Goat Cheese Fruit Salad in Parmesan Baskets

I wish I had better photos of these delicate and flavorful little salads, but our Iron Chef Bacon Cook Off was in full gear and there was a lot of action in the room. The recipe is made in two steps, but nothing is very hard about the process. This recipe, crafted by my friend Talea, is definitely a dish to impress and dazzle, and can be either an appetizer or a bit of a side salad. Yum!

Parmesan Baskets

Ingredients

10 ounces coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground multi color pepper medley-optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a muffin tin or use parchment baking cups. Stir together the cheese and pepper, and gently pat into a very thin layer on the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup.

Bake until bubbly and lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Allow to cool before slipping them out of the pan. These will keep crisp for several days at room temperature in a covered container.

Makes 12 -16 baskets.

Goat Cheese Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1 cup frisee lettuce, torn into bite size pieces (frisee lettuce is that frizzy-looking pale lettuce next to all the specialty lettuces; it has a nice bite to it, but substitute other lettuce if you can't find it)

1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
Juice of ½ Lemon
3 slices of bacon, fried crisp and chopped, leave a few crumbs for final topping;
½ cup heirloom tomato, sliced into thin wedges
½ cup toasted Walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup cranberry goat cheese

For the Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp oriental mustard
1 pinch of salt
½ tsp ground white pepper

Instructions

For the vinaigrette, beat oil and vinegar until emulsified and then add all other ingredients. Stir until combined. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Add the lettuce to the bottom of the parmesan basket. Mix all other ingredients except the cheese together and place on top of lettuce. Top with goat cheese and vinaigrette.