I love a good theme and this month’s Gourmet Dinner Club (GDC) theme did not disappoint; it was Abraham Lincoln’s favorite foods to honor his 211th birthday on February 12!
I signed up for an appetizer and went to work doing some research. I learned that our 16th president enjoyed good old cheese and crackers with nuts and fruit. Creating a cheese board is one of my favorite things to do, so I took this path.
I couldn’t just show up with only store bought items, so I got creative on the ‘fruit’ part and made this compote to serve alongside the cheese. I used all dried fruit (apricots, cherries and golden raisins) and cooked them with both white wine and sweet marsala along with some sprigs of thyme. The fruit turned soft and the small amount of liquid that was left reminded me of the top of a crème brûlée – think slightly burnt sugar. These fruits worked well together, but feel free to change them up.
I wasn’t able to find much on the specific kinds of cheese Lincoln preferred, so I used a bit of creative license here. I selected cheeses from states where he won the electoral college in 1860 (and as it turns out, also in 1864). Dorothy’s Creamery Comeback Cow (a brie-like cheese from Illinois), Yanceys’ Fancy Medium Cheddar (from New York) and Caves of Faribault’s St. Pete’s Select Blue (from Minnesota) complemented this fruit compote quite nicely.
When I told Ed how I’d selected the cheeses, he said “oh, you’re so your father!” and I thanked him for the compliment. The numbers on the cheese cards represent the number of electoral college votes he won in that state. I hope that President Lincoln would be pleased with my interpretation of one of his favorite foods.
Serving Suggestion: This compote would also be great as a topping for a baked brie. Place it on top of the brie before it goes into the oven.
| Apricot-Cherry-Raisin Compote | Print |
- 1 cup dried apricots, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup dried cherries, if large, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup raw sugar
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup sweet marsala
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Serve with: cheese and crackers
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine apricots, cherries, raisins, sugar, thyme, white wine, sweet marsala and salt. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Heat until the mixture just starts to thicken, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Take compote and cheese out of refrigerator an hour before serving. Serve compote with cheese and crackers.
* Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
* This compote would also be great as a topping for a baked brie. Place it on top of the brie before it goes into the oven.
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