Rollin' Along...

in Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the Corvette--America's Dream Car. Seriously, even if you aren't a "car person," would you not like to drive one just once? I went to the 'Vette museum on a previous trip to KY, so I am acquainted with the wonder and splendor that is the Corvette. Most of the cars, probably 90% or so, that live in the museum are on loan from private owners...which is amazing to me, because that says they must have enough Corvettes to not miss one.

Personally, if I had a classic...say a beautiful 1968 Stingray...I would put one of those giant turntables in my front yard and allow my neighbors to bask in the glory and revel in the envy of me and my 'Vette. (You're worried about property values since I moved in, aren't you?)
If you have time and are in the area, the National Corvette Museum is interesting...and most importantly, air-conditioned, if you are there in the summer. The evolution of the icon is lovingly detailed, and there are a few interesting factoids to be found that might interested people who don't love automotive machinery. I found a lovely metallic olive green number that would beright at home on my front yard turntable--the design was heavily influenced by women who worked with the Corvette designers and engineers and featured some feminine touches...like handbag storage and vanity mirrors. Very pretty...

One of the coolest thing about the Corvette Museum is the least flashy thing--the library. The library houses information and specifications for practically every Corvette every manufactured. If you found some rusted out heap in Ol' MacDonald's barn and needed help restoring it to it's original condition, these ladies have just what you need. If you have a VIN or some sort of serial number, they can tell the original engine size, if it even is the original engine, the interior and exterior colors, upholstery options, etc. Pretty darn cool.

As far as dining options in Bowling Green, there's a lot of chains. I had some high hopes when I found out that a lot of Bosnians had settled there as refugees from Serbian-Croat conflicts. and I immediately asked about the possibility of Bosnia food. I was directed to a restaurant called "You and Me." And I immediately Googled "Bosnia food" and got this list, which sounded pretty darn promising.

You and Me is in a converted old house, with beautiful hardwood floors. I was a bit disconcerted when I walked in at 7:30ish p.m. on a Wednesday night and there was no one there. Literally, there were no customers in the dining room, and not a host-type person to be seen. After standing there for a minute or two, I could hear voices from the kitchen, so I yelled "hello" and scared the hostess. Always a good start to the dining experience.

The menu was sort of all over the place--Italian, Greek, and some German-sounding dishes...nothing that I would have thought to be distinctly different or "Bosnia-sounding" like the list in the Wiki. I asked my waitress what she would recommend, and she said that the Wienerwald Chicken was her fave. It was grilled chicken breasts smothered in a light cream sauce with tomatoes and topped with mozzarella...how bad could that be? It didn't strike me as being of any particular ethnicity, but it did seem to be a safe bet. It was served with a side item, and the waitress recommended the sliced baked potatoes, which came in a creamy, buttery sauce. So much for my resolution for making better choices when it came to eating out.

The chicken was cooked well, seasoned well, and tasted good, but was just not something to jump up and down about. The potatoes, on the other hand, were pretty fantabulous. They were tender, creamy, and a little caramelized on top. Perfect comfort food for a winter's eve. And, let me not forget the bread...because I ate 1 and a half loaves of it. Damn you, bread, just damn you. Carbs are definitely my downfall, and I downfell with abandon with this bread...which looks a lot like this bread.

I think it's called lepina or lepinja, and it had a nice chewy crust with an interior that was not too dense...not quite sure of the baking terminology to describe it. It was really nice, and I could have made a meal of just it and some butter.

On the way up, I stopped just before Franklin, TN to check out a place that came highly recommended from RoadFood.com, called Henpeck Market.

The Henpeck Market is as described on RoadFood--a quasi-gas station/mini-market/grill/gift shop--and the picture of the grilled pimento cheese with tomatoes and bacon sold me on stopping. (It was on the way up and I did need to eat lunch, didn't I? Ah, Yoda, the justification runs strong within this one...)

I had the grilled pimento cheese, and it was most tasty. I love, love, love pimento cheese, and it must be a savory pimento cheese. That stuff you see in the lunch meat section of the grocery store usually tastes sweet, and that is bad eats.

