Gourmet Starters

 

If we're going through the effort of trying new ingredients, we might as well go the "fancy" route. This looked like a delicious way to use some dried plums, and it was!

Dice a couple of prunes and toss with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Cook some prosciutto on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 2-3 minutes on each side, until it's nice and crispy. Heat some flatbread, also in the oven for 1-2 minutes on each side. Then spread goat cheese on the warm flatbread, top with the prunes and prosciutto, and garnish with lettuce or basil slivers. Serve immediately.

Then I had to figure out a way to use the leftover goat cheese. This was a delicious salad, although I think in the future I'd stick with a simple mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil - without the extra mustard and strawberries - to toss with the lettuce, strawberries, craisins and goat cheese. However, it definitely classified as a gourmet first course.

You could also try your lettuce or spinach and strawberries tossed with walnuts and cucumbers, like suggested here. Or maybe just add goat cheese to our old favorite.

Simple AND fancy - sliced tomatoes with marinated cucumbers (find a recipe here) on a slice of lettuce with a sprinkle of diced red onion.