My favorite recipes
On Sunday AT and I went to the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel. There was a woodturning demonstration there, and Jeff Bridges made AT a wooden goblet. It was interesting.
It started with a stick.
Then he started cutting it.
More cutting.
And more cutting.
They were from Chesapeake Woodturners.
And finally sanding.
And in minutes there was a goblet!
Sheep
carr valley cave aged marisa aged six months; rich, sweet, round la valle, wi
abbaye du bellocq a level of silky caramel smoothness only benedictine monks can achieve, pyrenees, fr
Cow
*old man highlander naturally ripened for 6-9 months, semi-soft, creamy & buttery honesdale, pa
l’amuse gouda aged 24 months; nutty with crystaline texture; deep & complex beemster, holland
Blue
valn d’alos bleu d’auvergne soft & buttery; mildly spicy with notes of grass & wild flowers languedoc, fr
Meat:
bentons tennessee ham 14 mos tn
la quercia prosciutto americano ia
Salumi framani toscano
House Made — didn’t try any of these.
chicken liver parfait
pork butter
smoked lamb liverwurst
suckling pig testa
Potato GnocchiThis Wall Street Journal (New World Gnocchi Jan 2011) article inspires you to get out the potatoes: Here’s how important gnocchi, aka ñoquis, is in Argentina and Uruguay: The food has its own day of each month, the 29th, when there is no question of what’s for dinner. On the 29th, you put a few bills under your plate of ñoquis and the cash is said to eventually multiply. In the WSJ version, they cook the potatoes til soft in the microwave, and then they pass potatoes through a ricer.
3 cups mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
all-purpose flour
boiling salted water
sauce
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
Measure the potatoes into a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of flour, salt, oil and blend with a fork. Add eggs and blend thoroughly into potato mixture. Turn dough onto floured board and knead gently, about 15 times. Shape into a fat loaf and set on floured area to prevent sticking. Cut off a piece of dough at a time about (about 1 1/2 cups) and roll on lightly floured board into a cord 3/8 inch thick. Cut cord into 1 1/ inch lengths. Roll each segment in th center lightly under forefinger to give the piece a bow shape / sea shells.
Set the shaped gnocchi aside on a lightly floured pan such as a baking sheet; the pieces should not touch.
Set them a few at a time (enough to cover the bottom, but not stack) into boiling, salted water. Cook five minutes after they return to the surface of the water (stir gently if they haven’t popped up in about a minute). Keep water at a slow boil. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon. Place in a shallow pan and use melted butter / olive oil to get them from sticking together. Cover and keep warm. Can keep in a 150 degree oven for as long as three hours. To serve, layers with sauce and cheese in a baking dish; heat at 375 for 10 minutes.
Mashed potatoes: to prepare instant mashed potatoes, hit the amount of water called for on the package to 6-8 servings; stie in potatoes as directed. Add no seasonings or other ingredients. Measure 3 cups; use at once. CAn also use pesto or marinara sauce.
The Sauce: BROWN BUTTER AND SAGE
1. Add a knob of unsalted butter to a large sauté pan (not non-stick) and set over high heat.
2.Once the butter browns, add several leaves of chopped sage and then immediately add well-drained gnocchi.
3. Do not touch the pan for a minute or two, until one side of the gnocchi is well browned.
4. Jerk the pan forward to toss the gnocchi, and allow them to brown on another side. Slide onto a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
Maureen called me from Texas to watch chef and cheese expert Jason Sobocinski, called The Big Cheese, on the cooking channel. We don’t get it (only food tv), but I went to the website. It says: The US is now the biggest cheese producer in the world and creates over 350 high quality. She says W would do a better job — which was very sweet of her. One of the recipes on the site has our favorite blue: Penne with Point Reyes Original Blue, Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach. It just premiered on May 1, and they don’t have much on the website yet.
The Spring Mill Bread staff say their spinach feta bread is seasonal, though I didn’t know there was a season for feta and spinach. But there is a good thing they think there is, because I can’t stop eating it. It’s very moist, and it’s made from organic wheat. The label says it has feta cheese in it, but further down it says it has no dairy products, so I’m not sure how that works. You should avoid products with more than 200 mg of sodium per serving, and this has 250, so that’s a reason to go easy on it. But that’s not unusual on anything with cheese.
We were skeptical, but this 3-cheeese Emmental, Comté and Gruyère cheeses mixture melts into one another to form a thick and creamy fondue. No preservatives, but certainly not low-cal. We split the container up into two, separate fondue parties, and that worked fine. Surprisingly smooth, and ready in under five minutes. La Fondue is available at Trader Joe’s 17.9 oz • $5.99.
5-Spoke Creamery Redmond Cheddar is made from raw cow’s milk and aged for 60 days. A very nice cheddar that we think is from Pennsylvania. Also melted well for breakfast on toast.
Manchego – a regular.
Societe Roquefort, (which I think is one of the most common brands), is very nice, one of our favorite blues. As it is an AOC, it is made from raw sheep milk according to the rules.
For National Cheese Fondue Day, the Melting Pot offered free fondue. WT was out of town and had set up the reservation, so NA and I got to take advantage of it at the DC location on 19th Street. We had just been to a lovely program at the Italian Embassy, so we were in the a festive cheese mood. The restaurant is a pretty place, much cozier than the family-friendly restaurant in nearby Arlington, VA. The staff was quite friendly, and the place was quiet. They make a big production out of making the actual fondue at your table, and that is quite fun. The hostess let us know: Every Wednesday: Wine Down Wednesday! 50% off select bottles of wine. The waiter, Charlie, and his trainee suggested salads and desserts, but they weren’t pushy. Charlie knew a bit about wine, and he checked with the bartender when we had a question. We went with Verdemar’s Spanish Albarino, and it went well with the Swiss cheese fondue. (There were many types of cheese fondue, but we decided to go with a classic).
Charlie prepared our fondue in a double-broiler-type fondue pot on the table with white wine, garlic, fresh lemon juice, grated Swiss Gruyere and Emmentaler, topped off with black pepper and nutmeg. It was accompanied by bread chucks, some veggies and granny smith apples. It was just perfect for 2. I’d give the fondue and service a good rating, but they need to work on the softie American bread–a good, crusty French bread would have added to the experience.
During the week you have to park on the street, and of course, we had parking meter issues, so bring plenty of change and call the phone number on the side if you have issues.
Belletoille Brie, a nice triple-cream brie from France.
Petite Basque, a sheep milk cheese from the Pyrenees mountains of France, near where Manchego comes from.
Parrano, a Dutch Gouda-style cheese.
Caseificio dell’Alta Langa Robiolo a washed rind (smelly) cheese from Bosnia
Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before, but we prefer other blues.
American Brie. “A French Style Brie made in America” Missing the great texture of French Brie. And it”s a small box. Where did we get this?