Meat, Cheese, and Impressive Appetizers

Things I should be doing right now:

Writing a research paper.  Studying for my Spanish midterm.  Reviewing for my math class.  Reading next week's economics materials.  Cleaning my kitchen.  Doing laundry.  Vacuuming.

Things I am currently doing:

Sitting on the couch in my pajamas actively avoiding any of those things.

I know that means I have more work waiting for me tomorrow...but in this exact moment I'm ok with that.  I may feel differently in the morning!

I needed a break this weekend, and I took one.

Actually, I cooked.

I developed a couple of recipes for Allrecipes and had fun with my kids.  Spent time with my daughter buying pieces and parts of Halloween costumes, new paints for her collection, and taking her on a quick tour of my campus as she kept asking to see it.

It been a good weekend.  :-)

The first recipe I developed is one that I will definitely be making again.  I love anything small and cheesy that I can nibble on with crackers, and this one is totally perfect.  With the upcoming holidays I definitely see myself bringing it along to parties- it was even a great upscale snack while my husband watched football this weekend!

The best thing about this one- other than the flavor of course?

It looks so impressive but it's SO easy.

Thin slices of prosciutto topped with honey goat cheese, basil, and thin slices of fresh fig all rolled up in a log before being sliced into little rounds to top crackers.

Simply delightful!

Don't be intimidated by the process- it's honestly super simple.  I've been doing something similar with salami, cream cheese, and banana peppers for a long time and it's really very easy to do.

You start by rolling the goat cheese out into a rectangle between two sheets of plastic wrap.  One side of the cheese is covered with prosciutto.  The rectangle is flipped over and the cheese side is topped with figs, basil, and black pepper before being rolled into a log.

I especially liked these little slices on Ritz crackers, but they would be good on a water cracker or somethings similar as well.

Fig and Prosciutto Appetizer Bites

Click to see the recipe on Allrecipes.com

3 oz sliced prosciutto

4 oz honey-flavor goat cheese

2 small fresh figs, very thinly sliced

2 basil leaves, cut into thin strips

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1. Place goat cheese on a sheet of plastic wrap. Top with another sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to flatten to a 4" x 8" rectangle.

2. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and cover cheese with slices of prosciutto, slightly overlapping edges. Cover prosciutto with a new sheet of plastic wrap and both sheets over so that the goat cheese layer is now facing up.

3. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Evenly cover cheese with figs, basil, and black pepper. Starting from long edge, roll tightly to form a log. Wrap log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, slice and serve with crackers.