Pimento cheese seems to be a uniquely Southern delicacy, and it is a delicacy--the staple of many bridal teas and baby showers--made into little finger sandwiches of white bread with the crusts cut off. It's simple to make, and can be dressed up or dressed down. I just eat it with crackers if I make it...and I don't make it often, because I will eat it...all of it. I shall share my top secret recipe with you if you beg...well, okay, I won't make you beg.

Pimento Cheese

1 8-oz bag of finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 8-oz bag of finely shredded mild Cheddar cheese

1 4-oz or larger jar of diced pimentos (depends on how pimento-ey you like your cheese)

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted and cooled (This would be the key and secret ingredient)

Garlic salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Mayonnaise to taste

(On the mayonnaise front--I use Hellman's, and Hellman's Light can be used; Duke's is allowed, too. Do not ever mentioned the words "Miracle Whip" and pimento cheese in the same breath to me. That will make you dead to me in a heart beat. Seriously. I am not kidding.)

1. Combine the cheeses, the garlic salt, and pepper in a large bowl. There's no real measurements for the spices; I just shake some in and then adjust later.

2. Add the pecans and then the pimentos. Start adding the mayo in about a teaspoon full at a time. Start with 1-2 and combine until the mixture holds together. Be careful, because the mayo can get away from you, and you find yourself rooting around in the fridge for any extra cheese that you might have available to dry it out.

3. Cover and chill for about 20-30 minutes before serving. I usually mound it up in a bowl, kind of like a cheese ball, and scatter crackers around it. If you are making sandwiches, you may need to add a little more mayo to make it spreadable, but this pimento cheese is meant for a hardy bread, where you can just sort of mash it onto the bread and it doesn't have to look pretty.

I liked the version of Pimento Cheese that I had at Hal and Mal's with the jalapenos, which would be a nice addition...make sure you drain them well if using pickled. (And, remember, no Miracle Whip. Ever. Will send a crackerjack squad of little ol' blue hair assassins after you.)

The real gem of this trip was on the way home. I got stuck in Nashville traffic, which was every bit as horrendous as the traffic I used to see in the ATL. There was an accident, which was causing delays that resulted in taking 45 minutes to go a quarter mile. So, I hit the GPS and asked it to find me food, and it popped up with the Back to Cuba Cafe. Cuban food?! In Nashville?! At the exit I was creeping towards?! Oh, yeah!

This is the Lechon Asado Plate, which is roasted pork with grilled onion, some yucca with grilled onions and a mojo sauce, black beans, and rice. The taste buds were doing a happy dance from the first bite until the last bit was scraped off the plate. I had a shot of Cuban coffee to top it off, which kept me away for the rest of the trip home. I am busily plotting a revisit to this little gem.

(Oh, and be amazed at the picture--I took it with the cell phone and managed to get it off the cell phone and onto my blog without the use of a memory card. Take that, modern technology!)

This post has gone on way too long and taken way too long to write, but I must give an update on the Fat Dog. His tumor came back, and our vet referred us to the Small Animal Clinic at Auburn University for further examination and diagnosing. The news is not good. This time, the cancer has spread to the lungs and lymph nodes, and we're at Stage 4. They offered some options for chemotherapy and possibly the vaccine, but it would only prolong his life for a short amount of time, and he might not respond to treatment at all...so, he would feel bad for nothing.

I decided to bring him home and make him comfortable. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, but I have meds for that if he starts to hurt. Last night, he was like the old Fat Dog we all know and love...with the exception of The Goldfish of course. He chased The New Hotness around the living room and "dominated" him for awhile, and he's still eating and drinking, so it's not quite the end yet. But, I know it's coming...and I have no idea how to prepare for it.

Gone Goat

I finally arrive in the the small burg of Siler City, NC, after a harrowing trip from the airport, which was made harrowing by the fact that Jane the GPS would not acquire signal for miles and miles, leaving me to my own devices about which road to take out of Greensboro. Many thanks to the KimKim, who did a much better job than Jane the TomTom, for talking me out of the city, and Dave for tech support on troubleshooting why the damn thing would not grab a satellite signal...beating it against the seat, i.e., "percussive maintenance," was not an option he found, but it felt good.

I drive a couple of miles outside of Siler City and turn off Highway 64 on to a curvy country lane, complete with the requisite country church posting a sign exhorting me to "Fireproof my life...Jesus insures," on my way to my temporary home for the next 3 nights--the Inn at Celebrity Dairy.

