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Posts Tagged ‘cheese’

  1. I.C.B.I.N…. Mascarpone Cheese

    April 21, 2011 by Cas

    Now, Food Daddy ain’t German — he’s Italian, through and through.

    But my newest acronym — “ICBIN” — sounds amazingly Teutonic, nein?

    Here, standing for our purposes for the familiar, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not…”, its other inspiration, the German “Ich Bin”, means “I Am”. And as we’re herewith referring to substitutes and stand-ins, it rather imparts an air of “Hey, I might not be the original but I sure as hell AM all that I’m cracked up to be!” Otherwise, the air might be one of apology: “Sorry I’m not what you expected. I shall try not to disappoint you too frigging much.”

    It’s a statement much more accurate than the one JFK made with the same Germanic phraseology, his announcement that he was a person from Berlin being widely held to quite accidentally assert instead, “I am a jelly donut.”

    Regardless, I’m introducing this first ICBIN — a cheaper solution to the store-bought variety, and an easier one to come by as the ingredients are even available at 7-11 or WaWa Markets in the middle of the night.

    I’ve played with many different “substitute” recipes and none quite pleased me as much as this creation of mine which incorporates elements of the best of them. The biggest help here is the addition of butter, which gives a creamy boost to the blend that really helps approximate the texture and triple-cream notes of traditional mascarpone. Just note that when chilled, this becomes rather firm because of the butter — delightful in its own right that way, but it will soften as it comes to room temperature, as well.

    Whip this up, and it’s ready to enjoy — as is, as the base for dips or spreads, or in recipes calling for mascarpone. And yes, you guessed it: this is timed to be at your beck and call when, in a matter of days, I will be posting a major dessert undertaking in which this will play a large role — so you may as well make a batch now, and have it handy so you can try your hand at what’s to follow.

    As for the cost savings, bear in mind that while the research I did was in no way scientific or highly quantified, the raw goods I used to make this brought my batch of homemade ICBIN Mascarpone in at LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE of one of the more inexpensive, widely available brands of pre-packed Mascarpone. Um… Wow, y’all…

    Herewith, the recipe. And it is so light and mildly flavored, I will put a few tips for serving down at the bottom that will give you some idea of its versatility. Make a batch and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator. One of these days I’ll figure out low-fat version, but today that’s simply not my yob, mang!

    8 oz. Cream Cheese (not whipped)
    3 Tbsp. Sour Cream
    2 Tbsp. Heavy (whipping) Cream
    2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly

    In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine first three ingredients. Beat on low speed until incorporated, then beat on high for one minute until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once.

    Beating on lowest speed, drizzle in melted butter until incorporated, then beat on high one additional minute.

    Yields about 1-1/2 cups.

    Use in place of traditional Mascarpone in your favorite recipe, place in a nonreactive, air-tight container and refrigerate, or try any of the following:

    - Spread on sliced rustic or Italian bread, with chopped chives, sliced green or black olives, coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
    - Dollop on brown bread slices with red onion, a sprinkle of dill and black pepper, and sliced smoked salmon.
    - Puree with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and crushed red pepper to taste for a savory tuscan spread for flat breads, crackers, and dipping vegetables.
    - Spread on fresh apple and pear slices, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
    - For a tasty departure from yogurt, add maple syrup, raisins, and finely chopped walnuts; or fresh blueberries or strawberries with a spoon of honey.
    - Spread lightly on slices of prosciutto, add a dried Turkish fig and a pecan half, and roll up for an amazing hors d’oeuvre.
    - Mix with crushed almonds and a dash of freshly grated lemon zest, and stuff into pitted Medjool dates.
    - Spoon onto toast points, and top with a dab of red or black caviar and capers.

    Omigosh… now I’m fucking starving…

    Category ICBIN! I Can't Believe It's Not..., Swaps & 'Stead-Ofs, Tips & Tricks, Vegetarian (or Potentially So) | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  2. 7-Layer Fiesta Burrito Granola

    April 4, 2011 by Cas

    Here, a savory sweet swap I think you’ll enjoy.

    Normally when you think of granola you think fruits and berries mixed in with the grains. This one features savory additions like beans and cheese and gets its flavor from savory spices such as cumin and chile.

