One Perfect Bite: cheese recipes

Showing posts with label cheese recipes. Show all posts

Friday, July 8, 2016

Mac n' Pimento Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Several years ago, I used some leftover pimento cheese topping in a mac n' cheese I was making for a family lunch. The addition proved to be so popular, that it has become part of the recipe I use when I make the casserole for them. These days, whenever I make the pimento cheese I use as a topping, I double the recipe so I have enough to make our special mac n' cheese. My family prefers the creamy variety, so I serve ours directly from the pot. If you prefer a crustier, cheese topped mac n' cheese, you'll find directions for that in the recipe below. While any pimento cheese spread could be used in this recipe, I love the way my version is flavored. You can see my recipe HERE. I hope you'll give this version of mac n' cheese a try. It really is delicious. Here is how it's made.

Pint-Sized Swiss Tarts

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been experimenting with serving size today. I'm having a buffet luncheon this month, but I have more people coming than I have places at my table. I want to serve a meal that can be eaten from a paper plate and balanced on a lap in a crowded room. Quiche immediately came to mind, but I thought a standard piece would be difficult to serve and eat given the circumstances. I eyed my Texas-sized muffin pan and thought the cups would make perfect small tarts if they were lined with pastry and filled with a cheesy custard. My test run was done using an unbaked pie crust from the grocery store. I cut it into 6 circles and used them to line the large muffin cups. My family is partial to an onion tart that I make several times a year. I used the filling from that tart for the petite version I was testing for the luncheon. It took about 20 minutes to make and another 30 minutes to bake my test version of the tarts. When done, it was obvious that they'd make for neater serving at the table, and they were also small enough to be eaten without a fork, which would be great for a buffet. I'm not yet sure I'll serve the tarts for the luncheon, but I like the idea of small, individual servings, and, with all due modesty, I must say they are delicious. I hope you'll give them a try. Here is how they are made.

Cheddar Bay Biscuts

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The recipe for these biscuits is purported to be the one used to make the Cheddar Bay Biscuits that are served at Red Lobster. I must admit I've never eaten at Red Lobster, but the Silver Fox has, and he likes the biscuits that are served there. I made a pot of tomato soup today and I thought this would be a good time to give the recipe a try. The biscuits are really easy to make and my sampler loved them, giving them a solid A+. I must admit I was less enamored of them. The biscuits have a wonderfully cheesy flavor, but I found them to be too short, bordering on the almost greasy. My palate does not react well to overly rich or sweet food and I suspect it is responsible for the difference between my review and that of the Silver Fox. I urge you to give the biscuits a try. Their popularity leads me to believe that my review is an outlier and the biscuits have merely fallen victim to my "princess and the pea" attitude towards certain foods. If you love rich and cheesy, I suspect these biscuits have your name on them. If you make them, I'd love to know what you think of them. Here is how they are made.

Welsh Rarebit - Away A While Recipe Favorites

Welsh Rarebit

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those of you who remember waffles for dinner on Sunday night, will also recall tonight's feature recipe. While Welsh rarebit has fallen out of fashion, back in the day it made regular appearances on American tables. At its most basic, the dish is simple and consists only of toast over which a thick cheese sauce is poured. We are told that in 18th century England the poor ate rabbit, while in Wales, where rarebit originated, the population was so poor that rabbit was replaced with cheese. While I'm sure the story is apocryphal, it does help explain how the dish got its name. There are many versions of this recipe, some of which predate the settlement of colonial America, but they all share a common base of bread and cheese. The best of them are made with a sauce so velvety that, in theory, you'll forget there is no meat. More to the point, if you are fortunate enough to have one of the best versions, you won't care that there is no meat. This happens to be one of my favorite quick-fix meals and I make it often, using soup and a small green salad to round it out and make it substantial enough to serve as a light supper. For years, I used Jeff Smith's version of rarebit, but I when I stumbled on Alton Brown's recipe, which is made with a caraway rye bread, I switched my allegiance. These days, while it is probably overkill, I make the rye bread I use, so I can control the thickness of the rarebit base. I must also admit that I've become a bit of a cheese snob. While I'm not particular about its country of origin, I insist on using an aged white cheddar for the cheese sauce. I have a simple recipe for a light rye bread that I'll share with you tomorrow, but tonight I want to focus on the cheese sauce and the assembly of the rarebit. Please give this recipe a try. You will not regret it. The recipe for this rarebit can be found here.

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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Gougères - Cheese Puffs - Away A While Recipe Favorites

Gougères - Cheese Puffs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These light and tender morsels are in danger of extinction. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help keep this recipe relevant and make sure that these silky, egg rich pastries remain on our tables for years to come. Please understand, I have nothing against salsa, or chips and dips and pesto. I've been known to down a beer or two and confess that beer nuts are not safe in my presence. There are, however, times when I want something a bit more classic, something with culinary chops and a history that commends its presence on my table. The French gougères has much to recommend it. These savory cheese puffs are made with the same pate a choux dough that is used to prepare cream puffs and eclairs, but the addition of cheese or other savories make them a wonderful appetizer or hors d'oeuvres to serve with wine or champagne. Because they are so easy to make, I also serve them with more pedestrian meals of soup or stew. I must warn you that they are additive and the puffs should come with a "once bitten" warning attached to them. I've just finished making a gazillion of these to share with friends tomorrow. I know they will love them and I suspect you will too. These are best served directly from the oven, but I understand that that is not always possible, so I have a few tips to share with you. The dough can be refrigerated for a day before it is formed and baked. Once baked, the puffs can be frozen until needed. Frozen puffs should be thawed and reheated in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes before serving. If you plan to bake them ahead of time, make a slit in the bottom of each puff and turn them upside down to let moisture escape. I make it a point to reheat the gougères before serving them. Five minutes in a 350 degree oven does the trick. While I prefer to use Gruyere cheese, cheddar or blue cheese can be substituted and, if you wish, a filling can be piped into the puffs. I bake my trays of gougère on the lowest rack of the oven and I only bake one tray at a time. It may be my imagination, but I think the puffs get better lift that way. I really hope you will give this recipe a try. I like to share my addictions with others. The recipe for these simple cheese puffs can be found here.

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