cheese

July 10, 2009

Gorgonzola Polenta

mel recipe, sides & bites casserole, cheese, polenta

Gorgonzola Polenta

My parents took a trip to Tuscany not too long ago (I know. I’m still jealous and it was months ago.), discount and the first thing my dad said to me when he got back was, “I had the most delicious thing ever! Gorgonzola polenta! You have to make it.” And I thought to myself “Duh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

So, last night I finally got around to it. And oh my, was it good! Warm, creamy and full of pungent Gorgonzola cheese, this was just about the best imaginable side for a steak. Mashed potatoes and creamed spinach can step aside – it’s Gorgonzola polenta that will cuddle up with my skirt steaks and rib eyes.

Next time, I think I’ll add some pickled red onions or shallots sauteed in butter to balance the creaminess of the polenta. But honestly, it’s amazing just the way it is.

June 29, 2009

Nectarine, Thyme & Cheese Tart

mel breakfast, recipe, sides & bites cheese, nectarines, pastry, tart, thyme

Nectarine, <a href= no rx Thyme & Cheese Tart” />

What to do with the creamy, pharmacy decadent Supreme cheese that Ile de France sent me last month? I thought of a million things. Creamy pasta sauce, intense wild mushroom risotto, another decadent sandwich. But then I had a better idea. Why not top a sheet of puff pastry with nectarines, Supreme and thyme? A simple and pretty hors d’ouevre.

So that’s exactly what I did. And it was absolutely, ridiculously delicious. The nectarines were just the right amount sweet and tart. They melted in the oven coating the puff pasty and acted as a nice counterpart to the creamy Supreme. Sprinkled with fresh thyme and a little flaky sea salt, this was just about one of the best appetizers I’ve made in awhile. It was easy, impressive and delicious.

There’s no better appetizer than fruit and cheese, unless it’s fruit, cheese and puff pastry. Mmmmm!

May 15, 2009

Potato, Cheese & Ale Soup

mel recipe, sides & bites beer, cheese, potato, soup, vegetarian

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Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love beer? I’m not talking about Bud Light, traumatologist Coors or the most-revolting Miller High Life. I’m talking about amber lagers, hoppy pale ales and creamy, mocha-flavored stouts. Last weekend in St. Augustine, we went to a microbrewery for dinner and found some pretty delicious beers. I love microbrewery menus. Yes, you can read all about the beer-making process, but you also get to see how that beer makes it into the food. Beer mustard, beer battered everything and on this particular menu, Cheese & Ale Soup.

Although tempted, I would have been crazy to order the soup. We were sitting out on the balcony and it was 85 very humid degrees. I would have melted. In the words of the Soup Nazi – No soup for me! But it sounded so good, I decided to make my own version, using potatoes as the basis.

I started with your basic soup starters – sauteed onions and garlic. Added a few diced potatoes, some stock and summer ale. After some time simmering and a quick run-in with the immersion blender, I stirred in the cheese and secret ingredients. Served with crumbled pretzels and more cheese, I finished up my beer soup. Beer, cheese, potatoes and pretzels. You really can’t go wrong there – the soup was great. So great and so easy, I can’t wait to make it again.

December 5, 2008

Sweet Potatoes w/Sausage, Cheese, Cilantro & Lime

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites cheese, cilantro, easy, lime, sweet potato

Sweet Potatoes w/Sausage, <a href= medical Cheese, about it Cilantro & Lime” />

Whew! It’s been such a hectic few days, generic I’m so relieved that I decided to keep the menu simple this week! Today’s recipe is another tasty 5-ingredient meal. Some might call this an easy recipe, others may call it lazy, but either way, its flavors are bold and delicious. You’d never guess it was so easy to make.

The secret here is the perfect baked potato. This method works better with russet potatoes, but still makes a tasty baked sweet one. Basically, the potato needs to go directly on the rack in a hot oven. If you cover it in foil, the potato steams, not bakes. While still tasty, you don’t get that crisp, baked skin that’s so very delicious.

Once you’ve got the perfect baked potato, the filling is easy. To cut some of the sweetness from the potato, I added some smoked sausage (kielbasa would be great here), salty cotija cheese (like feta), cilantro and a big squeeze of lime. An easy meal for a lazy weeknight.

