spiced goat cheese wontons and orange-coconut reduction

yeah...sounds wicked fancy (although it's not)...and i did, in fact, royally screw up thos this desert idea the first time i tried it, having not bothered to consider the relatively low smoking point of butter, or to look up exactly what you do when you make a reduction. in any case, when i tried this whole thing again when i was at my parents' house a few weeks ago, it turned out much better, and i got the thoughtful feedback of two of my favorite foodies: my mom and uncle (my brother and father, though i love them dearly, are goat-like in their indiscriminate consumption of pretty much any old crap).

orange-coconut-chai reduction
(i've got to come up with a better name for this.)
in a small saucepan, bring pulp-free orange juice to a boil. steep several chai tea bags in the oj for a few minutes, but don't let it get bitter. pour enough light (organic, if possible) coconut milk to double the volume. then (and i guess this is how you do reductions), heat the crap out of it, stirring regularly, until it halves its volume and gets thick. if you want it sweet(er), i stir in some honey or agave nectar after you've finished reducing it.

notes for next time: my mom mentioned that this, like chili, gets tastier as it sits, and is great with yogurt. i wouldn't know, since i left the leftovers with her. in any case, i would probably cook this a couple of days in advance and leave it in the fridge next time. i think my next adventure may be a permutation using lime, coconut milk, and green tea.


spiced goat cheese wontons
take plain goat cheese and mush it up with some ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom. mix in some agave nectar (or any other sweetener), to taste. fold in teaspoons into square wonton wrappers and seal (see this post for suggestions). heat up some ghee in a frying pan, and pop the wontons in a few at a time, turning to get them toasty and golden all over. serve with a dollop of reduction.

notes for next time: consensus was that these weren't quite sweet enough for a desert, but i leave that up to your palates. i think i would make the wontons rather than the reduction, the sweeter part. also, i happen to really really (really) like goat cheese, but for people who find it too, hm, gamey, you could probably substitute mascarpone or even ricotta.