Honey-Balsamic Goat Cheese Dip

The week after publication, and the response to The Librarian's Table has been warm — reviews in Southern food publications, mentions on literary blogs, the particular attention that a book about food and literature receives from people who love both and who consider the loving of both a reasonable way to spend a life.

A review in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the book "a love letter to the Lowcountry written by a woman who reads the way she cooks: with attention, with patience, with the understanding that the best things — the best soups, the best novels — reveal themselves slowly." The review made me smile, because the reviewer understood: the cooking and the reading are the same activity, performed through different senses, producing the same result: the nourishment of a life.

Carrie called from UGA, excited about the book. She has assigned the Morrison chapter to her students (she is teaching a section of freshman composition as part of her assistantship). The assigning is the teaching, and the teaching is the chain extending: Mama taught Naomi, Naomi wrote the book, Carrie assigned the book, and the assigning is the teaching, and the teaching is the love.

I visited Joy on Saturday. She is sixty-three, painting, happy. She has been painting a new series: portraits of people she remembers. One portrait is labeled "Mama" — a circle with white hair and pearl earrings and a smile. The portrait is the most accurate representation of Carolyn Simmons I have ever seen, because the accuracy is not in the features but in the feeling, and the feeling is warmth, and the warmth is the pearl earrings, and Joy remembered the pearl earrings.

I made pork chops with apples — the fall dish, the November-approaching dish. The chops were Robert's garden apples, the apples sweet, the pork savory, the combination the Lowcountry in autumn.

The pork chops were the centerpiece, but every good Lowcountry table begins before the centerpiece — something to set out, something to linger over while the chops finish in the pan and the kitchen fills with the smell of Robert’s apples caramelizing in pork fat. I made this honey-balsamic goat cheese dip as the opening note: tangy and sweet in the same breath, the way a good review feels, the way Joy’s portrait of Mama feels — something small that holds everything warm inside it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 oz fresh goat cheese (chèvre), softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons honey, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Sliced baguette, crackers, or sliced apples for serving

Instructions

Reduce the balsamic. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half and slightly syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Blend the cheeses. In a medium bowl, beat together the goat cheese and cream cheese with a hand mixer or fork until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the honey, the olive oil, thyme, and black pepper until fully combined.
Plate the dip. Spread the cheese mixture into a shallow serving bowl or onto a small plate, creating a slight well in the center with the back of a spoon.
Finish with toppings. Drizzle the balsamic reduction and the remaining tablespoon of honey over the top. Scatter the toasted walnuts across the surface, then finish with flaky sea salt and an extra pinch of fresh thyme.
Serve. Arrange sliced baguette, sturdy crackers, or thin-sliced apples around the dip and serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate up to 24 hours and bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Honey-Balsamic Goat Cheese Dip — The Sweetness That Anchors the Savory