I've been excited about this particular trip from the first time I Googled my options for "lodging in Siler City," and the Inn at Celebrity Dairy popped up on the radar. It's a B&B at a goat dairy. (Yeah, I said "goat dairy.") Goats! B&B! Home Cooked Breakfast! What's not to be excited about, I ask you?

Goats fascinate me...especially the little bitty ones. It probably dates back to all those Popeye and Looney Tunes cartoons I watched, and in every single one that featured a goat, the goat always ate a tin can AND would butt you in the rear if you turned your back to him. I never really stopped to think "why would a goat eat a tin can or have an obsession with rear ends?" Maybe, it was because I had already accepted that rabbits spoke with a Bronx accent, ducks were amazingly greedy when it came to treasure, and coyotes had a secret mail order catalog for all sorts of better mousetrap (or road runner) contraptions, so goats eating cans were fairly easy to believe.

If you Google "do goats eat tin cans," you'll be amazed at the number of FAQs and trivia Q&As that abound about this question. In reading through a few of these tidbits of wisdom, it seems that goats were probably a) trying to get the last bits of something out of a can, or b) eating the paper label and/or the glue that holds the labels on the can, and this behavior is what gave rise to the idea that goats would eat anything. Heck, they might as well be Labrador retrievers, who probably can and do eat tin cans, along with sofa cushions and siding from houses.

There was an automotive recycling center (junkyard) on what used to be the outskirts of the Rocket City that I had visited in another life that involved a hobby of old German sports cars. The guy who owned the junkyard kept goats in the yard, and they would wander around the property among the piles of various automotive effluvia and rusting car bodies, doing goatly things. Invariably, one would always be on top of an old car body surveying its domain and giving the stink eye to interloping humans. And, these goats were large...like super mutant goats, so I was always a bit wary of them and never presented my backside...just in case those old cartoons were onto something.

Back to the Celebrity Inn and Dairy...The Dairy is a working dairy, and guests are encouraged to watch the milking process, which occurs twice daily. Unfortunately for me, all the goats are pregnant and aren't letting down milk during my visit. I did visit the goat barn, or "Goat Hilton" as they call it, and saw the flock, who were lounging around and peacefully chewing cud and communing with the chickens and barn cats. There is a peacock named Rupert, who hangs around the barn as well. (And, I forgot my darn camera when I went to see the goats, so no goat pictures for me!)

The rooms at the inn are homey and comfy in a lived-in way...not the antiseptic look of the traditional business hotel, more of the "shabby chic" look. Most of them have private baths, and some share baths and could be used as suites if you were visiting with your family. I'm in Benjamin's Room, which has a queen-size bed and a private bath, which is basically what I get at the Hampton Inn. What I don't get at any business hotel is a home-cooked breakfast every morning that features Celebrity's award winning chevre.

Breakfast is served family style, and you sit down with the innkeepers and the farm/inn staffers. Everyone is talkative and friendly, and it feels like they really are glad to have you there. They were very accommodating to my request to have breakfast a little earlier than the normal 8:30 am, because I needed to be heading to the site at that time. The innkeepers, Britt and Fleming, have been in the goat dairy business for about 20 years and innkeepers for the last 10. They got into goats because Fleming is allergic to dairy products, and she was searching for a source of calcium and someone suggest goat milk. They studied with a French cheesemaker on how to make chevre, and they do a fine job of it. Britt is a retired engineer, and he works on restoring the farm house and outbuildings. He's also got a dream of doing culinary school, which we talked about during breakfast.

At my first breakfast, we had a humongous 12-egg family omelet made from eggs gathered from the chickens that wander around the farm, along with homemade strawberry and fig preserves, butter, and chevre, biscuits, country ham, and fresh fruit. Day 2's morning feast was fresh grapefruit, baked eggs with chevre, fruit, and what looked and tasted like a whole grain cornbread. Day 3 started with a bowl of granola with homemade yogurt drizzled on top, along with fruit, biscuits, and curry flavored goat cheese that went well with fig preserves, and something I never ever get outside of Scottish festivals: Scotch eggs.

