cheese

Holiday Tips and Recipes from ‘Tis the Season Class

November 24, 2014 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

Pecan Cheese Wafers from Saveur Magazine. These were the BOMB!

I was a goofy, disjointed mess at Friday’s ‘Tis the Season event at Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock, and that made it more fun. At least for me. I’m blaming my lingering cold, so there.

This annual women’s event includes a potluck the likes of which you’ve never seen (including some Burge hams provided by the church), door prizes, and the highlight: choosing three of nine available classes on topics from hair braiding and games to cake decorating and my class, holiday cooking.

I learned from the event flyer that I was sharing tips and tricks (ha), so I came up with these:

Buy one good chef’s knife and learn how to use it. No need for a huge knife set! Maybe add a paring knife, and you’re set. I showed everyone my favorite santoku knife and said a regular chef’s knife is just peachy as well. Look for one in the $30-50 range for everyday use. I also demonstrated the very basics of knife work and how to cut things up safely.
Take advantage of small appliances when tackling holiday cooking. For this class, we focused on the food processor and the magical things it can accomplish.
Don’t be afraid to make a recipe your own! Take an old family favorite or something new you found online. Look in your cupboards for new ingredients you can use. Or just go crazy and make something up! Once you learn the basics of how ingredients go together (and I can help if you need it), the sky’s the limit.

The first item I made is a cranberry relish I’ve served at several Thanksgiving and Christmas events over recent years, from the Simply Recipes blog. Since it’s not my recipe, just click the link to check it out! This relish is super simple, with just four ingredients, and it freezes beautifully.

At the class I demonstrated in real time what happens if you overload your food processor with this recipe…you get perfectly-sized relish, with huge chunks of apple and orange throughout. Even if you have a big processor like mine, do half of the recipe at a time to ensure better uniformity, pulsing the processor until it’s just right. And if you have a meat grinder, use that instead for a PERFECT texture!

The next item was a pecan cheese wafer from Saveur magazine’s website. This is an innovative twist on the spicy cheese cracker I’ve made before (as here in culinary school), adding a pecan half with an egg white as “glue.” The pecan’s sweetness perfectly balances the salty, spicy cracker. This recipe is easily made gluten-free, too, since there is very little flour used and the low-protein GF flour keeps the crackers light. I used Cup for Cup for mine.

My only complaint about the Saveur recipe as published is the quantity listed. The recipe claims a yield of 2 1/2 dozen, rolling the crackers to 1/8 inch thick. This is actually pretty thick for a cracker, but I went with it since it’s easier to cut and transfer to a baking sheet that way. I QUADRUPLED the recipe and got just around 3 dozen. I imagine the Saveur folks actually rolled them much thinner in their test kitchens, likely 1/16″ or so. If you want to roll it that thin, try rolling it directly onto some parchment paper on the back of a baking sheet, baking it as a solid sheet. Once it’s crisp, break the sheet into “rustic” uneven pieces. (If you were at the class, you’ll get the joke about “rustic.”)

The final recipe was my own invention, a “Thanksgiving Dinner in a Bite” canapé (see below). This is the demonstration of tip #3 above, creating something completely different on your own. Using a few simple ingredients and fun techniques, I inventioneered this while planning the class. I couldn’t taste-test due to my gluten problem, but class visitors said it was pretty good! Somehow I managed to not take a photo both times I made it, so you’ll have to trust me. It’s pretty cute.

If you attended, thanks for coming by, and sorry I was a little crazy! But as I said, life is more fun that way, right? Let me know if you make any of these, and let me know if I can help!

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“Thanksgiving in a Bite” Canapé
Makes 24 pieces

One box of frozen puff pastry
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 thick slice of deli turkey or about 1 cup leftover roasted turkey
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 a standard box)
1/2 cup cranberry relish
Optional: 2 T. sour cream or plain yogurt
Optional: 2 chives, cut into several 1-inch pieces

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and move the puff pastry and the cream cheese to the countertop about 30 minutes before starting the recipe.

