I have NO idea why I know what raclette is. No clue. But the weekend I was in Bham I went to Whole Foods (yeah! cheer!) and there it was...a display of raclette. So my best bud Mary and I each bought a chunk. And came home.
This household runs on perpetual chaos so for whatever reason, we didn't eat it last week. I checked out the potential and while the computer stressed boiled potatos and pickles, I kept looking at that cheese. Got home Friday night and The Big Boy had eaten half of it, cold and salty and lovely to the tongue. Damn.
Tonight we made the artisan bread and IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN LISTENING, this needs to be one of the top five things you do every week. Then I took a small oval black cast iron skillet that I got in Texas to cook fajitas, took the bread out of the oven and put the raclette in and gave the bread five minutes to crust up and the cheese five minutes to melt down and...oh. Y'all. This is one of the five best things I ever had in life, including sex. This just ROCKED.
The Big Boy is on the road this week and you better believe he has been given instructions to be on the lookout for Whole Foods/gourmet shops/cheese places. Of any kind, but if you can find me a couple of blocks of raclette?
You gonna get real, real lucky.
I'm just saying.
Showing posts with label Cheese Glorious Cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheese Glorious Cheese. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
SW's Hot Reuben Dip
This should NOT have been so good...but having said that, IT'S FAT AND SALT! How wrong can you go with this?
Had this at a birthday party Saturday night, at a house famous for its spreads, and this simple dip was the hit of the bar. It is SO good...and how easy is this?
Hot Reuben Dip
1 (18-ounce) can sauerkraut, rinsed/drained/patted dry
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 (8-ounce) package corned beef, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and stir well. Spread misture in a 13x9 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with cocktail rye or baquette slices.
Had this at a birthday party Saturday night, at a house famous for its spreads, and this simple dip was the hit of the bar. It is SO good...and how easy is this?
Hot Reuben Dip
1 (18-ounce) can sauerkraut, rinsed/drained/patted dry
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 (8-ounce) package corned beef, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and stir well. Spread misture in a 13x9 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with cocktail rye or baquette slices.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Not Black-Eyed Pea Cornbread Eggs Pablo
What a stretch for a name. Supposed to be a play on Eggs Benedict but I may have pushed it a bit!
I think there is a Tex-Mex gene, and everyone in this institution has it. We could easily eat Mexican five nights a week, and never get tired of it.
There were five or six pieces of the cornbread (preceding post) left. I split and toasted them, topped each with a poached egg, melted queso from a jar and salsa. Sprinkled fresh cilantro about the plate and we INHALED them.
In fact, it was so good I made another batch of the cornbread for us to have breakfast this long weekend.
I think there is a Tex-Mex gene, and everyone in this institution has it. We could easily eat Mexican five nights a week, and never get tired of it.
There were five or six pieces of the cornbread (preceding post) left. I split and toasted them, topped each with a poached egg, melted queso from a jar and salsa. Sprinkled fresh cilantro about the plate and we INHALED them.
In fact, it was so good I made another batch of the cornbread for us to have breakfast this long weekend.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Blue Cheese Slaw
Last night I had a roast in the oven, seasoned with Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning and smoked paprika. We had white beans, because I MEANT to make baked beans but I've been hauling mulch and was too tired to grill the ribs that the beans were supposed to go with.
So...beans and roast. That works. But the only fresh green thing in the refrigerator was a head of cabbage, so we had slaw. And it was SO good that we're having it again tonight. With roast beef sandwiches.
Blue Cheese Slaw
1/2 head cabbage
2 carrots (or a handful of small ones)
1 red onion
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon coarse ground mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 to 3/4 cup blue cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the cabbage, onion and carrots the way you do it...I use the slicer blade on my food processor. My mother puts it in a blender with water and then drains it. My nephew hand chops everything. Whisk mayo, mustards, vinegar and celery seed. Toss the cabbage and carrots with the dressing and blue cheese. Chill for an hour or so, to let the flavors make friends.
(A little aside here. I had a piece of the Point Reyes blue cheese I got for Christmas, frozen. I used it and while the taste was OUTSTANDING, if you're not a blue cheese person it might be too strong. So do the blue cheese to taste, depending on the quality of cheese you have.)
This was SO good.
So...beans and roast. That works. But the only fresh green thing in the refrigerator was a head of cabbage, so we had slaw. And it was SO good that we're having it again tonight. With roast beef sandwiches.
