sauce. SO GOOD!
i love fresh figs and have never had dried ones until my hubby bought me some, well i had a fabulous spread made dried figs and recreated and put my own spin on things. i reconstituted dried figs in red wine, then put figs, kalamata olives, garlic, and a few capers with pepper in a food processor bleding until spreadable, then i added chopped walnuts, this is perfect with goat cheese, sharp cheddar and crackers. yumm that is one thing i would do with my figs if i were to win,, I think the posabilities are endless.
I grew up in Fresno and miss fresh figs as I live in Wisconsin now. I'd create 'Fig Kuchen'. Why? Kuchen being an ethnic dish that I grew up coupled with figs (which is one of my favorite fresh and dried fruits of all time)would send me rapturously back in time. Thank you for the opportunity to think creatively!
I would most likely make some cookies!
I love figs and would be using them in my favorite Brandied Fig Cookies!
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