The puff pastry should still be cool when you’re ready to cut out your circles. Dust a smooth working surface with flour and unfold the puff pastry onto it, then dust the top of the pastry with flour as well. Using a rolling pin or similar device, roll the pastry out just slightly to smooth it out.

Press straight down into the puff pastry with a 1 1/2″ round or scalloped cutter and move the cut rounds onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. The sharper the cutter is, the easier this step will be and the higher the rounds will puff.

Bake the rounds for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and punch down in the middle with the round end of a wooden spoon or similar utensil. Place back in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the rounds are slightly browned on the bottom. Allow the baked rounds to cool before filling.

If you would like to lighten up the cream cheese, mix it thoroughly with the sour cream or plain yogurt. (It’s fine without it, just a bit heavier.) Place the cream cheese or the mixture into a piping bag or a freezer bag (don’t use a standard sandwich bag or the seams will burst). Cut off a corner and pipe a small amount, maybe a half teaspoon, into each baked puff pastry round.

Place a small piece of turkey into each round on top of the cream cheese. If you purchased the turkey at the deli, cut it into cubes and smash it a bit so it won’t look so “manufactured.”

Scoop a 1/2 teaspoon or so of the cranberry relish on top of the turkey, and garnish with the chives if you want. Pretty and delish!

Squash Casserole (for People Who Don’t Like Squash Casserole)

June 27, 2014 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

Amazing squash casserole. It’ll make you a believer.

It’s been nearly a week since my visit to Bernice Garden Farmers’ Market. Although I seem to be growing Hardin Farms squash out of my ears, I still had quite a bit left today.

Solution: Squash casserole.

Thing is, I don’t even like squash casserole that much. It’s usually really soft and squishy. And really oniony, which doesn’t always agree with my tummy. And kinda bland.

Time for a remodel.

1. First, to tackle the squishy squash problem. Most recipes require boiling the veggie. Um, how about not. Let’s try sautéing instead, over fairly high heat. This will give the squash some nice caramelization while cooking it just a bit, not to death.

2. Next, the onion. Freshness matters, so I used one from the North Little Rock Community Farm, also at the Bernice Gardens market. Cooking it way down helps me be able to eat it, so after a small dice I added it to the same pan in which I had sautéed the squash. (The veggies had since been moved to a buttered casserole dish or individual baking dishes if you are making a lot.) I immediately added a half-cup of chicken broth and a good pinch of salt, both of which will help soften the onion and cook it to translucent without burning. When the onion was almost ready, I added one large clove of garlic, minced.

3. Lastly, I added flavor and creaminess using low-fat cream cheese. Borrowing from Crescent Dragonwagon’s renowned recipe for Featherbed Eggs, I cut half a block of cream cheese into cubes, 12 total, and pressed them down into the casserole dish of squash. Because, really, what can’t be improved by cream cheese?

The finished casserole, plated in all its delicious glory.

For the entire recipe, see below. But know this…I don’t like squash casserole, and I just ate three plates of this stuff.

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Squash Casserole for People Who Don’t Like Squash Casserole
Serves 8 (or fewer, depending on how much you end up liking it!)

About 6 cups diced squash, any kind (I used zucchini, Zephyr and pattypan)
1 T. butter
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
Kosher salt
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 oz. cream cheese (can use low-fat/Neufchatel), cut into cubes
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs (I used gluten free, from leftover bread)

Slice squash into approximate 1/2″ pieces. For larger squash, quarter them before slicing; halve smaller ones. Butter the inside of a large, oven-safe casserole dish.

Sauté the squash over medium-high heat with a half-teaspoon of olive oil in multiple batches, only using enough squash each time to cover the bottom of your pan. Cast iron works well for this. Place the squash in a single layer and let it sit for about a minute, then stir to turn and let sit another minute. Once the squash is sautéed, move each batch to the buttered dish. You may need to add a bit more oil with subsequent batches to prevent burning.

