Figs, Glorious Figs!

August is fig season in metro Atlanta, which makes the heat and humidity somehow easier to tolerate.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been watching the figs slowly get bigger on the tree, knowing that it's time for the annual "poker game" with the squirrels and birds. Sometimes I feel as though we are all watching to see when they'll be just right for picking, and it's always an "Aha!" moment when I get to the fruits before the critters do.

Walking along the path this morning, there were six figs perfectly ripe for the picking (the tree is in part shade, so we're typically a week or so behind everyone else). Of course they were at the top of the tree, so it meant getting out the ladder and a pair of clippers to climb up there, but it's definitely worth the work. Looking up at them in the sunshine, they were literally dripping with that sticky liquid the birds adore so much.

Most of us have emotional attachments to certain gardening activities, and for me, eating figs off a tree definitely falls into that category. Is there anything quite so sensual as biting into a fig, and feeling that sticky sweet juice pouring onto your hand?

I left the five prettiest fruits in a basket on the porch for "Mrs.," but just couldn't resist the temptation standing there on the ladder, clippers in one hand, the warm ripe fig in the other.....

Are we sure it was an apple that got Adam expelled from Eden?

Ami's Aphrodisiac Salad

So we had our "Supper Club" dinner on Saturday, and it seemed appropriate to do a menu revolving around foods with aphrodisiac qualities. Ami's Salad was pretty awesome, and was the perfect foil to a very rich chicken sauced with heavy cream, morel and porcini mushrooms.

This isn't a recipe as much as a method. In Ami's own words: "Arugula is one of the first foods documented as an aphrodisiac, while figs are a symbol of love and fertility. The breaking open of the fig and eating it in front of your lover is said to be a powerful erotic act.

Assemble the salad by laying down a piece of prosciutto on the plate. Then cut 1 fig and place on top of the prosciutto. Toss arugula leaves with balsamic vinaigrette and place atop the prosciutto. Top the salad with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. I made a balsamic vinaigrette 'Barefoot Contessa'- style with Dijon mustard so it would stick to the leaves a little more than a regular vinaigrette."

This was an amazing winter salad, and great with packaged figs. In August, though, the Peter's Honey Fig Tree in the garden bears a lot of fruits, and true to their name, they are literally dripping sweet juices while still on the tree. When one can beat the birds to them, there are few things as satisfying as eating these figs in the garden, just plucked from the tree, with the sticky juices dripping down one's forearm.

Tell me you're not dying to make this salad now......

Chevre with Figs Recipe

It was pointed out that after 30 years in the food business, I should have posted more than one recipe here at this point. Here's a spread that I made for a meeting last night, which was really well received. Most importantly, it goes together in about ten minutes!

Chevre with Figs

1 lb. chevre
14 oz package dried figs (I usually use "golden figs" when dried)
1 t. fresh basil, finely chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 c. sour cream
2 T. milk
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Snip the figs into small pieces with kitchen shears, put into a heat proof bowl, and pour boiling water over them. Let sit for five minutes to plump in the water, then drain and squeeze the excess water out.

Meanwhile, mix together (with a hand or stand mixer) the remaining ingredients. Add the drained figs, mix a little more, and it's done!

I serve this with ginger snaps for an interesting contrast in flavors.

Enjoy!