THE A LIST : Cypress Grove Chevre

As you can see I am currently obsessed with Cypress Grove cheese, especially the chevre - This is some of the best cheese I have ever had - and I really mean that. Its amazing. You can buy directly from them or from your local whole foods and or gourmet cheese shop......

Their contact information and weblink are listed below.

Try it - you will like it and try some of the recopies with goat cheese below

Cypress Grove Chevre

Arcata, CA

p 707.825.1100

f 707.825.1101

e info@cypressgrovechevre.com

w http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com

NOTE: Cypress Grove is a real place that as a child my parents would take us to visit a family friend who's estate was named Cypress Grove. More on that below...

Grilled Black Mission Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto with Humboldt Fog® Goat Cheese and Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Grilled Black Mission Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto with Humboldt Fog® Goat Cheese and Aged Balsamic Vinegar

12 black Mission figs, halved lengthwise

8 ounces Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog®

24 slices of prosciutto or Serrano ham, sliced very thin and wide enough to wrap around the middle of each fig half

8 ounces aged balsamic vinegar, reduced to 4 ounces

¼ cup walnut halves, toasted

1/8 cup pomegranate seeds

2 cups assorted baby lettuces or mixed greens

Method:
Simmer balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan 5-7 minutes or until vinegar is reduced by half.

Press a small quantity of goat cheese into the sliced side of the fig half. Wrap a very thin slice of ham around the middle of the fig so that the stem and lower portion of the fig so that the flat front is smooth for grilling.

Heat a cast-iron grill on the stove or barbecue until very hot. Brush the face of the fig slightly with olive oil. Lay the figs face down on the grill for 20 seconds, rotate 45 degrees and cook for 20 seconds more. Turn the figs over and cook until warmed, about 1 minute.

Presentation:
Place baby lettuce in the center of an individual or large platter. Arrange figs around the lettuce, grilled side up. Drizzle balsamic vinegar reduction over figs and around plate. Finish presentation with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and toasted walnuts.

Serves 6.

Credit:
Chef Evan Treadwell, Dolphin Bay Hotel and Residences, Lido Restaurant

Baked Cypress Grove Fresh Chevre

Baked Goat Cheese

6 ounces Cypress Grove Fresh Chevre

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

½ cup fresh bread

Method:
Shape or cut chevre into 4 equal pieces about ½-inch thick. Set on paper towels for about 30 minutes to dry. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine herbs and crumbs. Brush cheese with oil, then roll in crumb mix. Pour remaining oil into a shallow glass baking dish, then place coated chevre in dish. Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool about 5 minutes to firm. Serve on top of mixed greens, on garlic croutons, or top pasta with a tomato-based sauce and baked chevre.

Linguini with Bay Scallops, Chevre, and Red Peppers

Linguini with Bay Scallops, Chevre, and Red Peppers

½ pound Fresh Linguini (lemon is nice)

3 tablespoons butter

½ cup red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons cream

½ cup chopped leaks

8 ounces bay scallops

6 ounces Cypress Grove Fresh Chevre

Salt and pepper

Method:
Cook pasta and drain. Sauté leeks and peppers in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and scallops and sauté until opaque, about 1 minute. Add chevre, cream, and barely heat. Correct seasoning with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Toss on hot pasta, sprinkle with chopped parsley and other herbs. Serve immediately.

Portobello Dumplings with Goat Cheese Sauce

Portobello Dumplings with Goat Cheese Sauce

Dumplings:
3 large Portobello mushroom caps

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed (or adjust amount to taste)

5 scallions, sliced thin

3 ounces fresh chevre

24 won ton skins

1 tablespoons butterSalt and pepper

Method:
Mix together vinegar, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Remove stems from mushrooms and marinate in the oil mixture for about minutes.

Grill over coals or on a grill pan for about 4 minutes on each side. Dice mushrooms and mix with the cheese and the onions.

Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each won ton skin and wet edges with water. Fold into a triangle and wet tip of long ends to seal together forming a dumpling.

Steam for 5 minutes. Sauté one side in butter to brown.

Goat Cheese Sauce :
1 shallot2 teaspoons butter1 cup white wine1 cup cream3 ounces fresh chevre

Method:
Sauté shallots in butter just until they’re limp. Add wine and reduce until thick and syrupy. Add cream and reduce slightly. Add cheese and stir until smooth. Serve immediately.

The Cypress Grove Research Center

The Story:

As children my parents would take us to visit a family friend who had an estate on the Tomales bay called Cypress Grove. Named in part due to the spectacular cypress trees that covered the grounds. Their was a modest main house, several guest cottages each with a different name and each decorated to match that name, a boat house, green houses, gardens, lawns and more. We would go and run wild playing, picking fruit, and doing what kids do – exploring. Our visits were frequently defined by some kind of modest but in fact real culinary delights including lunches on the lawn, dinners, snacks and or lunch in the water front dining room when the weather was cool. The meals were always stunning and it was in fact a period of my youth that got my culinary juices going. I can recall fondly the flavored lemonades and the fantastic meals always presented in such an exciting way.

As the years passed and Cypress Grove’s owners passing, the property was developed into part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch system in Marin and Sonoma County. Our family has been connected to the Audubon Canyon Ranch for over 35 years now. My parents got involved as volunteers in the beginning and as our lives changed and moved on; my father has continued to be directly involved in the development of the ranch and its programs. Now Cypress Grove is known as the Cypress Grove Research Center.

Audubon Canyon Ranch developed the Cypress Grove Research Center as a headquarters for its research and natural resource management programs, and to promote Tomales Bay as a valuable system for ecological study. The Tomales Bay estuary offers extraordinary opportunities for conservation biology, because of its simple shape, intermediate size, biological richness, and undisturbed quality relative to the nearby San Francisco estuary.

Audubon Canyon Ranch has a developing research facility on the east shore of Tomales Bay called Cypress Grove Research Center. Through Cypress Grove Research Center, ACR studies wintering shorebirds, monitors waterbirds on Tomales Bay, investigates processes for restoration of coastal marshes, tracks the reproductive performance of heron and egret colonies throughout the northern San Francisco Bay Area, and analyzes behaviors of Common Ravens. ACR owns and protects almost 500 acres of important and diverse lands on Tomales Bay.

For more information see the website for the Audubon Canyon Ranch: http://www.egret.org/