Next, place the diced onion, broth and a heavy pinch of kosher salt into the empty pan; no need to clean any residue from the squash. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add more water or broth as needed to avoid burning the onion when it dries out. Add the minced garlic when the onion is almost translucent and cook another minute. Stir the mixture into the squash in the casserole dish.

Press the cut cubes of cream cheese down into the casserole dish, nestling them slightly under the squash mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 c. chicken broth with three eggs. Pour the mixture over the casserole.

Top with fresh thyme, cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until the egg mixture is no longer liquid.

Doing the Funky Ophelia: Cheese Soufflé for #VirtualDinnerParty

August 15, 2013 by arfoodie 13 Comments

Funky Ophelia cheese soufflé with poached pears, toasted walnuts, honey and basil.

NOTE: Don’t miss the giveaway! Click the link way down below the article to enter.

It sounds like a crazy wedding dance, but Funky Ophelia is what I’m calling the cheese soufflé we’ll share for today’s side dish course of the Southern Summer Nights Virtual Dinner Party. I’m glad you came by! If you’re new to these parts, I hope you’ll subscribe (see right column), follow me on Twitter and “like” the blog page on Facebook.

The cheese we’re using today, called Ophelia, is by Kent Walker Artisan Cheese (see previous post). It’s a really funky washed-rind variation of feta. Reaaaally funky. In fact, I wondered how it was going to go up until the last minute and first bite. In case you’re wondering, the final flavor is amazing, mellowed by the magic of béchamel and egg whites. Kent, you were right; the Ophelia nailed it.

Kent Walker’s Ophelia cheese, before I washed off the super-funky rind. Wow.

I was going to use a more traditional Maytag blue, but I decided to find an Arkansas product instead. The result, I hope, celebrates the often surprising culinary wealth that our state provides. Pull up a chair and dive in!

Want to make some of your own when you get back home? Just pick up some Ophelia (or his white cheddar, if you’re scurred) at one of Kent’s retail partners, or at his own upcoming retail location, and follow along.

Poorly lit walnut coating in the ramekin, awaiting the soufflé filling.

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare the coating for four small ramekins. I had a mishmash collection of different ramekins, including some squatty brûlée ones, which turned out to be my favorite.

Being gluten-free and all, I chose finely ground walnuts as the base rather than bread crumbs (about a 1/2 cup), adding a couple tablespoons of parmesan and a dash or two of cayenne for added flavor. And of course, I used my Microplane grater to create those snowy wisps of fresh parm. Brush the inside of each ramekin with melted butter, and place a handful of the mixture inside. Turn the ramekin until it’s well coated, then pour out the excess into the next buttered ramekin. Wipe any excess from the rim.

I put a handful of whole walnuts on a sheet pan in the oven to toast while working on the next step. Miraculously, I didn’t burn them. I think it’s a first. Remove them from the oven when just fragrant, about six minutes, and hold them for the garnish.

Pears poaching in apple juice, honey, lemon and peppercorns.

Next, I poached some pear slices for the garnish. Peel one Bosc pear and cut it into slices, being sure to trim out any tough core or seeds. In a small saucepan, cover the pear slices with about a cup of apple juice, a tablespoon of honey, a splash of lemon juice and a few whole peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting the pear soften while you work on the soufflé.

Know how to make a béchamel? Because that’s next. It’s the base of many great dishes, from soups to macaroni and cheese. For this, just heat three tablespoons of butter (the real thing, please) and three tablespoons of flour, my gluten-free blend in this case, in a medium pot over moderate heat. Whisk a couple minutes until it becomes a solid paste, cooked through but not browned. All at once, add a cup of whole milk (or in my emergency case, heavy cream…I worried, but it worked) and whisk like crazy. Add more if it’s really thick.

Whisk in about two ounces of the Ophelia, crumbled finely (or shredded cheddar, if you chickened out), until it’s mostly melted. A few lumps are okay. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste; it can take a good amount of salt, but taste as you go. Grate in a bit of fresh nutmeg, again with a Microplane.

