Kung Hei Fat Choi is the Chinese term for their New Year, and this happened just a couple of days ago. Here I am not yet even finished with listing my goals for the coming year, when another kind of New Year steps in. Anyway, because of this, we had a celebration at my son’s house with the Chinese New Year as motif. And one of the dishes presented was shomai, which was a pork shrimp concoction wrapped in wonton.

When the shomais were done, there was still two cups of filling left, thus my daughter in law thought of a way to improvise. She took out phylo dough from the fridge, wrapped up some shiomai filling and baked it for a couple of minutes. I did say it came out as a very creative dish and did not loose its savor. As a matter of fact, it made it more nutritious when baked as against steaming. It had a crispy end with lots of meat to be savored.

And so when I saw a friend posting pictures of Chinese food with fried wontons and my daughter in-law with her phylo dough creation, an idea struck me. I decided to switch my recipe of baked puff pastry spinach gruyere into fried wonton spinach gruyere. Sohere’s the recipe: (actually you are getting two recipes) I just wanted to be creative.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mushroom
• 3 tbsp. Butter
• 1 c. Gruyere Cheese grated
• 1 pack 8 oz. Frozen spinach thawed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pack of 25 pcs square wonton wrappers or 1 pack puff pastry
• oil for frying

Filling: Place pan on stove over medium heat. Melt the butter and sauté mushroom for 5 minutes. Press out as much water off the spinach. In a large bowl, place the cooked mushroom, the spinach and the gruyere cheese. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Mix until combined.

Recipe 1: (using puff pastry) Spray oil on a cookie sheet. Set aside. Thaw out puff pastry. Make the filling as mentioned above Sprinkle a little flour on the table before spreading the thawed out puff pastry. Spread the filling evenly on the rolled out pastry. Roll tightly into a log, making sure that there are no spaces inside when you roll it. Then cut into thin round circles. Place the circles on tray. Place the cut up circles on the tray and bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Serve.

Recipe 2 (with wonton)
Get one sheet of wonton wrapper and place it like a diamond in front of you. Rub the sides with water or egg whites. Place filling at the center and form it like a log. With the pointed tip nearest you, cover the filling until just until slightly concealed. Then fold the opposite edges towards the filling and roll everything until it reaches the other tip. Seal well. This forms like a mini cigarette.

Continue with the remaining wontons and heat oil in pan. Fry the wontons in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your favorite dip. Enjoy.

And if you want to make this out as an appetizer or as a snack, don’t forget to purchase your cheese at the best cheese shop in town, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And I made two recipes for you today. Didn’t I just say I experienced two New Years within this month? Well it’s a good way to start. Happy Chow!

More and more people are going vegetarian these days mainly because of health reasons, I am presupposing. I can’t see any reason aside from what I just mentioned, why these health freaks steer away from juicy steaks, crispy chicken and cholesterolific hamburgers. On second thought, it might be also a belief, but, who knows?

What is more perplexing is when vegetarians go a step further and become vegan, which means that not only do they not eat animals, but they don’t eat animal products as well such as dairy or eggs.

What? No Dairy which means no cheese? Well, how can I live without cheese– the essence of my existence? Well almost. Didn’t I have my first food from my mother’s milk, just like the bull’s had theirs from their mother’s milk as well. And if there is more than enough milk from the bull, they make it into Bufala Mozzarella which by the way, I have a recipe to share and it’s called: Bufala Mozzarella Salad.

• ¼ c. olive oil
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tbsp. Dried basil
• ½ tsp. Pepper
• ¼ tsp. Dried oregano
• 1 round ball buffalla cut into cubes or crumbled

Mix the above and marinade the Bufala Mozzarella in the mixture for an hour or more. Then mix it with the following veggies.

• 20 pcs. Grape tomatoes or 6 Roma tomatoes quartered
• 1 small cucumber sliced
• 1 small red pepper sliced
• 1 small green pepper, sliced
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• Greek olives (optional)

Prepare the vegetables and place in a serving bowl. Add the marinated Bufala Mozzarella Cheese to the vegetables above. Toss well and serve.

Vegetarians or vegans can do away with cheese substitutions in the form of other plant products derived from grains which processed, could be made to look like cheese. Thus even with the above recipe, this can be modified and if one is vegan, they just do away with the cheese component. Crumbled tofu could be a substitute for the above recipe. However every original recipe is always best with original ingredients.