Blue Cheese Slaw
1/2 head cabbage
2 carrots (or a handful of small ones)
1 red onion
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon coarse ground mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 to 3/4 cup blue cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop the cabbage, onion and carrots the way you do it...I use the slicer blade on my food processor. My mother puts it in a blender with water and then drains it. My nephew hand chops everything. Whisk mayo, mustards, vinegar and celery seed. Toss the cabbage and carrots with the dressing and blue cheese. Chill for an hour or so, to let the flavors make friends.
(A little aside here. I had a piece of the Point Reyes blue cheese I got for Christmas, frozen. I used it and while the taste was OUTSTANDING, if you're not a blue cheese person it might be too strong. So do the blue cheese to taste, depending on the quality of cheese you have.)
This was SO good.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Jalapeno cheese bites
Not for the faint of heart or those who worry about their cholesterol, but these cheese squares have been the hit of branch parties for the past three years. This year, I remembered to get the recipe.
Jalapeno Cheese Squares
1 jar Trappey's jalapenos, drained and chopped (the coarser the chop, the hotter the pie)
1 dozen eggs, beaten
2 pounds cheddar cheese, grated (Chef's comment: This looks like a ton of cheese 'cause IT IS! The is recipe is not for 98 lb. weaklings or those with a cholesterol problem.)
Layer cheese and jalapenos in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour eggs evenly over the top and bake at 350 degrees. Chef says the recipe says to bake for 20 minutes, but it usually takes 30 to 40 minutes for it to set and get slightly brown.
These go like hot cakes...when the Chef handed the platter to my sister-in-law, SIL took two for herself before she put it on the table!!
Jalapeno Cheese Squares
1 jar Trappey's jalapenos, drained and chopped (the coarser the chop, the hotter the pie)
1 dozen eggs, beaten
2 pounds cheddar cheese, grated (Chef's comment: This looks like a ton of cheese 'cause IT IS! The is recipe is not for 98 lb. weaklings or those with a cholesterol problem.)
Layer cheese and jalapenos in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour eggs evenly over the top and bake at 350 degrees. Chef says the recipe says to bake for 20 minutes, but it usually takes 30 to 40 minutes for it to set and get slightly brown.
These go like hot cakes...when the Chef handed the platter to my sister-in-law, SIL took two for herself before she put it on the table!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Red Onion and Gorgonzola Bruschetta
When my mother was eight years old, her mother died a week after giving birth to her second child. They were in Detroit for the "war effort," so my grandfather loaded up my mother on a train and brought her back to Tennessee, to his in-law's. The newborn stayed in the hospital for three months, and as soon as she was old enough he brought her to Mama's house, too. (Mama was 65 years old when she took in the eight-year-old and the newborn.) At one point, during the war, there were 17 people living in that house. It was a two-story Sears and Roebuck house and they were financially successful merchants but hey...17 people? Rationing? Oooh.
They told the story for years about how Mama liked chicken neck. On Sunday, when she fried chicken, everyone had a favorite piece and Mama's was the neck. It was only years later, when everyone was grown that they realized...Mama liked the neck because by the time she got to eat, it was the only piece left.
I tell that story to tell this story. (That's a direct quote from Ron White and if you didn't know that, well, you ort to.)
We had three tomatoes from the garden yesterday. Now, these are cheater tomatoes because the blooms were on the plants when we bought them and that's...just not right. You have to bloom the blooms yourself. But regardless, the taste of these (after the winter tomato famine) is divine. So here we sit...we have tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. We have home-made bread. This is REALLY looking good except that I birthed these babies and I know...three small tomatoes isn't even going to scratch the surface, so there better be a back-up plan. These kids are going to eat ALL of everything I make with the tomatoes so I'm going to have to have an alternative dish if I hope to get even a single bite. Hopefully, a dish that will let me have a bite of the (chicken breast) fresh tomato.
The back-up plan was SO good that it shared center stage and everyone was fed and happy. I didn't have to do without my share of the fresh tomato and the kids were ecstatic about some onions. Go figure.
Sweet Onion Bruschetta
1 red onion, very thinly sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Roasted garlic
Good blue cheese
I heated a cast iron griddle, poured in some olive oil and let it get hot. I added the sliced onions (I love me a mandelione) and turned the heat down. While I was fooling with the other stuff, I let the onions wilt, stirring them occasionally. After a while I poured in about two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, sprinkled some kosher salt and black pepper and stirred. I left the onions on low heat and stirred them every now and then.
