Saint Augure Cheese with Fig Preserve and Thyme- Appetizers August (4)

I’m going to start this post on an honest note: this whole Appetizer August thing was Mrs. G’s idea and I had nothing to do with it. But, like any man, that doesn’t mean that I can’t take credit for stuff or just meddle in stuff when it’s working just fine. Of course, without admitting that it wasn’t necessary…

So, one day, while I was browsing for a quick snack in the fridge, Mrs. G started explaining to me her ideas for some appetizers that we could make. Given this opportunity, I couldn’t help but, you guessed it, jump right into it, and said “why don’t we make an appetizer with Saint Augure and some fig preserve? Oh, and thyme would work!”.

This somehow good idea came from the fact that, while browsing the contents of our fridge, the only things in there were some Saint Augure cheese (blue mold, strong taste, semi-hard French cheese), some homemade fig preserve and, you know it, thyme. Now, Mrs. G, being wonderful like she usually is, told me that it’s a great, super easy thing to make that will work really well in the appetizer august theme. She also suggested we get some black flour bread, to which I agreed, as there was no bread in the fridge that could inspire me. So, that’s pretty much the story of this appetizer dish, in the form we showed it you.

On a more serious note, I do realize that combining some cheese with figs and thyme on a piece of bread isn’t much of gourmet chef idea, but look behind it to what you can do with it. First, you have a simple combination of flavors that you can adapt to what you do have in the fridge or pantry: replace the Saint Augure with some gorgonzola picante, the fig preserve with some fresh sultanas and the thyme with a pinch of estragon, and a sprinkle of honey. It’s about adjusting the strength of the cheese to the sweetness of the fruit and adding a (maybe) surprisingly out of place condiment, alongside with some other ingredients (walnuts or pecan nuts, ruccola, etc.).

On a more serious note, I do realize that combining some cheese with figs and thyme on a piece of bread isn’t much of gourmet chef idea, but look behind it to what you can do with it. First, you have a simple combination of flavors that you can adapt to what you do have in the fridge or pantry: replace the Saint Augur with some gorgonzola picante, the fig preserve with some fresh sultanas and the thyme with a pinch of estragon, and a sprinkle of honey. It’s about adjusting the strength of the cheese to the sweetness of the fruit and adding a (maybe) surprisingly out of place condiment, alongside with some other ingredients (walnuts or pecan nuts, ruccola, etc.).

In today’s post, I feel like I should mention a couple of things about the fig preserve, a decadent, sweet and slightly spicy jam that I cooked from the first fig harvest of this year. I just popped some figs, water, honey, lemon juice, a cinnamon stick, cloves, all spice in a heavy base pan, brought to a boil, then I let simmer on low heat until it reached my desired consistency. Quantities I honestly don’t remember (I think I had 700 grams of green type figs, 1 cup water, the juice from ½ lemon and 7-8 tbs of honey), but, hey, this internet thing is pretty big, I’m sure you can find some inspiration.

So there you have it, how Mr. G meddled in Appetizer August with (fortunately for me) some good results.

Take care,