Baby Greens with Warm Goat Cheese

I used to not like goat cheese. For some reason, it intimidated me. I'm not sure if it was because it was from a goat or if the flavor was just too strong, but there was something about it that scared me off. I think the trick to goat cheese is just to keep it simple. Since the flavor is so pungent, you want to make sure to serve it with either light ingredients or other bold flavors that can stand up against it.

My lovely mother-in-law was up to visit us a few weeks ago, and the hubs wanted to make her a meal that impressed. He was in charge of the main entree and left the appetizer and salad up to me. I wanted to serve something that was complimentary to his scallops and risotto, when I came across this warm goat cheese salad from Epicurious, I thought it was the perfect pairing. The warmth of the goat cheese is just delicious against the crisp of the baby greens and the tang of the vinaigrette.

Tip: When cutting the goat cheese, use dental floss. Simply wrap each end around your finger like you're going to floss your teeth, instead cutting the goat cheese with the string. This will give you the round pieces you'll want without the crumbling that you'll get when using a knife. 

Baby Greens with Warm Goat Cheese

adapted from Epicurious

1 large egg white
1 teaspoon water
2 (1/3-inch-thick) rounds soft mild goat cheese, cut from a cold log
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups mesclun (mixed baby salad greens; 1 oz)

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Whisk together egg white and water. Dip cheese rounds in egg, letting excess drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs, pressing lightly to adhere. Chill 15 minutes.
Whisk together vinegar, salt, mustard, sugar, and a pinch of pepper in a small salad bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.
Heat remaining teaspoon oil in a small nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté cheese until golden, about 30 seconds per side. Remove skillet from heat.
Add greens to dressing and toss gently to coat. Serve salad topped with warm cheese and almonds.

Restaurant Review: Spin Neapolitan Pizza

One of the perks of my job is that we frequently have sales reps bring us in lunch and one of the department favorites is Spin! Neapolitan Pizza. I've had it quite a few times and have even brought leftovers home for Dave, but he's never had it straight from the restaurant. Since I'm a member of their Spin! Club, a weekly e-mail hits my inbox on Monday mornings advertising their specials and the pizza of the week. We made a pretty nice dinner last night, so decided to take a break from the kitchen and take advantage of their Monday special: buy two pizzas and get a third pizza or a salad for free. The deal was even sweeter for us since I had earned a $10 gift certificate through the Spin! Club.

Tonight, we each picked a pizza and agreed on a salad:

Greek Salad with Cucumber Buttermilk Dressing

#5: Oliva e Carcioffo

(Roasted artichokes, kalamata olives, caramelized onions and roasted capers with a roma tomato sauce and Italian cheese mix)

#13: Cipolla e Chevre

(Roasted & caramelized onions, goat cheese, fig jam, fresh mozzarella with an olive oil glaze and Italian cheese mix)

Traditional Neapolitan pizza features a round, thin crust with minimal toppings and more often than not, a tomato-based sauce with fresh mozzarella. While Spin! sticks to the traditional style crust, they step outside of the pizza box with their wide array of toppings. Our choices tonight were some of their more adventurous options and did not disappoint.

I love anything involving olives. And capers. And artichokes, so the Oliva e Carciotto was an obvious choice for me tonight. Since these toppings can be slightly controversial and not the most popular, this pizza had never appeared at any of our lunch-time meetings. We are missing out. To me, this was a perfect combination of all of my loves and I enjoyed every bite of my slice. Dave wasn't so sure about the artichokes because as he put it "It's just not my cup of tea", but I felt they added an extra punch of flavor that I will enjoy with my leftovers tomorrow for lunch as well.

We had another hit this evening, as the Cipolla e Chevre was also a refreshing combination of ingredients. The figs added a sweet, yet tart flavor that complemented the caramelized onions and goat cheese without being overpowering. It definitely gave Dave inspiration for his next homemade pizza creation. Ever since taking his first bite, he's been coming up with ways that he could incorporate figs into his next freshly baked pie.

There's really not much to say about the salad. I generally enjoy the wide array of dressing that Spin! features for their leafy options, so tonight I requested a side of the Cucumber Buttermilk in addition to the Greek vinaigrette that comes with the Greek salad. Unfortunately, the Greek vinaigrette didn't make it into our takeout bag and the Cucumber Buttermilk was just so-so with this salad option.

Overall, Spin! Pizza is a good option when craving that thin-crust style and unique toppings. We'll definitely be adding it to our rotation, but with all of the great pizza options we have in our area it won't necessarily be at the top.