Anyway, back for as long as I can remember, vegans didn’t become such the moment they were born. Can you imagine giving a newborn baby carrot juice or soy milk. It’s possible though, but generally, we all started with mother’s milk, which to every infant is the best food ever. And speaking about the best cheese, it’s found in only in the gourmet cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And you don’t want to miss that.

It’s still winter although the snow hasn’t come, but the weather is still chilly, your hands and feet get frozen if you expose them even for such a short while. So it comes to no surprise that a hot meal is always what we crave for.

After the holidays, it’s always comforting to just prepare a simple meal of soup and salad, or just soup, bread and a glass of wine. If I’m lucky, I’d end it up with lots of fruit and still more wine. Then I would say I had a complete day.

This is what I did a couple of days ago. It is not only a recipe but also a run through of my thoughts when I came home that night. And therefore I shall call my article:

Hot Squash with Stilton on a Cool Night

• 1 butternut squash
• half of an onion
• about 2 oz. Blue Stilton Cheese
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 8 oz can chicken broth
• 1 french baguette
• 1 bottle of your favorite wine

Turn oven on ‘roast’ temperature. Take out the butternut from pantry and peel the butternut squash. Get a pan and place cut up squash. Half an onion and place with squash. Sprinkle olive oil, and dash with a little bit of salt and pepper. If you like, spread some of your favorite herbs. I didn’t have any so I didn’t include it here. But normally I do.

Place the pan in the oven and set for 20 minutes roasting. Go to facebook and check for any news. Nothing much, except that your best friend is having a ball in the tropical islands while you’re slaving away in this cosmopolitan city of New York, freezing. Feel depress.

Move away from the computer and switch on the television for some news. While listening check on your roasted butternut squash and see if it is soft enough to handle. Remove from pan. Mash the squash along with the onions. Transfer to a pot, and add the can of chicken broth. If your broth is too thick, and you want a thinner consistency, add water and a bouillon cube. Now that will add more flavor. Turn on heat, and let boil until bubbly enough.

Meanwhile get your bottle of wine, and pour yourself a glass. Go back to the television and see what’s on. As you watch the news, there are too many killings around the world, too many politicians promising stuff they can’t keep (it’s political season once again), and the stock market is going down which means too many jobs will be lost. Feel more depressed.

Go back to the pot, by then it’s boiling and is calling for you as if to say, “sssslurp me!” For better texture you get your immersion blender to smoothen the soup, but decided, “I like it chunky”. You turn off the heat, and scoop some soup in a bowl. You top the soup with the tasty, yummy, delectable mouth watering Blue Stilton Cheese on top. The aroma of your cooking is just so memorable. It can’t get any better than this, you say.

Then you remember that a few hours ago you passed by your favorite cheese shop, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And you said to yourself, you need some cheese loving and you got the blue stilton because they always have it the best. This is a sure cure for depression. And now it has come to pass. You are happy.

How did you embrace the New Year this time? With a lot of cheers and noises I am sure. But however you started it, you probably also had a lot of goal settings and projects up your sleeves because that’s what I did days before the eve of New Year.

Every year, I try to set a goal for myself and more often than not, when I try to line up the activities for the year, it would turn out to newer projects which would not be part of the original plan. And before I know it, all my goals for the year would have been replaced by new ones as they unfold. Such has been the case from many many years past. And to be open to these directions will often lead to a more adventurous life.

It has always been my practice to be adventurous in experimenting about food. And the key to most of the adventures initially comes into the presentation of the dish. You can always have someone taste a new dish, when it is well presented because as the saying goes, “you eat with your eyes first.” And after much partying and eating during the holidays, your body will reply to those intakes.

At the onset, I am changing my diet to lighter meals which would contain less meat and more on vegetables and on my favorite Gruyere Cheese. Pizza, which is considered by some as the number one take out fast food, serves as a killer but if you make your own and not using flour as base, then you are in the right track for this year. Check this out and you’ll know what I mean.

Potato Base Pizza with Zucchini, Olives and Gruyere

• 2 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 large baking potato
• 1 large zucchini

2 oz. Tapanade or 12 large black pitted olives

• 1 tbsp. Chopped basil or thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Directions:

Place a large baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Cut a sheet of aluminum foil about 14 x 16 inches and spray with a little oil, leaving an unoiled border of about 2 inches around the edge (if you don’t have spray oil, you can just wipe the aluminum with oil).

