Déjeuner de mercredi

Today was crunch time for getting my October article written for the Durham Herald-Sun newspaper.  After the computer crash on Monday, I got behind schedule.  Imagine... moi  running behind schedule.  Lord have mercy is the best I can say somedays.  (And I swore that I was never going to multi-task ever again when I returned from sabbatical-  ha!)  Anyway, it is finally done and sent out into cyberspace to my editor (that still gives me a thrill to write- makes me sound somehow important, if only in my own little mind!  And I do not even have a press pass... hmmm, need to check into that detail- Carol, the Paris Breakfast blogger and macaron lover used her business card to get into a fashion show in Paris recently- she's my hero!).  Off went the article, along with photos of goats and recipes using goat cheese.  Dave Artigues and Elodie Farms goat cheese are my latest victims.  Once again, what homework I must do for these monthly articles.
And today during lunch, more homework had to be done!  Of the most serious kind.  The eating kind. Daniela, my colleague and next door neighbor at school, brought in goodies and we whipped up some goat cheese hors d'oeuvres because I would never use recipes that I have not personally tested and tasted.  She brought in goat cheese, multi-grain bread, figs, tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mint, and olive oil and we set about our research.  Even my 7th graders were jealous as they smelled the basil, mint and goat cheese.  The results were délicieux, if I do say so myself.
Then, during my free period following lunch, my BFF came to pick me up and we headed to the Wine Authorities for another tasting.  Not wine this time.  We are not in France, after all, so no wine is allowed for teachers in the middle of the school day.  (It is perfectly fine in France... the first time I visited my friend's school in Senlis and made a comment about the bottle of red wine on the table in the teachers' dining room, my friend's comeback was "There is beer and cider in the refrigerator if you'd rather have that.")  No, we went to taste Seth's crème brûlée.  This is Seth, graduate of the CIA.  The proud owner of a torch that he used today to put the perfect crunch on the top of a beautiful little dish of crème brûlée.  I seriously tried not to eat it too fast, to savor the true vanilla flavor (real beans used here, none of that flavoring stuff), to let the crunch melt on my tongue.  But, true to form, I finished mine first.  I did show great restraint and I did not lick the dish.  The BFF did-- but she did it by dipping her finger in the bowl and licking her finger.  She said her mother would be appalled and I promised not to tell Helen.  (I am quite sure that Helen is not a blog reader...)  Ah, she is such a Southern Belle.  I think that Mildred, my mom, wouldn't have minded if I'd picked up that dish and licked it clean! 
In spite of the rainy cold weather, it's been a delicious kind of day.
If anyone out there has a recipe for a goat cheese and caramelized onion tart, I'll test it for you.  And then write all about it.  More homework...

Daniela's Tomato and Chèvre Appetizer

Soft fresh goat cheese, plain or flavored (garlic or herbes de Provence)
Tomato (heirloom or other very flavorful type)
Sea salt
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Sliced bread (French baguette, sourdough, multigrain)

Spread the goat cheese on the bread slices.  Slice the tomato and place it on top of the cheese.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Snip the fresh basil and place on top of the tomato.  Drizzle with olive oil.  You could toast it under the broiler, if you wish.

Fresh Figs and Chèvre

Fresh soft goat cheese
Fresh figs, halved
Fresh mint
Honey (sourwood would be good, but any natural unprocessed honey), optional
Sliced bread (French baguette, sourdough or multigrain)

Spread the goat cheese on the slices of bread.  Place figs on top of cheese.  Drizzle with honey, if desired.  Snip the mint and sprinkle on top.
 
Bon appétit!