Posts Tagged ‘cheese’

Woking In A Winter Wonderland

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Our family packed up yesterday morning and headed up to our Michigan home. It was lovely drive filled with vibrant conversations, music and talk radio. Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh helped us digest bailout woes, naughty Chicago politics and the potential outcome of the Steeler – Raven game  (not that I care about the latter).

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All the while I planned my menu for our soiree Saturday night. I was delighted to see the results of heavy snowfall as we inched north. Winter parties are best blanketed in billows of snow.

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Our arrival home was full of adventure.   My husband, much to his delight, had to plow our drive with his beloved New Holland tractor just so that we could drive into our garage.

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The house was uncomfortably chilly. We set our thermostat at 48°; thus, it takes several hours of brilliant fires and savory cooking to break the chill. Cooking and baking were only punctuated by a quick  cross-country ski adventure and a few photo ops.

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I utilized my wok to saute vegetables.

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I threw in the remaining Cilantro chicken  from a previous night’s dinner, together with tortillas, cheese and salsa.

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Then we enjoyed delicious quesadillas, fresh fruit, and a glass of Charonnay.

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I relish the constancy of life up here: the rythmn of nature, the fellowship with friends, inviting fires, and the township’s snow plow that never fails to flatten our mailbox.

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Say “Cheese”!

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Cheesecake is a rich, sumptuous dessert created from cheese (usually cream, ricotta or cottage), sugar and eggs. It is found on the menus of the best restaurants.  This scrumptious treat is certain to be a favorite when served at any event, formal or informal.

It is a serious dessert with a history. Cheesecake is thought to have been served to the athletes at the first Olympic games in 776 B.C.  So, the Greeks enjoyed it and by 1000 A.D. the Romans had broadcast it throughout Europe.  Before anyone could say ”cheese”, it  was being enjoyed in North America.  Cheesecake was here to stay.

Today, one can find hundreds of terrific recipes for cheesecake: traditional, chocolate, pumpkin praline, raspberry swirl . . . the list goes on and on.  It is such an adventure to create one of these fabulous desserts.  I enjoy every inch of it:  working with the different crusts in the spring form pan;  the mixing of the eggs, cheese and special flavors; watching it bake in the water bath; and, of course,  anticipating a beautiful cake without flaws.

Cheesecake can be time-consuming to make.  This can be a road-block to making and serving a fabulous treat.  I am going to share a recipe with you for a quick, easy and delicious version of a traditional cheesecake.  It is made in a pie pan and includes a topping so you do not have to worry about the top cracking. This recipe takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, under 1 hour to bake,  and it can be served after 2 hours of chilling.  You can customize it by serving it with additional toppings like chocolate sauce or fresh strawberries.   It is a fun recipe to prepare with your children.

Express Cheesecake

3 8 oz. packages cream cheese

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 prepared crusts

Graham Cracker Crust

3 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers

1/3 cup finely chopped nuts, preferably almond or hazelnut

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/4 cup melted butter

Mix the crackers, nuts and cinnamon together.  Blend the butter into the mixture until it is evenly incorporated.  Press into 2 glass pie dishes.  Set aside.  You can also utilize a pre-made crust if you are pressed for time.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Cream the sugar and the cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Now add the vanilla and the lemon juice, blending on medium-high speed until incorporated.  The mixture should be smooth and resemble pudding.  Pour the mixture into a prepared crust.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and  place immediately in the refrigerator to cool slightly while you prepare the topping.

Topping

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended.  Spread the topping evenly over each cheesecake and bake for 5 additional minutes.  Now, chill the cakes for at least 2 hours.  Serve these cheesecakes alone or with your favorite garnish.

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.” –Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

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Remains Of My Day

Friday, May 30th, 2008

The best laid plans for preparing dinner can be so easily disrupted.  It may be that you just forgot to thaw whatever was needed for your meal.  One of your children may have needed particular attention during the day.  Perhaps an acquaintance unexpectedly dropped by to visit.  For me the problem usually occurs when I have not timed my life accurately.  I find myself in some non-descript store running errands later than I planned or in traffic as I attempt to get home from an appointment in time to cook dinner.