Peel and thinly slice the potato and arrange on the foil in a rectangular shape’ overlappping slightly. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil on top.

Thinly slice the zucchini and scatter over, leaving a little gap around the edges as you would on a pizza base. Scatter the tapanade (or the olives if you don’t have the tapanade) , and the gruyere. If you have thyme, sprinle it now (basil should be added after cooking as it will burn and dry up). Finally, drizzle over the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the heated baking dish from the oven and carefully place the foil holding the pizza on top. Cook in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is soft and cooked.

Remove from the oven and if using basil, scatter over the pizza now. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut into quarters and serve with your favorite green salad.

This recipe is not only delish, it is also as healthy as can be, and so easy to make. And don’t forget to get all your cheeses this year at the only gourmet cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And if you haven’t listed down your projects, resolutions and goals for this year, it’s still not too late. Happy New Year Everyone!

When the going gets tough, the shopping gets tougher. This is particularly true during this time of the year. With Christmas around the corner, and last minute shopping is a must, what else can we do but make ourselves quick and easy meals on the go. Whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, nothing can go wrong with having a grilled or pan fried quesadilla. It’s easy to prepare, it’s nutritious and very delicious as well.

Here’s what you will need:

• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 14 oz, refried beans
• 2 green roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp. Chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp. Chopped basil
• 2 tbsp. Olive oil divided
• 1 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup grated Bufala Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. spread half of the tortilla with the refried beans. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions garlic, parsley and basil, 1 tbsp. Olive oil, vinegar, and then add salt and pepper.

2. Spread mixture evenly over refried beans. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold uncovered half of tortilla over filling and press edges together. Brush both sides with remaining oil.

3. Grill or pan fry over medium heat, 2 to 4 minutes on each side or until the filling is heated through and quesadillas are lightly browned.

During days like this, it is always handy to pre chop onions, garlic and tomatoes and place them in individual containers. So when the tough shopper comes home after a day of stressful shopping, it’s easier to just whip up a quick meal.

And of course, nothing is complete if you don’t get your cheese fixes from the only reliable cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop. The store that has all the cheese you need and more. Enjoy the season. It is the time to be jolly, and for all of you out there, Merry Cheesemas! Or better yet, you can say: Fe-cheese Navidad! And to all, say CHEESE!!! (camera click! Click! Click!)

Christmas time is just around the corner and what better time than to prepare something special. Whether it’s the great big Christmas meal or that ‘noche buena’ as some households call it, nothing can be more satisfying than to see a well prepared feast. And if you’re not up to preparing something huge, it is always best to make some nibbles while putting up those decorations and have a festive atmosphere.

You don’t have to go all gaga just to have that special treat. Here is a treat that will surely surprise family and friends while enjoying that ambience of the Christmas holiday.

Stuffed Dates of Blue Stilton Cheese And Bacon

• 2 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup Blue Stilton Cheese
• 3 oz. cream cheese (sometimes they come in these small packs)
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard
• pepper to taste
• 24 pcs. Medjool dates (about 16 ozs. unpitted)

Here are the Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile cook bacon until crispy, drain and then finely crumble them to pieces.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the bacon green onion, and garlic. Add the blue cheese, cream cheese and mustard plus the pepper.

3. Stir well to combine.

4. Using a knife, make a lengthwise slit in each date. Spread each date opn slightly. Remove the pits. Fill each date with a rounded teaspoon of the bacon mixture. Place dates, filling side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes or until heated through.

5. Serve warm.

These dates can be stuffed, covered and chilled up to 24 hours so there is no need to rush into stressing yourself out. And always remember that the best cheese always comes from the only gourmet cheese shop online, the Ideal Cheese Shop. Guaranteed you will get the freshness of the cheese you purchase. And for the holidays, you always would want what is best.

And by the way, it doesn’t have to be that cookie you can place on the plate for Santa to munch on as he gives you your gift under the tree. Be creative, give him a date! This recipe kind of date, is what I mean. Enjoy!

I’ve always loved cheese as part of the ingredients in any dish such as quiches, omelettes or just an entree. Even if it’s just for a quick meal or breakfast, having combination cheeses just makes your palate plaok cge2y while identifying the other elements in the dish.

