In an ongoing effort to put goat cheese and hibiscus in just about everything…

Today I’m guest posting over on DESIGNLOVEFEST, sharing this stunning and unique panna cotta recipe.

Panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts; literally meaning ‘cooked cream’ in Italian, the combination of the creamy milk custard and tangy fruit topping make for an impressive dessert. Not to mention easy to put together, considering it’s little more than milk jello (basically). This version incorporates a goat cheese base, creamy and lightly scented with vanilla, with a rustic jam topping made with sweet bing cherries and dried hibiscus flowers.

Don’t let the goat cheese throw you, there’s no question that this is dessert, through and through. It’s not overly pungent; instead, the cheese provides the slightest bit of tang and a unique, creamy texture to an otherwise plain vanilla base.

The topping is what takes this over the top. Loosely based on my strawberry hibiscus jam from a few weeks back, the rustic preserve is studded with sweet bing cherries and infused with fragrant hibiscus. It’s looser than your typical jam, rustic and chunky and sweet, with an exotic fruity flavor that is nothing short of intriguing.

©2013 Love and Olive Oil

In our household, the lifespan of a recipe is often short lived. It gets made. Photographed. Enjoyed. Posted. And soon thereafter, forgotten, set by the wayside for whatever new batch of recipes we’re making the next week. As good as they might have been, we’re just not in the habit of repeating things (such is the life of a food blogger), and most of the recipes I post here share a similar fate.

This recipe, on the other hand, deserves your full and lasting attention. It was a recipe I expected to like; but it wasn’t something I expected to blow me away. I mean it’s pretty simple, just tofu crusted in panko and sesame and lightly fried, with a sweet and salty Vietnamese dipping sauce. But the fact that we’ve made it four times in the past few weeks says a lot about it.

This recipe has a lot of things going for it: it’s healthy, yet still has just enough fried flavor to satisfy your unhealthiest cravings. It’s ridiculously simple, and (assuming you remembered to get your tofu draining beforehand) only takes about 20 minutes to put together. I’d call that a win-win.

But the dipping sauce is what seals the deal. It’s called nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce made from little more than lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and spicy red pepper. If you’ve ever been to a Vietnamese restaurant, this is the sauce they serve with their crispy egg rolls that makes them so irresistible. On it’s own the fish sauce might be repulsive (I can’t stand the smell and make Taylor do that part always), but combined with the other ingredients and splashed on the crispy bites of fried tofu, it’s perfection. Just the right amount of sugar, salt, tang, and spice.

I need more recipes like this one in my life.

©2013 Love and Olive Oil

I know, I know. Here I am, posting a green smoothie. Me, the girl that berated juice cleanses and liquid diets in lieu of hot fudge sauce.

But, you know what, sometimes after a week of decadence and doughnuts and tacos and fried everything, we were craving something fresh for lunch instead of our usual melted cheese something or other.

We actually used to do smoothies for lunch quite often, though not so often as of late. While they are typically of the blue and pink persuasions, however, we have learned a few lessons in green smoothies over the years. This kind of smoothie-wisdom only comes from making horrible, inedible mistakes. But I’ll spare you that injustice and share with you today:

1. Stick to yellow, orange, and green fruit if you actually want a green smoothie, and not some sludge the color of a mud puddle. Seriously, step away from the strawberries.

2. Stick to spinach or kale. But whatever you do, avoid mustard greens at all costs. They do not make for an appetizing beverage. Trust me, Taylor learned that one the hard way. (Sip. “This isn’t so bad.” Another sip. “Hmm.” One more timid sip. “Ok. It’s totally gross.” And down the disposal it goes…)

3. Add ginger. Always ginger. The end.

I kind of threw this one together, and Taylor totally turned up his nose when I poured it in his glass. But despite the verdant hue, you’d be hard pressed to taste the vegetation. It’s refreshing from the cucumber, sweet from the mango, and spicy from the fresh ginger. We added a full 2 tablespoons (you know I like it spicy), but feel free to dial it back if you’d like. Just, please, don’t leave out the ginger. It’s what makes this smoothie sing.

I totally get bonus points for creating a smoothie the perfect shade of green to match my blog design, right? Right?

Don’t worry, we’ll be back to fudge sauce next week.

©2013 Love and Olive Oil

An unexpected surprise a few weeks ago from some very dear friends left me with a box of gorgeous homegrown Meyer lemons.

And as you very well know, when life gives you lemons, especially Meyer lemons, you sure as heck don’t waste them, even if you do happen to be hopping on a plane to Disney World the very next morning.

It’s a rare occurrence when you find yourself in the possession of Meyer lemons and strawberries at the same time. It’s like a planetary alignment of fruit. And seeing as how much I enjoyed the combination of citrus and strawberries last year, I applied that same strategy to these beauties.

Ever since last year, I’ve decided that I prefer a more delicate texture in my marmalade; the large chewy slivers that marmalade commonly contains are a bit too sinewey for my taste. So rather than halving and thinly slicing the entire fruit, I used this OXO zester to completely strip the lemons naked. This particular zester produces perfect ribbons of zest, thicker than the feathery fine stuff that a microplane zester produces, but finer than my meager knife-skills can achieve and with less pith overall.

Soaking the zest overnight helps tenderize the peels. The cheesecloth pouch contains the lemon seeds and bits of pith to draw out more pectin so that the jam sets up nice and jiggly (there is no additional pectin other than what comes naturally from the lemons).

I think this one is even better than the blood orange version, partly because of the improved texture. Chunks of berries and tender ribbons of lemon intermingle in a jam that is tart, sweet, and delightful. It’s perfect spread onto a toasted English muffin, slathered on a buttermilk biscuit, or heated and drizzled over vanilla ice cream or a slice of cheesecake.

I won’t make any lady marmalade jokes (despite the fact that some contestant on some game show is belting it out at this very moment on the TV downstairs… coincidence?) but just know that this is the kind of marmalade that people write songs about. With tangerine trees. And all that jazz.

©2013 Love and Olive Oil

Do you know what today is?

It’s National Cookie Dough Day, duh.

The holiday I officially declared last year, on the release date of my first book.

This was a recipe that got cut from the book shortly before it went to print. It was a last minute decision, based on the fact that I was not confident enough in my macaron skills to get my own recipe to work. We filled the pages with more images and resources instead.

‘Twas a shame too, because it was probably my absolute favorite recipe in there. I really, really love macarons. And when they’re filled with almond cookie dough? Well… I’m a goner.

The shells are basic macarons. Unflavored, uncolored, uncomplicated. I used the same base recipe I had success with during the macaron challenge, a basic French style from I Love Macarons, again, drying out the almond flour and whipping the meringue until it just barely forms stiff peaks.

The filling is where it gets fabulous: a creamy (and egg-free!) raw cookie dough, almond scented and speckled with grated dark chocolate.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Happy cookie dough day, everyone! How are you celebrating?

©2013 Love and Olive Oil