December 2, 2008

Chickpea & Bread Soup

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites bread, cheese, onion, soup, vegetarian

Chickpea & Bread Soup

Is it possible to make a delicious, info flavorful soup with only 6 ingredients? I think so. And I think this might be my new favorite soup. I know I say that in almost every post, but this one’s just so good! And so easy. 6 ingredients, one pot and 30 minutes. Besides, it’s covered in melty, broiled cheese. Who can resist that on a cool day? No one!

I’ve actually been avoiding the kitchen since Thanksgiving — those 48 hours of cooking and standing and cleaning kind of took it out of me. So, instead of my usual weekend in the kitchen, I spent my time off putting up our Christmas tree, riding my bike in the Everglades (down a bike trail lined with real, live Gators!), and reading on the couch. It was fabulous!

So, I’m trying to keep it simple this week. Nothing fancy, or roasted, or braised. I’ll save that for the weekend. This soup is deceptively simple, but tastes amazing. It’s like a French Onion Soup with its bread and onions and melted cheese, but the toasted chickpeas add a meatier, heartier flavor.

This simple soup is really scrumptious and just perfect for a lazy dinner and a cold nigt.

October 29, 2008

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

mel entree, recipe beans, brown rice, cheese, chicken, corn, hominy, poblano peppers, tortilla

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

It’s finally (finally!) cooling off here, case and so I can justify all of my soups, stews and casseroles. In honor of the cold weather (what? 55° is cold for Miamians!), I made a spicy Chicken Enchilada Casserole with a crumbly, cheesy tortilla crust.

This casserole reminds me of a 7-layer dip, even though you’ll find no canned chili or cream cheese in here. You start with a layer of brown rice, then follow up it with layers of beans, hominy, sauteed onions and poblano peppers, shredded chicken, Enchilada sauce, corn tortilla dough and shredded cheddar cheese. Into the oven for 35 minutes, and out comes a slightly spicy, bubbly, cheesy casserole of goodness.

This dish can be made a day or two in advance and baked just before you’re ready to eat. I suspect you could easily freeze the casserole whole for those times when you find your fridge and pantry bare (a trend in my house lately).

Tom loved this casserole, and I gotta say, it’s crazy delicious in that messy comfort food kind of way. I can’t wait to get into the leftovers, and I’m thinking about making another batch soon to stock the freezer. There’s just nothing better than a cheesy, melty casserole and a chilly beer to welcome the fall.

October 15, 2008

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites cheese, chowder, corn, potatoes, soup, yogurt

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I really love a good soup. A good soup is one that I can throw together in under 10 minutes and let bubble on the stove for as long as I please. A good soup will fill me up for the whole day. A good soup is healthy and makes me feel good all day. This corn chowder is definitely a good soup.

Instead of loading the chowder up with cream and flour and other heavy chowder staples, viagra I used fingerling potatoes to give the chowder its rich creaminess. I also added some slow-cooking polenta to thicken it up and add another layer of corn-y-ness. Some stock, information pills frozen corn, lemon, crushed red pepper and a little bit of cream finish up this super simple chowder.

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I topped it all off with cheese, herbs and dollop of plain yogurt for one of the best soups I’ve made in awhile. I could probably eat this every day and be a happy woman. Next time, I might add some crumbled bacon or sausage, or maybe even a poached or fried egg to top it off. It’s a simple, affordable and delicious lunch or weeknight dinner. In fact, I wish I had some in my lunchbox right now, but I suppose I’ll settle for Turkey & Pumpkin Lasagna.

October 2, 2008

Prosciutto Sandwich w/Basil Apple Fennel Slaw

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites apple, basil, cheese, fennel, prosciutto, saintalbray, sandwich

Prosciutto Sandwich w/Basil Apple Fennel Slaw

Lately, illness I’m loving big, story delicious sandwiches full of meats, cheeses and “slaws”. I tried looking up the definition of a slaw, but all I got was “sliced cabbage”, which isn’t really what I had in mind. Here’s my definition. Slaw (n.): A crunchy mix of thinly sliced vegetables and herbs, dressed with mayonnaise or vinaigrette, and usually served as a side or topping with a sandwich. There. I feel better. Now I can use the term slaw as loosely as I have been and we can get back to talking about the sandwich.