Wait, what? You’ve never grated fresh nutmeg? It’s pretty much life-changing. Microplane even makes a special little grater that’s perfect for it. I have one…somewhere. For now, this.

A well-loved nutmeg nut gets another hit from the Microplane grater.

Separate the yolks and whites of four eggs, putting the yolks in a small bowl and the whites in the work bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl for an electric mixer. Be sure the bowl is clean, as the whites may not firm up otherwise. I used eggs from my niece’s yard chickens. You wouldn’t believe the difference. If you have access to free-range chickens, whether from family or the farmers’ market, it will give this recipe a richer flavor (the yolks) and greater height (the whites).

Put a bit of the warm sauce (now technically a Mornay) into the yolks, whisk them like crazy, then whisk them back into the pot of sauce. This process is called tempering, keeping the yolks from scrambling when they hit the sauce.

These egg whites could hold up the Empire State Building. Fresh eggs for the win!

Using a stand or electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they are very stiff. If you like, you can add a dash of cream of tartar before whipping to make the end product more stable. When done, take a good spoonful of the whipped whites and stir them thoroughly into the sauce. Here, it’s okay to deflate them. The rest of the whites, not so much.

Here’s where you have to be very careful not to stir, but to fold. Plop the remaining egg whites on top of the sauce, and using a rubber spatula, carefully turn the sauce up and over the whites again and again. Get it mostly combined, but don’t overdo it — the more you mix, the less it will rise. A few white clumps are totally okay.

At this point, you better have your ducks in a row. (And of course, this is where World War III broke out between the kids. I had to let it go.) Oven ready. Prepared ramekins on a sheet pan ready.

Fill the ramekins. Load the oven. Hold your breath.

The soufflés begin their rise to stardom in the oven.

Now really, I’m making it sound difficult, and it’s really not. But soufflés are known to be persnickety, and they’re gonna fall pretty soon after coming out of the oven no matter what. Don’t tempt fate by slamming the oven door or doing cardio in the kitchen.

While the soufflés bake, prepare your garnish. Remove the pears from the liquid, discard the peppercorns, then turn up the heat to reduce the liquid to a syrup. Pour this back over the pears. Garnish your presentation plate with the pears and toasted walnuts, hitting them with a bit of cracked pepper if you wish. If you’re really feeling industrious, chiffonade some basil or mint (remarkably, either one works).

The instant the soufflés are done (about 15 minutes for a standard ramekin, slightly browned and not wet looking in the middle), remove one VERY carefully without touching the soufflé and place it on your presentation plate. I used a combination of metal and rubber spatulas, one to scoot under and one to grab. Quickly garnish with honey and basil or mint.

Funky Ophelia cheese soufflé in the brûlée ramekin. I like the way it turned out.

Serve immediately to your amazed guests.

Excuse me, but I’m gonna take a nap now. Y’all can see yourselves out, right?

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GIVEAWAY!!

You know I was kidding about seeing yourself out, right? You just can’t go until you get yourself a chance for a prize.

Please click here to enter our drawing for a HUGE prize pack including $85 of product from Microplane and a $75 all-Arkansas gift basket from Argenta Market! Like I’ve said before, I adore both of these companies (in fact, I’ve wanted to do a giveaway with Microplane for ages!) and would say so whether or not they let us give stuff away. All opinions are my own.

Remember, visit each #VirtualDinnerParty blogger on her highlighted day for more chances to enter.

Kent Walker Artisan Cheese Settling Into New Digs

August 9, 2013 by arfoodie 5 Comments

Local cheesemakers (x) and Kent Walker are quite giddy over their new cheesemaking tub.

Local cheesemakers Randy Copeland and Kent Walker are quite giddy over their new cheesemaking vat.

I stumbled through the damp portico of an industrial shared-use building Thursday with a five-year-old and two pre-teens, looking for funky cheese.

At the end of the portico, we were met by one Kent Walker, known in these parts as the cheesemaker guy of Kent Walker Artisan Cheese. I had called him that morning in search of something blue.