I sliced the bread I had about one-half inch thick, smeared it with roasted garlic and then brushed it with olive oil. Toasted it just until it was no longer soft and then topped it with the onions. I sprinkled the onions with blue cheese (this was the last of the Point Reyes I got for Christmas...I had frozen the last handful) and toasted the bruschetta to soften the cheese. When we got to the table I realized...I'd been a little stingy with the cheese so we added more and popped them under the broiler again.
Oh, Lordy. I should do this more often. Summer time and the livin' is easy.
They told the story for years about how Mama liked chicken neck. On Sunday, when she fried chicken, everyone had a favorite piece and Mama's was the neck. It was only years later, when everyone was grown that they realized...Mama liked the neck because by the time she got to eat, it was the only piece left.
I tell that story to tell this story. (That's a direct quote from Ron White and if you didn't know that, well, you ort to.)
We had three tomatoes from the garden yesterday. Now, these are cheater tomatoes because the blooms were on the plants when we bought them and that's...just not right. You have to bloom the blooms yourself. But regardless, the taste of these (after the winter tomato famine) is divine. So here we sit...we have tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. We have home-made bread. This is REALLY looking good except that I birthed these babies and I know...three small tomatoes isn't even going to scratch the surface, so there better be a back-up plan. These kids are going to eat ALL of everything I make with the tomatoes so I'm going to have to have an alternative dish if I hope to get even a single bite. Hopefully, a dish that will let me have a bite of the (chicken breast) fresh tomato.
The back-up plan was SO good that it shared center stage and everyone was fed and happy. I didn't have to do without my share of the fresh tomato and the kids were ecstatic about some onions. Go figure.
Sweet Onion Bruschetta
1 red onion, very thinly sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Roasted garlic
Good blue cheese
I heated a cast iron griddle, poured in some olive oil and let it get hot. I added the sliced onions (I love me a mandelione) and turned the heat down. While I was fooling with the other stuff, I let the onions wilt, stirring them occasionally. After a while I poured in about two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, sprinkled some kosher salt and black pepper and stirred. I left the onions on low heat and stirred them every now and then.
I sliced the bread I had about one-half inch thick, smeared it with roasted garlic and then brushed it with olive oil. Toasted it just until it was no longer soft and then topped it with the onions. I sprinkled the onions with blue cheese (this was the last of the Point Reyes I got for Christmas...I had frozen the last handful) and toasted the bruschetta to soften the cheese. When we got to the table I realized...I'd been a little stingy with the cheese so we added more and popped them under the broiler again.
Oh, Lordy. I should do this more often. Summer time and the livin' is easy.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
You did WHAT to St. Patrick's Day?
The first thing I did was the wrong day...the 17th was a Monday so my buddies came Saturday night. We had the Seafood Bisque and even though crab was on sale I threw in crawfish too because...I like it that way. I DID do homemade Irish Cream and oh, honey. It was a hit. The Potted Cheese was a hit. The corned beef, cabbage and potatoes were hits. But where I normally make bread pudding? I didn't. I can't remember why I didn't; I just know I didn't. Instead we had banana bread, with goat cheese spread. Not sure why or at what point I decided this was appropriate but there wasn't any left so it must have worked! Didn't it?
The trick to banana bread is really, really ugly bananas. We are NOT talking speckled here; those babies have to be black. Ugly black. Smelly black. Throw-away black. It's a color in the Crayola box, trust me.
Best Banana Bread
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large bananas
1 stick butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2-1/3 cups self-rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir soda into buttermilk and set aside. Cream bananas, butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, soda mixture, spices and salt; mix. Then add flour and beat just until smooth. Fold in nuts. Bake in a WELL-greased and floured tube pan at 325 degrees for one hour.
Goat Cheese Spread
1 3 oz package goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme...lemon thyme is best
1 teaspoon orange zest
Blend ingredients with a fork. Serve as a spread for banana bread.
The trick to banana bread is really, really ugly bananas. We are NOT talking speckled here; those babies have to be black. Ugly black. Smelly black. Throw-away black. It's a color in the Crayola box, trust me.
Best Banana Bread
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large bananas
1 stick butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2-1/3 cups self-rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir soda into buttermilk and set aside. Cream bananas, butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, soda mixture, spices and salt; mix. Then add flour and beat just until smooth. Fold in nuts. Bake in a WELL-greased and floured tube pan at 325 degrees for one hour.