I like to think of this sandwich as a transition meal between Summer and Fall. The fennel and basil make it taste Summer-fresh, but the green apple definitely says Fall. The rest of the sandwich is a neat little stack of prosciutto, Saint Albray Cheese — a creamy, Brie-like, spicy cheese — and the slaw. It was perfectly simple, a nice balance between meat and cheese and vegetables, and absolutely delicious!

August 22, 2008

chickpea & chorizo casseroles

mel entree, recipe bread, cheese, chickpeas, chorizo, gruyere

chickpea & chorizo casseroles

I should just rename this site The Chorizo Blog. I know I should stop, meningitis but I cannot help myself. Chorizo keeps well and is always there when I’ve run out of groceries, am too lazy to get more, but still want something delicious for dinner. Besides, Tom is obsessed with it and showers me with endless praise whenever I make anything with chorizo in it. Who doesn’t want that?

This week, I simmered a few links of it in some dry, sparkling cider. As the chorizo cooks, it absorbs the liquid and plumps up, losing all of its firm texture and becoming a lot more like the fresh sausage it started its life as. (Ending in a preposition. I know, I know. It’s Friday, so I’m allowed.) The chorizo also absorbs the cider’s sugar, making it savory, sweet and so deliciously addictive.

I added cider-spiked chorizo to some sauteed onions and chickpeas, then tossed everything with some pieces of crusty bread. In keeping with the sweet/salty theme (and because it’s all I had, really) I used a cranberry walnut bread. Everything is bathed in an egg mixture, topped with Gruyere and baked until crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.

This casserole feels homey and indulgent and comes together relatively quickly. The hardest part is waiting for it to come out of the oven.

August 15, 2008

fennel & fig salad | 10-minute honey mustard chicken

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites cheese, chicken, fennel, figs, prosciutto, salad, vegetarian

Phew! I’m back from vacation! I was actually back on Monday, arthritis but have been so busy working and running around that I’ve neglected the blog, which is very very bad of me. But here I am, and so ready to start cooking.

I ate so well on my trip! We had farm-fresh salad, pork loin, blue cheese and tons of wine in Napa. Delicious chorizo and polenta mussels in Portland, which I am dying to recreate. Fried chicken on biscuits with honey, mustard and pickles (awesome!). Chilled fennel soup with dungeness crab, avocado and grapefruit in Vancouver. Oh! and Japanese-style hot dogs with terriyaki, kewpie mayonnaise and toasted nori (best hot dog ever!). And so many micro-brewed beers and local wines! I can’t wait to re-create all of those flavors.

But for now, I’ve got 2 recipes to post. (I’m trying to make up for being such a slacker.) The first is a pretty fig and fennel salad with shaved pecorino cheese and a lemony dressing. It’s a light and easy meal perfect for summer and fancy enough to serve guests. But you have to make it now before figs go out of season!

The second is a 10-minute honey mustard chicken. It’s honestly as simple as five ingredients and a hot pan. The result is a sweet and tangy chicken perfect for a side of potatoes or on top of a salad. So easy and I bet you have the ingredients in your fridge right now.

This weekend, I’ll be making some new things inspired by my Pacific Northwest trip. I’m hoping they come out well enough to post some fun new recipes.

July 16, 2008

roasted fig, camembert & prosciutto “sushi” rolls

mel recipe, sides & bites camembert, cheese, figs, honey, prosciutto

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Awhile back, approved someone from Ile de France cheese contacted me and asked if I would be interested in some free cheese to feature on the blog. Free cheese? Camembert? Yes please. So, what is Camembert exactly? It’s like a stronger-tasting brie. Creamy and tangy, a bit nutty and very delicious. Now, to come up with a good recipe to showcase the cheese. I feel like a contestant on Top Chef.

Ever since black mission figs started appearing at the stores, I’ve been roasting them with olive oil, sugar and lots of black pepper. They emerge from the oven caramelized and just a bit spicy. Absolute heaven and perfect for a cheese plate. A cheese plate is a bit indulgent for just me and my husband, so I made “sushi” rolls with the roasted figs, the Camembert and prosciutto. Drizzled with honey and sprinkled with truffle salt, these are an indulgent and delicious snack, hors d’oeuvre or appetizer. You can also stack all of the ingredients into a crusty baguette for a most delicious sandwich.