I’m gearing up for next week’s Southern Summer Nights Virtual Dinner Party. My course, appearing on August 15, will be a cheese soufflé, fancified, of course. After a bit of online research, I decided some funky blue would be in order. Turns out that Kent doesn’t regularly produce a blue, but he did have something for me that he thought would work nicely.

Back in the portico, Kent and fellow cheesemaker Randy Copeland grinned widely. A new stainless steel vat big enough to bathe a hippo had just arrived. They’re just moving into these new digs in the nuts-and-bolts part of town, behind Heifer Village and surrounded by purveyors of HVAC and car parts.

Their operation had long been at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, which availed its commercial kitchen for rent to several small food-based businesses who weren’t quite big enough for their own sites. Apparently, Arkansas is local-cheese crazy enough to now put Kent Walker Artisan Cheese in the “big enough” category.

Kent, proud of his growing business and new digs, took me and the kids for a quick tour. Although much of the operation was still in boxes and piles, the two “caves” were set up and running.

Kent shows us the “caves” of aging cheese.

Basically white tents with heavy zippered walls, these caves held wheel upon wheel of aging, moldy cheese. Each held a different level of humidity based on what the cheese types inside need. Kent let the kids feel a newer cheese wheel, still soft when pressed, and an older one, about a year old, with no give at all. He thunked the latter wheel like a drum, resonant with its own magical transformation.

Back in the not-quite-put-together office, I apologized for interrupting their move-in (which he graciously pshawed) and paid for my cheese. He had recommended the Ophelia, a funky washed-rind relative of feta, for my soufflés. I added on some habañero cheddar, since — just being honest here — I know I like that one. That Ophelia was some funky smelling stuff.

The car ride home was pretty entertaining. My daughter’s friend held the cheese, which almost immediately had the car smelling pretty ripe. “It smells like baby poooooo,” she screamed. But, knowing that the smelly cheeses are usually the best ones, she admitted that she’d try it.

Tune in on August 15 to hear how it turned out.

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Scary Recipe: Savory Apple Pie with Pork, Gluten-Free Cheddar Crust

October 25, 2012 by arfoodie 2 Comments

This goes down as one of the weirdest things I’ve ever made.

So, appropriate for Halloween? Maybe?

It started as my annual “this is what I’m gonna make for the Wildwood Park Harvest Fest culinary competition,” which also becomes the annual “I’m too exhausted to enter the event, so I’ll just make the dish I had planned at home, a week or two later.” This year’s Harvest Fest ingredient was apples, and by golly, I wasn’t going to make just any old sweet dessert-type-thing.

After a few ideas of my own followed up with a bit of research, here’s what I ended up with. The hubs and big kid dug in, but neither were enthusiastic about finishing. It was a little too weird: Not sweet enough, not savory enough… something.

But when said pie sat in the fridge overnight, something magical happened. The flavors melded. The texture improved. While I’ll still tweak a few things next time, this is now a pie worth eating. I think.

The recipe below includes a few of those added tweaks, such as a glaze and a little more seasoning.

I’m still not sure if it’s a winner, but it’s definitely worth a shot, if you’re brave. I actually like it.

Just keep it in the fridge overnight, will ya?

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Savory Apple Pie with Pork and Gluten-Free Cheddar Crust
Serves 6-8

Crust:

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 c. cold butter, cut into small cubes
2-3 T. cold water
Extra GF flour for dusting your work surface

Filling:

1 lb. pork loin (I used breakfast chops that were on sale), small dice
1 tsp. veg. oil
1/2 c. yellow onion, small dice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. apple cider
1 tsp. dried sage (1 1/2 tsp. if using fresh)
4 whole allspice
1 bay leaf
3 T. gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 c. milk
3 medium Granny Smith apples
3 medium Gala apples
2 T. sugar (plain, but Turbinado [raw sugar] would be nice)

Glaze:

1/2 c. apple cider

The crust can be made with regular, all-purpose flour if nobody in your family requires gluten-free. I tried a new GF blend, Gluten Free Pantry, with good results.

Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl, then stir in the cheese until thoroughly combined. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter until you get a sandy-looking mixture. Sprinkle in the water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing with your hand until the dough just holds together. You may not need all the water.

Press half the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, working up the sides. (If you absolutely must roll it out old-school, be my guest, but this recipe works fine pressed in.) On a floured surface, roll the remainder into a disc to cover the entire top, or a flat piece for cutting out shapes. (I did this on a small flexible cutting mat that could be easily moved to the fridge.) Place both the pie plate and top into the fridge for now.

Place your diced pork loin and oil into a hot pot (I used my Dutch oven, but anything largish will work) and stir a couple minutes to sear. Turn down the heat to medium and add the yellow onion and salt. Cook another couple minutes to soften the onions, stirring occasionally.

Add the cup of apple cider, sage, whole allspice and bay leaf, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cover. Cook this over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pork is tender. Remove the allspice and the bay leaf.

In a small bowl, mix the 3 T. flour and milk until well combined. Watch for lumps! (The pie pictured used a 1/4 c. flour and less milk and was way too thick.) Stir this slurry slowly (say that five times fast) into the pork mixture and simmer, stirring, until it’s just thickened up.

Peel and slice the apples very thinly. I used a Pampered Chef apple corer/slicer/peeler (I know, chefs, don’t judge me!) with good results. If you go this route, cut your resulting spirals at least in half, maybe quarters so they’ll come apart. Sprinkle with lemon juice or Fruit Fresh if you do this a bit ahead. I did this while the pork was simmering in the cider.

Remove the pie plate with bottom crust from the fridge. Place half the pork mixture in the crust. On top of that, place all the apples, sprinkling with sugar as you go to evenly distribute it. And over the apples, place the last of the pork mixture, spreading it evenly across the top.

Place the remaining crust over the top and shape as desired, with vents or designs, or cut several shapes to place over the top.

While the pie is in the oven, reduce the 1/2 c. apple cider in a small saucepan until just thickened, and cool slightly.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes. When there are 10 minutes left, remove the pie from the oven, brush on the cider glaze using a pastry brush, and return to the oven for the final 10 minutes or until the crust is finished and browned.

Chills and reheats well.

Say Cheese (Recipe for Bocconcini Mozzarella Balls)

January 26, 2012 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

I just got around to finishing this post about making cheese last semester in Garde Manger class. In fact, I was supposed to post this as part of a make-up cook-at-home assignment. (I thought she had said my product was sufficient, but later mentioned she never saw the story. Oopsie! I still made an A despite the missed points, though.) A promise is a promise, albeit a late one. Here you go, Chef C.

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Awfully pretty, isn't it? Too bad it had some fatal errors...

Making cheese, I don’t think it too scandalous to say, is a bit of a glimpse into the mind of God. Or witchcraft, I guess, depending on whose side you take. (Vegans, make your joke here.)

You start with such a completely plain, innocuous substance as milk, throw some other stuff at it, wave your hands in a prescribed motion, and, poof, you have cheese.

Okay, so it’s not quite that simplistic. But it is quite amazing.

In Garde Manger class, we’ve spent a handful of weeks on fresh (unaged) cheeses, because they’re quick, useful, and a good starting point for learning the ropes.

I showed you earlier our fresh lemon cheese, which is somewhere between ricotta and cream cheese in consistency. It was amazingly delicious and made a lovely filling for the sweet applications we used that day.

The next week, I was awfully sick with one of those might-as-well-be-the-flu-but-it’s-not sort of things. I went to class and powered through the lecture, but the chef knew better than to put my snotty, contagious self in the kitchen. I guess since I bothered to show up, she felt sorry for me and let me take some lab work home.

The project: Mozzarella.

I remember passing through the kitchen once last year when this class was doing this same project. Nibbly bliss!

Here’s the process, for those wishing to try at home. It’s awfully fun:

Bocconcini (Mozzarella balls)
(Adapted from Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen by Culinary Institute of America)

5 1/2 oz. salt
1 gallon water
2 lbs. cheese curd, cut into 1/2″ cubes

Right off the bat, I know you’re asking yourself, where in the world do I buy cheese curd?