Scotch eggs are pretty damned decadent, in my book. It's a hardboiled egg, removed from the shell, then wrapped in sausage and coated in bread crumbs and deep-fried...seriously. According to the entry in Wikipedia, they aren't really Scottish, but I've only had them at Scottish festivals before this. These were drizzled with a little honey-dijon mustard and cut into quarters, which made it seem less bad for you somehow. Ah, my brain--a wonderous player of tricks!

The Inn also hosts Sunday lunch on every third Sunday, and they also do special events with local chefs. Wednesday afternoon, when I came in from the site visit, someone was poaching pears in red wine with cinnamon and allspice and white wine with vanilla and ginger for an event on Thursday evening, and the aroma was divine.

One evening, I drove 20 minutes or so to Pittsboro for dinner at The General Store Cafe, and was rewarded for my efforts with a lovely dish of Shrimp and Grits and a very nice Berry Cobbler, which was more of a Berry Crumble in my opinion, but delicious no matter what you called it.

The Celebrity Inn is not a fancyschmancy spa kind of place--no day spa with a goat milk bath and goat cheese facial masque--it's a bit rustic, clean, and comfortable, and sort of feels like you're staying the night with some long-lost relatives that you haven't seen since Cousin LuLu's wedding to that bluegrass singer...who happen to have high-speed internet. (That is a big concern when traveling for business and going off the corporate hotel beaten path.) I think I've slept better here, because of the homey feel, than I've slept in any hotel in the last few months. (There are amenities like massages to be had with appointment, and you could probably get a little goat cheese to smear on your face if you really wanted..but why wear it, when you can eat it?!.)

As the economy is swirling around in the toilet, I worry about places like the Celebrity Inn and how they will survive this downturn. Personally, I think folks should really look at these little local getaways as viable options for vacations...where you might have cruised off to the Carribean for a week before and spent a couple thousand bucks, you could have 3 or so little mini-vacations or long weekends that are in driving distance of and probably some interesting places that just aren't on the big radar. Yeah, rural NC is not as exciting as going to Las Vegas, etc., but it's cheaper and more relaxing. I was envious every day as the Inn staff got up to go about the business of making cheese, preparing for guests, taking care of the animals, etc. It seemed rather peaceful and idyllic, and somehow had more purpose. I know, that's just a rose-colored view, but it never hurts to dream a little dream, now does it? Naaah!

Craaaazzy about Tortellini

And, that's not all that's crazy 'round here. More on that later.

So, being the semi-trained culinary professional that I am (please, no comparisions to other "semi" types...you know who you are, Sandra Lee, you Semi-Ho, you!), I sometimes just want to throw something together that's quicky, easy, and of course, cheesy!

Enter the humble refrigerated cheese tortellini...because who the hell has time to make tortellini these days? Certainly not me! (Whine, whine, whine)

There's an amazing amount of stuff you can do to that little package of pasta that makes a great meal. Although, I must confess that my favorite way to eat the little hummers is with a lot of butter and shredded Parmesan cheese. That's all. Yeah, not too healthy, but really comforting.

We first hit the tortellini jackpot when I discovered a Weight Watchers Shortcut cookbook with this recipe:

Cheese Ravioli in Pesto-Tomato Broth

28 oz fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

1 9-oz package refrigerated reduced fat cheese tortellini

1 14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1/4 cup commercial pesto

2 cups yellow squash, cubed (or a mix of yellow and zucchini)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Procedure:

1. Bring broth to a boil in a large sauce pan.

2. Add ravioli and remaining ingredients; reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Yields 4 servings, 1.5 cups each.

Points = 6 (Which ain't bad for a pasta dish)

Good luck on finding those low-fat cheese ravioli. I could never find them, so I'm sure the point count goes up by 2-3. And, then I would substitute Italian-style diced tomatoes instead of the plain no-salt ones, because that was what was in the cupboard. (And, then I jacked it all to Point hell and back by dumping a handful of shredded Parmesan into my bowl. I just can't quit the cheese!)

So, this version is in fairly standard rotation in the Poodlevania household for the winter months, because we're all about soup, and we're all about the quick soup!

Then, I was perusing a notebook of WW recipes that Linna put together for me when I announced a couple of years ago that I was doing WW (for the first time--I know, I know). Linna was very successful with her weight loss and is my hero!, and I really appreciated this little notebook, which I have used many times.

