Savory cheese recipes
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Many, many thanks to our guest food columnists this past month!
Lacey Krause and Dan Ferrell both did a superb job and I’m sure you enjoyed them.
I don’t know why I love cheese so much. I do know that I can’t go to a cheese shop without a spending limit or else I’ll be in the poorhouse.
Cheese has been around about 3,000 years. Who knew aged, curdled milk could be so tasty? Cheese can be mild or sharp, bland or strongly flavored, soft or hard and even, shall we say, “intensely aromatic”. This wide variety can be used in all kinds of cooking styles.
Almost everyone has a potato au gratin recipe in their repertory but I bet you haven’t had one like this Emeril Lagasse recipe. The chunky meat and potatoes with a rich, creamy sauce is absolutely delicious. If you don’t like sweet potatoes, try regular instead.
SWEET POTATO-ROASTED PORK AU GRATIN
2 tsp. unsalted butter
3 large sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs)
2 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
1/2 lb. barbecued pulled pork
2 cups heavy cream
1 large chipotle chili
Tortilla chips
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with the butter. Peel and cut sweet potatoes crosswise 1/8-inch thick. Arrange one-quarter of the sweet potato slices in overlapping layers around the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and top with one-quarter of the cheese. Repeat with another layer and top with the barbecued pork and one-quarter of the cheese. Repeat for two more layers, ending with cheese on top.
Work the chipotle into a paste. This is easiest with a mortar and pestle, but a mini chopper can help get you started and you can finish the process by mashing the chopped chili against a hard, nonporous surface with the back of a spoon. In a bowl, whisk together the cream and chilis. Pour over the potatoes, pressing down gently to let the liquid seep down into the layers.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the potatoes are tender, the cream is absorbed, and the cheese is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve with tortilla chips.
Savory cheesecakes are a real treat, and you can use all kinds of cheeses instead of the usual cream cheese. Here is a vegetarian one that is perfect for summer brunch.
RED PEPPER
CHEESECAKE
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg
Pinch salt
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the outside of a springform cheesecake pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Place the ricotta, cream cheese, and goat cheese in a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the sugar, egg, and salt and pulse a few times until well mixed. Stir in the red pepper strips.
Pour the cheese mixture into the cheesecake pan. If you have extra red pepper strips you can make a design on top of the cake at this point. Place the cheesecake pan in a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water in the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan.
Bake until the cheesecake is golden at the edges and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes (the cake will firm up as it cools.)
Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, up to 2 days. Unmold and serve chilled or at room temperature with pita chips and a spring salad.
Goat cheese is one of my favorites. Try a pizza with dollops of goat cheese over freshly sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions and black olives. Spread goat cheese on your next smoked turkey sandwich, or roast beef, or use it on top of a baked potato. This next recipe serves eight. It is not fat-free.
POTATO AND GOAT CHEESE GRATIN
1 quart heavy cream 6 egg yolks
Salt
White pepper
Cayenne to taste
3 lbs. baking potatoes
2 lbs. goat cheese, crumbled
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream and the egg yolks together, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Butter a square baking dish. Peel the potatoes (if desired) and thinly slice them vertically (They cover more room that way). Place a layer of the potatoes over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne. Crumble an eighth of the cheese over the potatoes.
Ladle 1 cup of the cream mixture over the cheese. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with the cream. Gently press the layers down to compact them and force out any air pockets.
Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before slicing into individual servings. Delicious!
I don’t often put butter on meat, but I had something like this once in a chophouse in Memphis. Alternately, you could put this butter on your baked potato or even mix it in with mashed potatoes. The powerful flavor of the blue cheese goes well with hearty foods.
BLEU CHEESE
GARLIC BUTTER
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
Puree the softened butter, garlic, onion powder, seasoning salt and thyme in a food processor or blender. Mix in the blue cheese, incorporating well. Place in a crock or bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Spread onto a steak hot off the grill and you’ll think you’ve gone to heaven!
I hope you like these recipes. We’ll look at the sweet side of cheese very soon. Next week we have a special Valentine’s Day column. In the meantime, I’m looking for some information about hushpuppies.
Rex Traw, former Emporian, called from Tulsa to ask if anyone up here might have a recipe for the hushpuppies that were served at Forren’s Restaurant back in the 60’s. He’s really curious about it, and can remember the slightly sweet, slightly spicy taste 40 years later!
If you have any ideas, or a particularly nice recipe for hushpuppies you’d like to share, send it in to murphysmenu@yahoo.com or The Emporia Gazette, P.O. Box C, Emporia, Kans. 66801. Let’s get cooking!
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by imgone (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Regina.....When was the last time you priced 2 lbs. of goat cheese? That makes a pricey potato dish.
Posted by imgone (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 5:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I forgot about the qt. of cream in the recipe. Just what would be the cost to make this potato dish?
Posted by create (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 5:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
goat cheese, heavy cream, egg yolks...whoa! Never mind the cost, what about the cost to arteries?
Posted by murmusic (Regina Murphy) on February 7, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hello! This is Regina. Yes: goat cheese can be expensive. However, I watch for sales and coupons (Reebles has been good for that), plus I'm very fortunate to have a Costco membership, and can get goat cheese at a reasonable price. This dish is something I make once every 2 or 3 years for special occasions--it's a definite splurge, in more ways than one. Many, many salad days should precede and postcede this special treat. Plus, it serves eight! Halve it if you like--won't hurt my feelings!
I'm looking for ideas for the coming year of food columns, particularly more useful recipes for tight budgets - please send me your ideas at murphysmenu@yahoo.com!
Bon appetit!
Posted by imgone (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 8:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I've attended the Great American Beer Festival in Denver the last two years. Garrett Oliver of The Brooklyn Brewery gives talks about what food goes with certain beers. Last year he hosted beer and cheese tasting. The goat cheese melted in your mouth and was delicious. He stated the cheese was purchased at Cosco at $31.00 a lb. I wrote the name down and misplaced it. I really do not think I'll be purchasing some soon anyway.
Posted by murmusic (Regina Murphy) on February 8, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I called Costco in Overland Park this morning. They have one pound of goat cheese for $7. You can get a pound (3 - 5oz pkgs) at Dillons for about $13, and a pound at Wal-Mart for about $10. I'm not saying it's not pricey, but I am saying it's not $31, unless it comes from very SPECIAL goats.
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)