Cheese curds courtesy of Ben E. Keith and Pulaski Tech.

Honestly, we were just given the curds, purchased from Ben E. Keith (a restaurant/foodservice supplier), to save time. But the awesome folks over at Fermentables, who offer supplies to make beer, wine and cheese at home, sell an inexpensive cheesemaking kit with the goods (rennet, for example) to make your own. Easy peasy.

But I’m leaving it to you to read those instructions on the package.

Properly diced cheese curds.

Add salt to your water, and bring it to 160 degrees. Then take the pot off the heat.

And here’s where I made a BIG ol’ mess.

The instructions in our book say to put the curds in a colander and lower it into the water so the cheese is covered. Thinking myself clever, I used a wire colander. Not so smart. Let’s just say that half the cheese stayed with the device, which had to go in the trash.

See that wire colander? I miss it.

Then I dumped the curds directly in the water. We were instructed to use chopsticks to pull the cheese into the smooth strings that make this cheese what it is. Turns out I overcooked my curds, and I ended up with something more like rubber bands than delicious cheese.

I carried on anyway, laying the stretched curds out into a long log atop some plastic wrap. This is supposed to be only 1 inch in diameter, but since they were so rubbery, mine were about 1 1/2″ or 2″. Oh well.

Twist the ends of the plastic wrap so the entire log is wrapped well, then get out some thin twine or, as I used, dental floss. You’d probably be better off to not use mint flavored, though. Cut 5″ pieces and tie off the log into uniform spheres. The curd strands will have enough pressure now to form solid balls.

Put your strand of cheesy pearl goodness into a large bowl and place it in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight. Unwrap, cut between the balls if necessary, and enjoy.

Honesty time: Mine wasn’t that great. It was a little too much the consistency of one of those hi-bounce balls you get in a grocery store vending machine. But other than that, it was fantastic. :/

If they’d turned out better, they would have done well in my marinade, the juices from some spicy roasted grapes (you read that right) I made the same evening. That would have all come together into something fab, even if I don’t know just what.

Despite my difficulties, the process was actually pretty fun. As with most cooking experiences, you may have to screw it up at least once before you can make it really fantastic. I’ll definitely do it again.

House-Made Cheese and Bubble Gum Pink Ravioli

November 1, 2011 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

Our finished plate of pink pasta, with lemon cheese filling, strawberry and white chocolate sauces.

In Garde Manger class, we’ve been studying cheeses and making a few of them ourselves.

There’s something about this that makes me giddy. I told several people, “It’s like, making food. From nothing.”

Last week, our group made a fresh (meaning unaged) lemon cheese, and our homework assignment was to develop a dessert recipe to prepare the next week. We decided to make a dessert lasagna, using a strawberry puree (tomato sauce), chopped chocolate (ground beef) and the cheese. There was some fiddling around with gluten-free options for my sake, but the supplies for such things are low at the school. So we decided to go with phyllo dough, making it more of a napoleon.

This week, the chef turned us loose to create our goodies. We made the napoleon, as pictured above. The sauce was particularly fun…I got creative (er, bossy) with my group and added balsamic vinegar and red wine to some strawberry puree and sugar, and cooked it down. De.LISH.

So, long story short, we present our napoleon to the chef, and she loves it. We think we’re done. We mention that the original idea was using real pasta, and she says…”Okay, make me one like that.” Oooookayyy…

No problem, actually. This class is fun because we get to play and make stuff up on the fly, even if the beginning is a prompt from the instructor. One of my group partners is quite adept at making pasta, so he whipped up a quick batch, adding some red food coloring as the instructor requested.

We decide on making raviolis, filling them with the lemon cheese and dressing them with two sauces, the strawberry and a white chocolate sauce. While Pasta-Guy and I have done this, the other two students hadn’t, so much of the rest of their class was spent playing and filling. PG and I boiled the pasta and finished the sauces and the plate, which turned out pretty nice, considering its impromptu provenance.

