This past week was spent in the incredibly breathtakingly panoramic Jackson Hole, eating and drinking with friends and family, touring the Grand Teton National Park, and sitting poolside, just relaxing for a few hours.
One of the more memorable meals was at Snake River Grill, off the main square of downtown Jackson Hole.
It’s a culinary institution in Jackson, having won number awards for its cuisine and wine lists.
One of the dishes ordered during the course of the evening was a warmed fig appetizer, with melted Gorgonzola cheese, oozing goodness and sweetness with the first bite.
This is fresh fig season. It will last until late fall, but August and September the black mission figs are at their peak and should be utilized when available. Figs, a staple in California cuisine for years, are a fruit that most people only know from the cookie of the 60’s - Fig Newtons. They are a far cry from biting into a fresh fig, with a claret hued center and dark mahogany skin bursting with sweetness.
I grew up with figs growing in our backyard. A massive black mission fig tree, symbolic of Italian cuisine, was evident in almost every Italian household yard. Every year, my mother would send me several empty egg cartons filled with figs from the garden for my birthday in mid-September. A bit of home in a styrofoam container. I would eat a dozen in an afternoon.
I have a first-year fig tree beginning to resemble a “tree” growing in my backyard, with one little fig produced so far. I am hoping it grows into a massive fig producing specimen…to supply me with my favorite summertime treat for years to come, just as my mother’s tree in Brooklyn did for so many years.
Here’s a recipe for the figs served at Snake River Grill. Easy, delicious, seasonal. A perfect first course this time of the year.
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| From blog |
FIG - GORGONZOLA BITES
12 whole black mission figs, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 pound Gorgonzola dolce (a soft, sweeter blue cheese) or use Cambozola cheese
24 hazelnuts
3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or Saba
ground black pepper
Cut the figs in half lengthwise. Place on a baking sheet. Top each with about 1/2 teaspoon cheese and one hazelnut. Bake in 400o oven for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and the figs have warmed through.
Transfer to a serving dish, drizzle very lightly with vinegar and grind with black pepper. Serve at once.
Makes 24 figs bites.
