Festive Cranberry Pear Whipped Feta Dip (Cranberry Pear Balsamic)

Seasonal flavors make this dip just right for Fall and Winter. Pears, cranberries, and delicious feta cheese pull it all together.

What you will need:

• one large ripe pear (any variety)

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

• extra virgin olive oil

• one block of Feta cheese

• 3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

• 3 tablespoons of blood orange olive oil

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

• cranberry pear balsamic vinegar

Place thin slices of a pear on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil. Roast at 415 degrees until slightly caramelized. Set aside.

Sauté almond slivers in olive oil until lightly browned. Set aside on a paper towel.
Process the following in a food processor until creamy

• one block of Feta cheese

• 3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

• 3 tablespoons of blood orange olive oil

Stir 1/4 cup dried cranberries into the creamy cheese mixture.

Prepare the dip in the center of a large serving dish as follows"

• Lay out the roasted pears holding a few back

• Plop on the creamy cheese mixture

• Top with toasted almond slivers

• Drizzle liberally with cranberry pear balsamic vinegar

• Place remaining pears on top

Serve with crostini or toasted pita chips.

Roasted Fruit Bruschetta (Chocolate, Fig, Strawberry or Plum Balsamic & Flavored Olive Oil)

Bruschetta is classically made with a fresh tomato/basil mixture over toasted french bread.

If we change it up too much, can we still call it bruschetta? Maybe we can call it twisted bruschetta. In any case, this “twist” on traditional bruschetta using fruit will wake up your tastebuds!

Note: read to the end for the epilogue for some great substitutions!

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare your oven toasted bread.

• Use a long narrow loaf (baguette) of french bread. I prefer a loaf that is a bit chewy with more moisture and body than one with thin crust on the outside and fluffy bread on the inside. But either style will work.

• Slice the bread into ovals about 1/2 inch thick by slicing at a slight angle using a bread knife.

• Liberally coat the bread with extra virgin olive oil. I place the olive oil in a small dish and use a small basting brush to really get olive oil all over the bread. My favorite style is a silicon brush because it does not shed hairs and is easy to clean.

• Place slices on a baking sheet

Prepare your roasted plums

• Use golden plums or pluots for this recipe. The plums should be just slightly tend to the touch but still crisp. These plus are not eaten soft, but are sweet and ready to eat like apples.

• Slice the plums. Layer them on a baking sheet brushed lightly with extra virgin olive oil

Bake the plums and bread for about 5-7 minutes and check them. Bread should be slightly golden and plums should be turning slightly gooey until slightly crispy on the edges. If plums are done, pull them, if not leave them in for the next 5-7 minutes. For the bread/toast, flip each slice and bake the other side also for 5-7 minutes until slightly golden.

Once plums and toast are finished baking, make your twisted bruchetta as follows.

• Place 2-3 slices of roasted plums on each piece of toast.

• Top with some grated Romano and 3-4 chunks of blue cheese

• Place back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese and then remove from the oven.

• Drizzle each slice with dark chocolate balsamic vinegar.

Serve warm!

Epilogue:

After making this I realized there were many themes on this recipe that I could easily achieve with simple substitutions. Here are some suggestions:

• Figs, Strawberries and Apples all work as great substitution for the Plums. They each need different levels of roasting so watch for this.

  • Figs and strawberries roast quicker.

  • Apples can take longer to roast.

• Fresh and flavorful Extra Virgin Olive Oil makes amazing toast, but you can also add some great flavor by using a flavored olive oil. Citrus olive oil like lemon or blood orange will always work. But you can try some fun herb combinations if you want to get super creative. Some suggestions are:

  • basil olive oil with strawberries,

  • rosemary olive oil with figs, and

  • garlic olive oil with apples.

• Chocolate balsamic works great with all of the fruit, but matching balsamic vinegar flavor to the fruit is a good idea, i.e. using

  • plum balsamic with the plums,

  • fig balsamic with figs,

  • dark strawberry balsamic with strawberries, and

  • apple cinnamon balsamic with the apples.

    I especially recommend using a matching balsamic if you add the complexity of an herb flavored olive oil.

• Blue cheese works with every substitution because it goes well with fruit, but not everyone loves blue cheese. A great substitution that always works is chevre goat cheese. It will melt quickly though so watch carefully when melting when you use this substitution

Bottom line; this is a crunchy, cheesy, sweet and savory treat- all in one bite.