It was also a fanTAStic week in Food IV. And that is saying a lot. Things are looking up; I may know how to cook after all. More on that later.

Happy cooking!

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At the Market — Daley Dairy and Honeysuckle Lane Raw Milk Cheese

September 2, 2009 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

*Put on your Golden Girls hats and follow me, here…*

Picture it: Sicily, 1943. I was walking down the streets with your father, and we decided to stop by our favorite little café for a sandwich. Louis had been in there all morning baking the most amazing bread that had sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and…. oh, the cheese. It was the most amazing, tangy, fresh, creamy cheese you ever had. We asked if Louis would just grill the two together, and he obliged. It was heaven on a plate! Crispy, creamy, snappy…unlike any nasty, processed old grilled cheese you let my grandchildren eat today. Then Louis stepped to the side a bit, and we saw his assistant behind the counter — a cow named Bessie! She mooed loudly. Louis said she was asking how we liked the cheese, as she had tried extra hard that day…

Mom, you’re making that up!

Why, yes, I was making that up, but it was based on reality. The bread was made last week by Shane Henderson at Argenta Market (profile on them another day), and the amazing cheese was made by the Daley family of Daley Dairy, makers of Honeysuckle Lane Raw Milk Cheese in Rosebud. And yes, the sandwich was real. And it was amazing.

As I have said earlier, I’m using the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market to learn more about whole foods and add more of them to my diet. This past Saturday, I added white cheddar raw milk cheese to my repertoire, purchased from Daley Dairy’s tent.

Happy, grass-fed, pastured cows are the milk-makers at Daley Dairy.

When I purchased the cheese, it didn’t even dawn on me what “raw milk” meant. But after a bit of research on the dairy’s website and elsewhere, I have learned that it basically means the cheese is not pasteurized. As Ray Daley, Jr. states on the farm’s website:

We all grew up hearing that “pasturized” was a great thing. And it is. But sometimes, there are better ways.

Pasteurization kills the potentially harmful bacteria in milk, but it also kills the good bacteria, those that help with digestion and even some that kill other bad bugs. It also reduces vitamin content and other goodies such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which contributes to lean muscle development.

This is a huge battle between the naysayers and those who claim significant health benefits from using raw milk, one that I won’t get into right this minute. As a new user, I can’t really speak to the subject with expertise. But it is generally accepted that cheese made from raw milk is safe, under very specific conditions as outlined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Raw Milk Cheese Association defines the product simply:

Cheese produced from milk that, prior to setting the curd, has not been heated above the temperature of the milk (104°F, 40°C) at the time of milking and that the cheese produced from that milk shall be aged for 60 days or longer at a temperature of not less than 35°F (2°C) in accordance with US FDA regulations.

All that to say, Daley Dairy’s cheese is safe, for several reasons:

The cows are grass-fed and pastured, meaning they are much less susceptible to disease and do not require all the antibiotics given stall-raised cows. Their diet also makes milk that is safer and more stable.
The dairy only sells semi-firm cheeses (colby and cheddars), which are very stable when properly treated.
Putting the 60-day chill on cheese at Daley Dairy.
They vacuum-pack the cheeses immediately and age them in cold storage for at least 60 days.

Want to know more? There’s a very nice article here on Serious Eats on the subject. Or you can read more on safety and “raw benefits” at the Daley’s website.

All that talk about safety has gotten me away from the subject at hand. This cheese is just darn tasty! It has a slightly different crumb, so to speak, than your average cheese; an excellent mix of firmness and creaminess. And I really enjoyed the tang brought from the cultured raw milk (good bacteria that wasn’t killed) and the vegetable rennet used to create the cheese. Hubby and I had a hankering the other day for a good ol’ grilled cheese sandwich, and we had a little of the aforementioned bread left over. Grill pan + butter + amazing, locally made bread + equally amazing, locally made cheese = WOW!

As hubby would say, dip that in your tomato soup and eat it.

Game time! How about a quiz?