Time crunches at the end of a harried day find me tempted to… order pizza.  I would, at moments like these, like to bring home any take-out meal that would allow me to quickly serve my family dinner.  Then I step back, take a deep breath and realize that this is not what my family needs on a stressful evening.  What they and I need is comfort, in the form of food.

Comfort food, particularly as it relates to a complete meal, is different from household to household.  It generally centers on one particular item in a home.  In my grandmother’s house comfort food began with warm tortillas hot off the griddle.  In my father-in-law’s home it centered around a pot of beans simmering on the stove.

In our house comfort food begins and ends with cheese.  You will find it in many varieties in my refrigerator:  sharp cheddar, low-fat mozzarella, jalapeno jack, chevre, gouda and parmesan.  It may present itself in paninis, quesadillas or just sprinkled on a salad.  In one form or another, it allows me to quickly and simply make an enjoyable meal for my family.

Last night, after denying that urge to order pizza ( We love to order pizza – I just don’t like it to be an act of cooking desperation!), I ran into my kitchen about 7:30 and surveyed the situation.  I decided that I could serve grilled quesadillas with salsa and peppers accompanied by fresh fruit to my family in about 30 minutes.  I quickly grated sharp cheddar cheese,  chopped a variety of peppers and onions, poured salsa and cut up fruit.  I put together the quesadillas according to everyone’s liking.  After arranging the plates and serving them on a table set with fresh linens, we were all ready to enjoy a lovely meal.

Try to keep your pantry and refrigerator well-stocked with items that can quickly be prepared in a manner that your family enjoys.  This may be pasta, deli meats, tortillas, breads, or even leftovers. Whatever the ingredients, timely comfort meals will always  work miracles on stressful evenings.

“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.” – Julia Child

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Too Many Ingredients, Too Little Time

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

My favorite cooking magazines are Gourmet and Bon Appetit.  I find them to be quite inspiring.  The covers are always beautiful and the pages are filled with ideas for seasonal fare.  Unfortunately,  I do not routinely have the time needed to prepare the terrific recipes I find in these magazines.  Even the “Gourmet in 15 minutes” recipes usually take me about an hour and a half to prepare.  As a result, I have learned to improvise.

I locate a recipe that looks absolutely fabulous and I create a short-cut to it.  Sauces can be purchased and enhanced, trifles can begin with a boxed cake mix, and hard-to-locate items usually have a substitute.

Yesterday I was thumbing through the June 2007 Bon Appetit and I came across a terrific recipe for chicken enchiladas.  It appeared that it would take about 2 or 3 hours to prepare if I had the ingredients on hand, which I, of course, did not.  I quickly went through the recipe and made adjustments:  I substituted the recipe for salsa verde with a purchased variety, skipped the poblano chile roasting technique, and substituted the required Muenster cheese with a spicier pepper jack variety to make up for the missing poblano chile.

I went to the grocery store at 3:30 and was cooking by 4:30.  I needed to serve this dish to about 15 family members by 7:00.  Tweaking the recipe allowed me the time I needed to prepare this dish along with traditional cheese enchiladas.  I served the enchiladas with refried beans,tortilla chips, a lovely green salad and a fruit platter.  Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

Green Chile Enchiladas

1     cup vegetable oil

18   corn tortillas

4-6     cups green chile salsa, look for a salsa with a mixture of jalapeno chile and tomatillos

4     large chicken breasts, seasoned and baked and shredded

2     cups sour cream

4-6 cups pepper jack cheese, divided (reserve 1/2 cup)

fresh cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread 1/2 – 1 cup of the salsa in the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet on low to medium heat.  Cook individual tortillas in oil for about 8 seconds per side.  Quickly drain the tortilla and dip it in the salsa.  Now, place the tortilla in the casserole and repeat, overlapping the edges of tortillas and covering the bottom of the dish.  You will need to add oil to the pan occasionally.

Scatter 1/2 of the chicken on the tortillas, cover with 1 – 2 cups of salsa, place 1 cup of the sour cream in even dollops over the chicken, sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese and repeat. Cover the top with a layer of tortillas dipped in salsa and sprinkled with reserved cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy!

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