Goat Cheese Spread
1 3 oz package goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme...lemon thyme is best
1 teaspoon orange zest
Blend ingredients with a fork. Serve as a spread for banana bread.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Potted Cheese
Last year I made potted cheese with cheddar and beer and while it was okay, the texture wasn't right. This year I went with port and according to the people who ate two containers-full and took the third home with them, this works. So here, just in time for St. Patrick's Day, is a really easy appetizer.
Port Wine Potted Cheese
10 ounces sharp cheddar, diced and at room temperature
3 ounces room temperature goat or cream cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly grated black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup ruby port
1/4 cup chopped green onions or chives
In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheeses, mustard and pepper and process until smooth. Pour in the port and sort of mix it in with a spoon...I just turned on the processor and spewed it all over the countertop...and process until blended. Add the green onion (I didn't have any so I cut chives from the garden) and process in short bursts just until they're finely minced. Serve with crackers.
Port Wine Potted Cheese
10 ounces sharp cheddar, diced and at room temperature
3 ounces room temperature goat or cream cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly grated black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup ruby port
1/4 cup chopped green onions or chives
In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheeses, mustard and pepper and process until smooth. Pour in the port and sort of mix it in with a spoon...I just turned on the processor and spewed it all over the countertop...and process until blended. Add the green onion (I didn't have any so I cut chives from the garden) and process in short bursts just until they're finely minced. Serve with crackers.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Blue Cheese Chips
Truthfully, this isn't a recipe either. I'm just passing on a concoction and a view on missing out.
I have a friend whose husband is all about some...appearances. Severely about appearances. So one of the things I enjoy about going to visit them is...whatever Bon Appetit or Gourmet or the NYT had to say about good living, last week? They're in. And I learn a lot of fun stuff.
At the same time, the big kids in this family work for a major restaurant chain. Now, this chain uses artesan cheese, organic greens and never-frozen, slaughtered-to-order Angus beef but it is still...a chain. And some people, particularly my acquaintance in the Big City, have carried conspicuous consumption snobbery to the point that they wouldn't be caught DEAD in a chain restaurant. No matter what.
Last spring I stopped by Chain Restaurant to see one of the kids. While I was there, he brought out a new dish they were introducing and honey, it was Luhve. Luhve at first bite. Blue Cheese Chips. Last fall, I was in the Big City and my trendy friends took me to the trendy Place of the Moment for lunch. We ate in high-backed leather-covered booths, with exposed ductwork and lots of chrome and windows. Lots of really skinny people in really skinny-people clothes, watching all the other skinny people. I sat my fat and happy self in my slippery booth and studied the menu. Drank out of a too-small glass but hey, I guess you stay that skinny you down-size everything. And the newly invented "specialty" of the house was...Blue Cheese Chips. And so I'M thinking...the high end version! If these were so good in the Chain, then just imagine the possibilities here! So I paid about $22 for an appetizer of Blue Cheese Chips and guess what? They didn't get it right. So here's the recipe/directions for how to do it right. And Single Guy doesn't even need separate instructions.
Blue Cheese Chips
1 package kettle-fried potato chips...the thicker and crunchier the better
1 recipe/jar thick Alfredo sauce
Really good blue cheese
Bacon, fried really crisp and crumbled
Pour the alfredo sauce into a pan and warm it. In an oven-proof dish, spread a thick layer of chips. How many depends on how many people you're feeding...I fed the four hearty eaters in this institution with about 2/3 of a bag. Place the chips in a 350 degree oven for five minutes...just to heat through and crisp up. Remove from the oven, pour the warm alfredo sauce over the chips, sprinkle with the blue cheese and crumbled bacon and return to the oven. Heat for another 5-7 minutes, to warm the blue cheese.
My friend made this with half a jar of bottled alfredo sauce. I made a sauce with one stick butter, one cup cream and one cup Romano cheese.
The problem with the high-end Blue Cheese Chips? The sauce was a blue cheese sauce, instead of Alfredo. Blue cheese is so strong, you can't really get enough in the sauce to thicken it up, and when it melds with the cream you lose that sassy bite. The Alfredo in the Cheap Version has just the right smoothness to complement the blue cheese sprinkles and then, of course, there's BACON. Life is good.