The Man announced a few weeks ago that he wanted to try eating better again and requested that I throw some WW recipes back in the dinner rotation. So, I got out the trusty notebook and started poring over my options.

Hey--look! A different tortellini soup! More stuff in it! Let's try it!

Tortellini Soup Florentine ('cause it's got spinach in it!)

3 cups fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

1 quart chicken broth (I recommend the Pacific Rim Organic at Costco--6 for $10)

1 cup water

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried sage or rosemary leaves, crumbled

2 cups coarsely chopped cleaned spinach or other greens (kale, chard)

16-oz can small white or navy beans, rinsed and drained

4-6 sun-dried tomatoes, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Cook tortellini according to package instructions, until just tender.

2. In a large sauce pan, bring chicken broth, garlic, herbs, and 1 cup water to boil.

3. Stir in spinach, beans, and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer until spinach and tomatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in tortellini and simmer 1 minute longer. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings/6 points each

Hey--more stuff, same Points. Not a bad deal. I also just put the tortellini in the broth without cooking it separately. I let it boil for about 5-6 minutes, then throw in the beans, spinach, and tomatoes and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until beans are heated through and spinach is wilted. Notice this recipe has no salt...I have to add some salt...usually in the form of a small can of sliced black olives. And, for tonight's version, I threw in a can of Italian-style diced tomatoes. I was out of fresh spinach, so I used some frozen, which I defrosted in the nukerator and drained. See, the possibilities are endless!

Besides, I'm going to need all the easy stuff I can get for awhile. I'm have a wee bit o' surgery on Thursday, and will be down for the count for at least 3 weeks...and doomed to The Man's cooking for the most part. (Not that I won't be grateful, honey, but...)

I've laid in some supplies and plan to make some Moldy Jell-o, because I know I won't want a lot to eat when I get home from the surgery. I did find something that looks rather yummy in the dairy case though. Remember this little gem: Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake Filling? Now it comes in CHOCOLATE!! I swear, Kraft/Philadelphia Brand are in league with some sort of demons, and I don't care! I plopped the tub of that into the cart, and later, when The Man was staring into the fridge and asking about it, I very succinctly told him to back the hell away from my cheesecake filling. It's Mine! Mine! Mine! I neeeeeeeed it for my recovery period. I will be sans a womanly part or two, and I am going to need much comforting during this time.

So, not that I've been good about keeping up the blog lately, I'm probably going to either be better about it (boring details of my recovery) or really, really bad about keeping up with it. Bear with me, and I promise I'll be more proactive about posting!

p.s. I soaked Harvey this weekend, because it was time for a soak...sort of past time for a soak, and whaddya know?! He's sprouted at least 6-7 little nubs, which is exciting, since I didn't even shock him to put him in this state. Pretty cool, huh?

Everybody Loves Log!

(Bonus points to you if you watched Ren and Stimpy...even more bonus if you understood what it was all about!)

I had a birthday this month, and did a joint party with my friend Jessie, since her birthday is in August, too. Nothing quite like multi-tasking!

Linna gave me the most wonderful present...all my presents were wonderful, but this one ranks up there with the most unusual present ever! I got a log. Not just any log, though, but a log that will grow me some lovely shiitake mushrooms, provided I don't kill it. Which can be a distinct possibility, given my black thumb with indoor plant life. I managed to kill 3 herb dish gardens and a Chia pet this past year...and I have no idea how. I used to have plants and kept them alive for great stretches at a time, but now it seems all I can grow is basil outside. And, in this heat, I've even given that up!

Anyway, enough of the plant woes and back to the log. I've seen these logs before in catalogs, and I've always thought it would be very cool to have one and grow my own mushrooms. (I keep telling The Man that we need little goats, too, so I can start working on my artisanal cheese making project for my retirement to Vermont. So far, he's not conceded on the goats yet, but hope springs eternal.)

It really is a log. For an inert stick of wood, it requires some diligence and effort to make it "fruit" and grow mushrooms. First, you shock it in icy cold water for 24 hours, and after it fruits and you harvest the yummy mushrooms, you have to put it on a rest and recuperation schedule that involves soaking and shocking and resting at regular intervals. It's almost like having a newborn baby.