    This granola is a great snack food, and is also amazing sprinkled on top of soups and salads. I found it most dangerous when just displayed in a glass jar on the butcher block, because every time I passed was occasion enough to grab a handful. The good news in that is if it becomes that regular a habit, it will be gone in no time so you won’t suffer for long.

    1 19-oz. Can black beans
    1 19-oz. Can red kidney beans
    10 Cups dry oatmeal, old fashioned or quick
    1 Cup Minute white rice
    3 Cups crushed tortilla chips
    1 Tbsp. chili powder
    1 Tbsp. paprika
    2 tsps. cumin
    1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
    2 tsps. garlic powder
    2 Tbsps. dried chopped onion flakes
    2 Tbsp. dried parsley
    1 Tbsp. dried cilantro
    1 Tbsp. dried oregano
    1 Tbsp. salt
    1 15-oz. Jar queso dip
    1 15-oz. Jar prepared salsa (mild or medium)
    2 Tbsp. corn starch
    1/4 Cup vegetable oil
    8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
    4 Slices white bread, coarsely shredded or chopped

    Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two baking sheets or roasting pans, or line with parchment paper; set aside.

    Rinse and drain the beans in a colander and pat dry with some paper toweling. Transfer to a big mixing bowl with all but the last six remaining ingredients, and toss to mix.

    Mix salsa with corn starch until smooth. Add Salsa mixture, queso and oil to dry ingredients, and toss to coat thoroughly.

    Transfer granola mix to pans in two equal portions, patting each gently to form almost a bar-cookie, though not as densely packed.

    Bake for 1/2 hour; swap the pans between top and lower racks for more even cooking, and reduce heat to 300°. Return granola to oven for another 1/2 hour.

    Remove granola from oven and transfer back to clean mixing bowl. Add crumbled white bread and shredded cheese, and toss to incorporate.

    Transfer granola back to baking pans, and return to oven. Reduce heat to 250° and bake an additional hour (or longer if desired) checking every 20 minutes for even browning and tossing as necessary.

    When desired level of crispness and browning are reached, remove from oven and transfer to sheets of waxed paper on flat, open surface to cool completely. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

    Category S/S-S: Savory/Sweet-Swap!, Snack Yourself Silly, Vegetarian (or Potentially So) | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

  3. Baked Polenta Lasagna

    March 16, 2011 by Cas

    Lasagnas are like people: there are a million variations, each with its own odd and sensational characteristics, and you should go out of your way to meet and experience as many of them as possible.

    Here, with Food Daddy’s first foray into the world of Baked and Layered and Off the Boat, I present a lasagna that combines some elements (ricotta filling and tomato sauce) that usually come to mind when you think “lasagna”, with a bit of a perk via the inclusion of some chopped sausage (vegetarian or otherwise) and a departure from the norm of white-flour lasagna noodles, relying instead on polenta –  here made into sheets — as the “pasta” holding the whole affair together.

    We will experiment with other polenta dishes, and MANY, many more lasagnas (there’s already another incredible recipe in the hopper I can’t wait to refine and share with you) but this is a nice way to take a few old Italian favorites and work them together.

    A note to my gluten-sensitive and full-on Celiac Foodies out there: THIS IS GLUTEN-FREE! And I’m marking it as such by including it in the GF category. BUT BE WARNED: if you choose to use a vegetarian sausage — many of which are just so good that nobody but you will ever know it’s not real pork — you MUST read labels, as the majority of these fine products have, as their main ingredient, the dreaded Vital Wheat Gluten.

    This lasagna is dense, and satisfying. And did I mention DENSE? A little goes a long way. I fed five people and still had leftovers. This is, if you cut the proposed 9 portions into 18 portions, a PERFECT central entree for a dinner or cocktail party.

    A further note from an Italian boy: as you serve this, the host gets the first piece. And not because he or she earned it, but because the first is the hardest to get out of the pan until you’ve made way for the others to slide out more easily — like one of those “mix and move the pieces” puzzles with the squares and the one open space. The sloppy-ass first hunk goes onto a plate which is quickly removed from sight, and then the guests are served the pristine slices that follow. The cooling time noted makes slicing and serving SO much easier, and nobody cries in pain as they burn the roofs of their mouths on molten cheese.