I have a friend whose husband is all about some...appearances. Severely about appearances. So one of the things I enjoy about going to visit them is...whatever Bon Appetit or Gourmet or the NYT had to say about good living, last week? They're in. And I learn a lot of fun stuff.
At the same time, the big kids in this family work for a major restaurant chain. Now, this chain uses artesan cheese, organic greens and never-frozen, slaughtered-to-order Angus beef but it is still...a chain. And some people, particularly my acquaintance in the Big City, have carried conspicuous consumption snobbery to the point that they wouldn't be caught DEAD in a chain restaurant. No matter what.
Last spring I stopped by Chain Restaurant to see one of the kids. While I was there, he brought out a new dish they were introducing and honey, it was Luhve. Luhve at first bite. Blue Cheese Chips. Last fall, I was in the Big City and my trendy friends took me to the trendy Place of the Moment for lunch. We ate in high-backed leather-covered booths, with exposed ductwork and lots of chrome and windows. Lots of really skinny people in really skinny-people clothes, watching all the other skinny people. I sat my fat and happy self in my slippery booth and studied the menu. Drank out of a too-small glass but hey, I guess you stay that skinny you down-size everything. And the newly invented "specialty" of the house was...Blue Cheese Chips. And so I'M thinking...the high end version! If these were so good in the Chain, then just imagine the possibilities here! So I paid about $22 for an appetizer of Blue Cheese Chips and guess what? They didn't get it right. So here's the recipe/directions for how to do it right. And Single Guy doesn't even need separate instructions.
Blue Cheese Chips
1 package kettle-fried potato chips...the thicker and crunchier the better
1 recipe/jar thick Alfredo sauce
Really good blue cheese
Bacon, fried really crisp and crumbled
Pour the alfredo sauce into a pan and warm it. In an oven-proof dish, spread a thick layer of chips. How many depends on how many people you're feeding...I fed the four hearty eaters in this institution with about 2/3 of a bag. Place the chips in a 350 degree oven for five minutes...just to heat through and crisp up. Remove from the oven, pour the warm alfredo sauce over the chips, sprinkle with the blue cheese and crumbled bacon and return to the oven. Heat for another 5-7 minutes, to warm the blue cheese.
My friend made this with half a jar of bottled alfredo sauce. I made a sauce with one stick butter, one cup cream and one cup Romano cheese.
The problem with the high-end Blue Cheese Chips? The sauce was a blue cheese sauce, instead of Alfredo. Blue cheese is so strong, you can't really get enough in the sauce to thicken it up, and when it melds with the cream you lose that sassy bite. The Alfredo in the Cheap Version has just the right smoothness to complement the blue cheese sprinkles and then, of course, there's BACON. Life is good.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Buy This Book
I am not in any way financially connected to this book - I just LOVE it.So there's something you should know about me: I do not have children, therefore MY birthday is the most important day of the year, marked in crimson on the fam-bly calendar.
(Hubster's birthday is a close second, but he doesn't make as big a deal of it as I do, so the cumulative Big Deal Factor tips in my favor).
Hub is a very good gift-giver. The BEST birthday I've had so far - sorry this year did not, could not, top it - was the year he gave me pearls and my very own full-size, do-some-serious-damage tool kit.
This year I got a gift card for a massage... mmmmm...zzzzzzzzzzzz .... and a Starbucks gift card - always much appreciated - and a book.
But not just any book. I got The Big Book of Cheese. Actually, the title is Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the Very Best.
I know cheese is usually Country Girl's area of lactic passion but, kids, this book rocks.
I am a beginner in the world of cheese, and so is Hub, so this is perfect for us. Notice I said "us," as he readily admits this was a totally selfish gift - ya gotta respect his owning up to it.
It explains ripeness and the difference between the milks used, the aging process - the whole shebang. THEN, in alphabetical order, it lists the cheeses - each one gets its own page - with a photo, a description, place of origin, a stinky meter, a list of wines for pairing and a list of cheeses it is related to.
How awesome is that? So it's perfect for beginners, but it's also a good, quick reference guide for the cheese-experienced. Putting together a cheese board for company and you're not quite sure what matches with a cool-looking Cabrales you stumbled across at Sam's Club? The book will tell you.
Seriously, go to your local bookstore and just leaf through the pages. You don't have to buy the book, but it's worth spending time with this tome if for nothing other than inspiration.
(Yes we have no recipes today, but here's a tip - eat more cheese).
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