My log, which we shall call Harvey, is from the fine folks at Lost Creek Shiitake Mushroom Farm. Harvey came in a box with his instructions and a tray to soak and keep him in.

I shocked him yesterday, and he's now residing in my basement office, ready to fruit, I hope. Cross your fingers that I don't screw this up! And, that we get something that looks like the log in the picture in the very near future.

Nooooo!! Anything but MORE cheese!!!

I'm not really complaining about more cheese, because we actually made cheese in class today. (Yep, another skill set I can add to my resume: "cheesemaker.") (Stop laughing.) (Skillz are good.)

We made several different kinds of fresh cheeses. Everyone had to make fresh mozzarella, which is great fun, and then we did some cheeses by teams--ricotta, queso blanco, mascarpone, and lemon cheese. We also took some of the fresh mozzarella and rolled it up with a walnut-basil pesto as sort of a rouladen or pinwheel.

Cheese making in your home (or classroom) kitchen is actually pretty easy to do. You don't need a cow or a goat, but you may need some specialty products for some of the cheeses.

Essentially you need whole milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half; and some sort of acid, like lemon juice, cider vinegar, tartaric acid, or citric acid. If you're making mozzarella, you'll need to purchase some mozzarella curd, because not a lot of people have rennet lying around.

Lemon cheese is a lot like Boursin in texture with a lemony flavor, according to Chef Pantry. (We don't know this yet, because we have to let the cheeses hang and drain/dry until Wednesday's class, when we'll get to actually taste them. I'll report back on how they turned out later this week.) Basically, you heat milk and heavy cream and add lemon juice and stir until it thickens. Rest at room temp for 3-4 hours, then bundle it up in cheesecloth and let it drain over a bowl in the fridge for 8-12 more hours. Then, you can add some lemon zest and pepper and press it into a mold. See, easy.

Mascarpone is that expensive little tub of Italian cheese that is one of the main ingredients of tiramisu...that, and those damn ladyfingers that you can never find when you need them. Chef gave us a recipe for mascarpone that will probably save tons of money. Sure, it has heavy cream, which is expensive, but when compared to that little tub o' cheese goo, it's a real cost saver.

Mascarpone (makes 32 fl oz; adjust as necessary)

64 fluid ounces heavy cream

1/2 tsp tartaric acid (found it online for 7.50 for 4 ounces, which will make a lot of mascarpone)

Heat cream to 180°F, stirring often to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Add tartaric acid and let cream coagulate into a curd.

Drain curd for at least 24 hours under refrigeration in a strainer lined with a coffee filter. Mascarpone is ready to use, or you can store it in a covered container under refrigeration for up to 7 days.

The coolest thing by far today was making fresh mozzarella. That was neat, and we got to eat some, too.
I really, really love caprese salad with fresh mozzarella slices, some ripe tomatoes, a little basil chiffonade and drizzled with just a little olive oil and maybe a balsamic reduction. That's my idea of summer heaven. And, mid-fall heaven, too. I had some grape tomatoes, little balls of mozzarella (from the expensive trip to the farmer's market), some fresh basil, so I whipped up a little caprese to go with dinner tonight.

If you want to make your own mozz, you need some mozzarella curd, which you'll have to purchase. Todaro Brothers seems to have a fairly reasonable price for the curd, so you might want to give it a whirl. The rest of the ingredients are extremely cheap: water and salt. Whoo hoo!

The key to proper cheese making seems to lie in getting the temperature right. All our recipes were very specific on the temperature that the water or milk needed to be at to have the magic of cheese occur. The mozz was the simplest, because you essentially melt the curd, then work it into the shape you want. Don't overwork it, because it can get tough.

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (yields 2 lbs.)

3 oz salt
1 gal water
2 lbs cheese curd, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Procedure

Add salt to the water and bring it to 160°F. Remove pot from heat. Lower cheese curd in a colander into the hot water, completely submerging the curds.

Work the curd with wooden spoons, stretching it until it becomes a smooth but stringy mass. Maintain water temperature at a constant 160°F. (We actually left the pot on the eye with the flame on for this stage.)

Remove cheese from water after all the curds have melted and been incorporated. You want it to look sort of shiny.

Working quickly, shape cheese into balls of various sized as you like. Use a dish of ice water to cool your hands as you shape. Store the cheese balls covered and under refrigeration for up to 5 days.

