Girls Weekend

My BF from college, Meredith, drove 6.5 hours to come visit me this weekend for a girls weekend--lucky me! So I decided to try out a few recipes that I consider to be
health(ier) comfort foods... For an appetizer I tried a fig and onion bruschetta recipe on ciabatta bread. Wow, this was easy to make and it smelled so yummy as it cooked--what doesn't smell better than caramelized onions and red wine reducing? For the entree I went with stuffed Portobello mushrooms (we are weekend carnivores!), and baked squash. I also thought about throwing some seasoned tater tots into the mix but that really did not fit with the theme despite the fact that they are an oh-so-delicious comfort food that I KNOW will make a comeback. There is a bar in our little town that serves 8 kids of tater tots with 8 different dipping sauces... oh heaven! Oh course a girls weekend is not complete without some wine so I choose a Ravenswood 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (gift from a friend!)to start...
For dessert we enjoyed a sticky toffee pudding which is really more like a mix between a pudding and a cake. It was sinful and very far from healthy but absolutely hit the spot. Enjoy the recipes below!

FIGS
1/2 c. dried black mission figs, stemmed and cut into quarters
1 c. boiling water
3/4 cup dry red wine (be sure to enjoy a glass yourself as you cook!)
2 T sugar
1 small bay leaf
1/8 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 tsp. red wine vinegar

ONION
1.5 tsp butter
1.5 tsp. EVOO
1 medium red onion, halved through core and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
coarse kosher salt

RICOTTA
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese (I used the skim version and it tasted just fine)
1 T EVOO plus additional for drizzling
1 tsp heavy whipping cream
coarse kosher salt

a loaf of French bread or Ciabatta bread, cut in half
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 T chopped fresh oregano or 1 T dried

FIGS--place figs in a small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over; let soak 45 minutes.
drain figs; place in small saucepan and add wine and next three ingredients. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until figs are tender and liquid is syrupy, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar ; cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; cool.

ONION--melt butter and oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until beginning to soften and brown. Stir occasionally for about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add vinegar and sugar then sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Stir until vinegar has almost evaporated about 1 minute. Cool.

RICOTTA--whisk ricotta, 1 T oil and cream in a medium bowl until fluffy. Season with coarse salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Drizzle bread with EVOO and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Broil bread on both sides until toasted and transfer to a serving plate.

Spread ricotta cheese across both halves of bread, spoon glazed figs with some of syrup on top of ricotta and top with onion mixtures. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano. Drizzle with EVOO, cut into slices and serve immediately!

I will post the Toffee recipe tomorrow!

Recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine, January 2009