    For the Polenta:
    1 Cup “Quick” Polenta (corn meal) or precooked cornmeal (masa)
    (regular corn meal can be used, but stove-top time will be tripled)
    3 Cups water
    1 tsp. Salt

    For the Marinara Sauce:
    1 Can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained
    1 Small yellow onion, diced
    2 Tbsp. olive oil
    2 Tbsp. chopped garlic (or three cloves fresh, chopped)
    1 Tbsp. dried parsley
    2 tsps. Dried oregano
    1 tsp. Dried thyme
    1 tsp. Salt

    For the Filling:
    1 (15 oz.) Container ricotta cheese
    1 Large egg
    1 Cup plus 1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese
    1 Tbsp. Parsley
    1/2 tsp. Salt
    1/2 tsp. Black pepper
    2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
    4 Links Italian sausage (cooked and drained, precooked, or vegetarian), diced

    Prepare the Polenta:
    Bring corn meal, water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Once bubbling reduce heat to medium and stir frequently, about 5 – 7 minutes, until thick and belching steam. As it gets thicker you’ll need to stir constantly for the last minute or so. The resulting porridge should be the consistency of loose mashed potatoes.

    Lay out a long sheet (about a yard or so) of waxed paper on a flat surface. Remove polenta from heat and spoon it quickly down the center lengthwise of the wax paper. With a rubber spatula, dipping it frequently in warm water, spread polenta thin to form a long rectangle at least three times as long as (and at least the single width of) your 9″ x 9″ square baking dish. God, I hate fucking math. Roughly? A 10″ x 30″ sheet of polenta. An alternate method, once you’ve spread the polenta to near-size, is to cover with an additional sheet of wax paper and, with light pressure, use a rolling pin to smooth it out. Leave polenta to cool and set up until firm.

    Prepare the Marinara:
    In a suace pan, saute onions in olive oil over medium high heat, until transparent. Add garlic and continue to cook until the onions begin to brown, stirring frequently.

    Add remaining sauce ingredients and cook, covered, over high heat until mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes are tender and have given off all their liquid, puree to a chunky consistency with a hand blender or by transferring to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Return to pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and remove from heat.

    Prepare the Filling:
    In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients (except the remaining 1/4 cup of  parmesan, the shredded mozzarella and the sausage), until well combined.

    Preheat oven to 400°, and Assemble the Lasagna:
    Cut the polenta into three equal sections. Each should be roughly the size of the baking pan. They will be slightly larger (who wants slightly smaller? How ugly that would turn out!) so again, cut each square section into four squares. It makes placing them easier and accounts for uneven edges. I’ll explain how when we get to it. Please don’t rush me, I’m under enough pressure as it is.

    Ladel a thin layer of sauce onto the bottom of your 9″ x 9″ baking pan. If you’re smart it will be disposable aluminum, or your husband will be on dish duty after dinner. Take your first 1/3 of the polenta, which you’ve cut into 4 squares. Reassemble the square in the bottom of the pan by placing each one with the clean-cut center corner toward the outside corners of the pan; this will place the jagged edges and rounded corners in the center, and you’ll have a nice neat square with more consistent thickness.

    After the first polenta layer, spread on 1/2 of the ricotta cheese filling mixture; ladel on 1/3 of the remaing sauce. Top with 1/2 of the sausage and 1/3 of the mozzarella.

    Repeat with the next layer of polenta, the remaining ricotta, another 1/3 of the sauce, the remaining sausage, and another 1/3 of the mozzarella. Top that with the remaining layer of polenta, and cover with the last of the sauce and the mozzarella, and the reserved 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

    Bake in center of oven at 400° for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and continue to bake for 30 minutes more, or until top is golden brown and with crispy, dark edges.

    Remove from oven to cooling rack or heat-proof surface, and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cut into wedges (3 x 3 works best) and let your guests fight over who gets the coveted center square. Or the coveted corners with their TWO exposed sides of crispy edges. People are funny that way. And we fucking love ‘em for it.

    Category Cocktail Party, Entrees-Vous!, Featured Fare, G.F. Yourself! Gluten-Free Food Daddy, Pasta-liscious, Vegetarian (or Potentially So) | Tags: ,,,,,, | 1 Comment