See, told you it was easy. You too can have skillz, mad skillz, I tell you! (And, 2 recipes today!! Can you believe it?)

Who Ate ALL the Cheese?

That would be me. Urp.

Monday = Cheese Day. We discussed and tasted beaucoup cheeses...some good, some okay, and....well, let's just say I did something that I've always wanted to do. One of those things that you've heard about all your life and may never have done. Yes, gentle readers, I brought in Limburger! Hee!

Chef said if we wanted to, and it was not required, we could stop by the grocery store and grab an interesting cheese for class. Don't spend a lot of money, he said, but get something out of the ordinary--no domestic Cheddar or Monterey Jack. So, I opted for Limburger. I figure we've all heard about it, maybe some people have even tried it, but it's worth the $2.99 I paid for it just for the experience, no? I also got a Greek cheese, kaseri, to try as well. (You can tell I went to the international farmer's market, can't you? I spent waaaay too much money, but it was fun! And, holidays are coming--you always spend more for holiday food...gotta have something to make a resolution about, don't ya?)

The kaseri (or kasseri) is the Greek version of mozzarella. It's a mild white cheese and most often used in Saganaki--the flaming cheese dish you find in a lot of Greek restaurants. The waiter brings the cheese, pours a liqueur on it, lights it up and screams "Opa!" Great fun. Because what's the only thing better than cheese? Why melted cheese, of course!

Limburger...the stuff of legends, an honorable mention in a B-52s song, and Looney Tunes staple, where a mere whiff of the stuff could curl your toes and knock you out or make your animated eyes spin in pain. Chef walked by our table and picked up the foil wrapped cheese and just grinned. I think he was pleased that I had brought it. I figured what the heck--I'm sure most of my classmates haven't tried it, but we've all heard about it, so take that Nike philosophy to heart and let's just do it.

Limburger is is made from cow's milk and is soft-ripened for about 3 months. It originated in Belgium and is now also made in the United States; however, most limburger comes from Germany. It's an innocous looking cheese, with a rind sort of like a Brie or a Camembert and the interior is soft and creamy, again like a Brie...an extremely well-aged Brie. A Brie that may have been buried for a month or two and dug up...kind of the kimchee of cheeses.

Seriously, it was not as malodorous as it's been depicted on stage and screen. It is fairly pungent, and the pungency does increase the longer it ages, but it's by no means knock your socks off and curl your fashionably straight hair stinky. If you like strong cheeses, you might like Limburger. Then again, you might be ready for skunk jerky as well. I brought home what was left to challenge The Man with, and he was game. I'll check on it again in a few days and see if the stink factor has increased.

We had a couple of blues--a Danish, a Gorgonzola, and one of my faves--Saga Blue, which is a blue-veined Brie...that's my idea of heaven. Manchego, a hard Spanish goat cheese, is pretty tasty with quince paste; a quince is sort of a combination of pear and apple.

We also learned about how to serve cheese, as in setting up a cheese board for a customer or for a cheese course. There are 6 different types or textures of cheese: Fresh, Soft & Rind, Semi-soft, Hard, Grating, and Blue, and you should bear these textures in mind when creating a cheese course or platter. Don't put too many of the same texture, like both brie and camembert, which are soft, or strong flavors, like Gorgonzola and Stilton, on your platter. Balance is the key. And, do something to identify the different cheeses--little placards or flags or something to let your guests know what they are eating in case they like it or not. Chef said you would basically look like a doofus if YOU didn't know what the guest were eating, and they asked you about it. How hard is it to Google, I ask you?

Some fun cheese trivia: Maytag Blue is made in Iowa and was a collaboration between Iowa State University and the Maytag family farm...yep, that Maytag family of appliance fame. Also, Coach, the leather folks, have opened a cheese making business in upstate New York and are producing a very nice goat cheese (montrachet).

Happy Thanksgiving, with cheese or without! We're doing X-perimental Turky Day at our house--I'm brining a turkey for the first time, so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm using an Alton recipe, so I'm sure it's going to work out just fine. Now, off to make the cranberry congealed salad that feeds thousands!

Hors-d'oeuvres from Hell

Well, not really from Hell, but it makes a nice title, don't ya think?

