Hello there and Happy Fall!

Next in our series of Fall Fruit & Cheese Appetizers is this little bit of yum… Black Plum & Goat Cheese w/ Honey, Ginger, & Sage. It’s earthy, unusual, and another beautiful contender to take to a holiday party. You could bring the Fig Appetizer (#1 in our Series- one post back) alongside this one, and the combo would be perfect for a Fall gathering. They both have goat cheese and honey, so they’d be convenient to make together, and would be so pretty, sitting together, side by side!

Fall is all things rich in color, flavor, and texture. Deep dark plums, beautiful oranges, pinecones, pumpkins, & fires burning. Fall is warm rich smells and a feeling of deep nostalgia intermingling with the inspiration of things to come. It’s a time to reflect and a time to look ahead. It’s the best time to cook slow meals that take patience so you can be present in the very moment that you’re inhabiting. Fall is warmth, gratitude, & beauty.

So take a deep breath and spend a little time creating in your kitchen… gather your ingredients together and make something that’s not only delicious, but also beautiful! You’re the artist!

#2 in our Fall Fruit & Cheese Series IS…

Black Plum & Goat Cheese w/Honey, Ginger, & Sage

What You Will Need:

• Black Plums– Most major grocers carry black plums from late Spring into Fall. Depending on where you live, the season may be longer.
• Goat Cheese– I always get my cheese at Sprouts or Albertson’s- around here, that’s what’s available to me. Whole Foods has an Ah-mazing cheese selection, if you have one nearby. Even better would be a local cheese shop.
• Honey– Obviously, any honey will do, but I’ve been buying local honey lately, because supposedly, it does wonders for allergies. I’m not sure if it’s done much for mine, but it’s really yummy- runs anywhere from about 6-10 bucks. You can generally find local honey from your specific area, at your neighborhood grocery store. The Local Hive Honey brand, carries honeys from a lot of different regions around the States. You can find the So Cal honey here on Instacart. If you just google your area, they may have it. If you can find a honey from a local bee keeper or farm in your area, that would be the best way to go.
• Ginger Powder– Ginger gives this appetizer a little kick of heat. Its spicy peppery flavor perfectly rounds out the sweet plum, tart goat cheese, and earthy sage. If you really don’t like ginger powder, freshly cracked black pepper would also be really good.
• Fresh Sage– Most big grocers like Albertson’s or Ralph’s will have fresh sage. Sage has a strong, very earthy flavor, and is quite rich. Some people really don’t like the way it tastes. I think it’s so good with the black plum- they come together to make the perfect Fall appetizer, in my book. But if you don’t like sage, you could switch it out for thyme or a leaf of rosemary. I cut very slender pieces from a sage leaf and that’s all you need to get that earthy punch of flavor.

Start with your Black Plums and slice into fairly thin pieces:

You just want a one-bite-mouthful so people can relax, eat, talk, and drink! Just a little taste so they can decide what they love and go back for more! Aren’t black plums pretty?!

Putting it All Together

Next, add crumbles of goat cheese (or you can spread it on, but I think the crumbles are prettier!), drizzle on some honey (inevitably, the honey runs everywhere and turns into puddles instead of drizzles… still good… food IS messy, after all!), take a pinch of ginger powder and sprinkle it on to each piece (too much and it will be very spicy), and a little sliver of sage leaf, cut to perfection, so that the whole leaf doesn’t overwhelm the appetizer! It looks so tiny, but sage is VERY strong, especially uncooked, so all you need is a small piece.

And there you have it! A simple and delicious Fall Appetizer for home or away! This appetizer was inspired by a drink that I whipped up a while back:

The Black Plum & Sage Vodka Smash w/ Ginger & Black Pepper

Quick Recipe:

• Black Plums– 1 1/2 to 2, cut into slices
• Sage Leaves– 4 to 5
• Ginger Root– About 1/2″ to 3/4″ of ginger, skinned and cut into very thin slices
• Vodka– I used Grey goose- 2 oz.
• Black Pepper Simple Syrup– 2-3 tsp- depending on how sweet you want
• Lime– the juice of about 1/2 a lime
• Tonic

First, make your Black Pepper Simple Syrup: 1cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of roughly ground peppercorns– I usually take whole peppercorns and grind them very lightly in a clean coffee grinder or spice grinder. Combine and bring to a low boil, stirring regularly, until all of your sugar has dissolved. After that, simmer on low for about 5 minutes or until it seems to be reducing a bit, and then take it off the heat and let it steep- up to an hour is good. Pour through a fine colander into a jar and you have a simple syrup that will last in your fridge for about 2 weeks. Make sure it’s cool before adding it to your drink.

Muddle your black plums, sage leaves, and ginger root in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Muddle really well until you have a jammy, juicy concoction. Add 2 oz of vodka, fill with ice, shake, shake, shake, and shake some more.

Pour into a glass over ice. It can be a bit of a task to get some of the juice out- just keep flipping your shaker up and down to get it all out- you should end up with about 3/4 of a glass. Add 2-3 tsp of the black pepper simple syrup, the juice of 1/2 a lime, and top off with a little tonic. Stir well and bottoms up! Refreshing, earthy, and spicy!

Wine Pairings

Following up on my last post and my love for Sauvignon Blanc, I thought we would try out another one from a completely different region of the world, called Sancerre. Sancerre is a French Appellation or AOC, located in of all places, Sancerre!…which lies in the Eastern portion of France’s Loire Valley. It’s one of the most famous regions in France, and one of the most highly regarded appellations in the world for Sauvignon Blanc.

It’s got its own unique style in that it’s bone dry and highly acidic with lots of smoky flint and mineral flavors. You will also find green fruit notes like gooseberry and florals like honeysuckle, and while it will have some of the herbaceous and citrusy tones of New Zealand SB, it will be quite a bit more subtle and refined, overall . This is mostly because of the process by which Sancerre is made. It’s a practice called Sur-Lie Aging, which has the grapes lying on their own yeast cells during the aging process. It gives the wine weight and texture (different layers), while not imparting external flavors as you might taste with a wine aged in Oak, for example. It’s a very sophisticated process, that makes for a very refined Sauvignon Blanc. You can find a less expensive option at vivino.com for Around $27:

And this one, Sancerre à Chavignol Blanc, for around $34, also at vivino.com:

One on the slightly more expensive end, Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Jadis 2017, runs about $56, at wine.com:

Most Sancerres run between $30-$50, and if you go to Wine.com, Total Wine, Drizly, or Vivino, you can look at reviews and get some idea of what you might want to purchase. Better yet, pop by your local wine shop and have them guide you… you’ll almost never be disappointed goin’ that route! If you would prefer a red wine with this appetizer, stick to something very light like a French Gamay (Beaujolais), a Grenache, or a Pinot Noir.

Hope you’re enjoying the beginning of your Fall Season! Please subscribe if you have a minute, so you can get alerts when new posts pop up. I’ll be rounding out this series of Fall Fruit & Cheese with a new spin on an old favorite.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, below!

Thanks so much for spending some time here, at The Craine’s Nest!

Happy Nesting.

Kirstie xo