Actually, it was more like I was in hell, or rather my feet were. Damned plantar crap is popping up again. It was so bad this weekend, that I put my feet in the pool as soon as I got home...in the 40-degree pool. Hey--I figured they were inflammed, and cold sometimes takes out inflammation, and it was easier than making an ice foot bath. I lasted all of 2 minutes. Polar bear girl I am not. And, it came back with a new development--shooting heel pain in my right heel. Loverly.

Back to the food, because that's what we're all here for, anyway. Monday's Pantry class was all about (mostly) cold hors-d'oeuvres and appetizers, and what the difference between an app and a hors-d'oeuvre (which is hands down the hardest word on the planet to spell consistently...even worse that the fear of the number 13...that triske--whatever.) According to our text, the translation from the French is "outside the meal," because hors-d'oeuvres are literally served before you sit down for the meal. If it's part of the meal, then it's an appetizer and is usually a bit larger portion than the 1-2 bite hors-doeuvre. Both serve basically the same function--to perk up your appetite for the meal to come.

Here's our menu:

Blue Cheese Mousse piped into Belgian Endive leaves
Clam Fritters with cocktail sauce
Guacamole
Hummus
Curried Onion Relish
Red Pepper Mousse
Salsa Fresca/Salsa Verde
Spiced Mango Chutney
Olive Tapenade
Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Madeira sauce

The strudel was the best thing we did. The sauce was out of this world, and I could have just drank it...which, at one point, several of my classmates and I were doing. It was like "want a little strudel with your sauce?"

The blue cheese and red pepper mousses were okay...the blue cheese one got a little salty, but it looked very good. And it was incredibly easy to do. Mousse is French for "froth" or "foam," and it should be light and smooth. We were quizzing Chef on the difference between mousse and mousseline, and the nearest definition we could come to was, for our purposes, mousseline usually involved ground/pureed meat that is cooked and chilled and then put into something else.

Blue Cheese Mousse in Endive leaves (makes 1 pound of mousse)

Ingredients

10 oz Blue cheese (If you don't like blue cheese, you can substitute the same amount of goat cheese...you could use herbed goat cheese as well)

6 oz Cream cheese

1 tsp Kosher salt

.25 tsp Ground black pepper

6 fl oz Heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Small endive leaves (or you could use toasted baguette rounds, etc.)

Procedure

1. Purée blue cheese and cream cheese until very smooth. Season with S&P.

2. Fold whipped cream into the mousse until well blended, without lumps. Chill for 15 minutes or so--don't let it get too hard, because you want to put it in a piping bag.

3. Use a piping bag with a smallish tip--not too small, but not a giant one, either, or you can spoon it into a plastic bag and cut the corner off. Pipe a nice line down the endive leave, sort of squiggle it to make it look pretty. Chef Pantry says he sometimes garnishes these with a candied walnut or pecan, which would give it added flavor, texture, and color. Or, you can use it as a dip.

The key when making this type of hors-d'oeuvre is to take into account the climate of the area you are going to serve it in...i.e., not at an outdoor wedding reception in July at 95 degrees, because it would just melt and wilt and look damned ugly. (Although, anyone who has an outdoor wedding reception in the South in the summer deserves whatever might melt and wilt and look damned ugly. Then, they truly would be the hors-d'ouvres from hell. I can see having your guests wilt for the 15 minutes it should take for the ceremony in the lovely botanical garden or in Great Uncle Willie's hay field where you had so many memories as a child, but for the love of Pete, get the guests inside soon! And, double the amount of liquids (punch, water, tea), nay triple! the amount of liquid you plan to serve, or you'll be sorry!)

The red pepper mousse involved gelatin, which can be tricky to work with, and to be honest, it was pretty bland. It looked pretty, because the team that made it piped it onto chilled spoons, which gave it some visual interest. I think the spoonful type hors-d'ouvres are kinda neat, but I always think about the poor schmoe who will have to wash all those spoons...some poor schmoe like a culinary student who has to slave away for hours at some volunteer gig.

On today's schedule is the written part of our mid-term and some hot appetizers. From the recipes we were given, there was a lot of seafood--crab cakes, Clams Casino, Oysters Diamond Jim Brady--so, I hope we get to do all the good stuff.