After every party or celebration, are leftovers. And usually it is from the oversupply of purchases or it’s those garnishes you use to liven up your gustatory fares. But whatever it is, creativeness creeps in when the stomach starts to grumble. And today, I would want to share with you a Gruyere fritata dish. Fritata comes from the Italian word meaning a dish made with eggs and other meat or vegetables.

Enjoy your Fritata with Roasted peppers and Gruyere

• 8 eggs
• 2 tablespoon cream (you can use half and half)
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 pcs roasted peppers (if bottled strain from oil)
• ¼ cup grated gruyere cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic minced
• garnishes such as chives or parsley (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Chop the roasted peppers. Add spinach, peppers and cheese with the eggs. Mix until well blended.

Preheat the broiler. Place an 8 inch ovenproof frying pan on top of stove over medium heat. Melt butter with olive oil. When butter foams, add the onion and sauté until onion looks translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic for 1 minute longer. Pour in the egg and vegetable mixture, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the eggs are just firm around the edges for about 4-5 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the edges and tilt the pan to let the uncooked eggs run beneath. Continue cooking until the eggs are nearly set, 4 minutes longer.

Slip the pan under the broiler about 4 inches (10 cm) from the heat source and broil until the top sets and browns lightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the broiler and slide onto a flat serving plate. Sprinkle with the chives and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature and cut into wedges.

This dish is so easy to make that you would want to repeat and repeat with whatever left over vegetable or meat you might have in your fridge. But always remember that the cheese you get must be from the best cheese place– the Ideal Cheese Shop. And you can be guaranteed that the meal you will prepare will always be delicious, economical and a sure hit to those gourmands.

Oh, just so you know that the fritata’s main ingredient is really egg, but there’s a quote by Clifton Fadiman which he says,”Cheese – milk’s leap toward immortality”. And the best cheese can be found in the only authentic gourmet cheese shop in town. So if you take the cheese out of any dish, you’re as good as demised. And we wouldn’t want that from happening…Life is just so great to enjoy and there’s so little time for everything, right? Have an awesome day!

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? Mine was a blast but I wasn’t that much enthusiastic proceeding those days. And I’m talking about cleaning up the mess, putting away the dishes and reorganizing the furniture back to where they should be. Moreover, I can’t seem to find my brain right now, after all those margaritas and manhattans that went around during the holidays with family and friends.

And so my mood today is multi tasking. I need to clean up, write something and cook so that by the end of the day, I can start planning again for Christmas. This is going to be another celebration in the making.

First let me gather some leftovers for my meal and those Bufala Mozzarella balls look like they can use some loving. Aha, Pesto dip! And some puff pastry which I can use as base. And those left over chopped red onions intended for salads need not stay another day longer in the fridge. So today, I will be making this:

HANGOVER MOZZARELLA BALL TARTLETS

• 1 ½ cup Bufala Mozzarella balls
• 1 cup pesto
• 4 tbsp. Chopped red onions
• 1 ready puff pastry

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Go check the dishwasher if your glasses and appetizer plates are dry. Put them all back to their respective glass cases. Go back to the kitchen and take your puff pastry.

Roll out the dough to half of the original thickness.

Cut 24 rounds of 1 ½ inch. Fit the rounds into the mini muffin cups.

Prick with a fork a couple of times on the bottom.

Bake until golden brown about 15 minutes.

Meantime, check to see if you have left over wine or liquor. If you have half a bottle of opened red wine, pour yourself a glass, or two. Heck, finish the contents of that unopened bottle. No use throwing good wine. That’s hard earned money you bought it with. But if there’s more than one open bottle, pour the rest in an ice cube tray and freeze it. You can use the frozen cubes of wine in your dishes when making stew or braised meats.

Go back to kitchen. Check your tartlets. If it’s not yet brown, leave it until it does. In the meantime, mix the pesto and the chopped red onions. Pinch the mozzarella balls into the pesto onion mixture.

Check your tartlets and when brown remove it from oven. Go back to the living room with a trash bag and throw away all cigarette butts from ashtrays, used paper napkins and wipe away stains from wine glass, food bits and crumbs. Go back to kitchen.

Distribute evenly the pesto, mozzarella and onion mix into the muffin cups. Bake for about 15 minutes. Go back to the living room with a broom. Sweep away anything that doesn’t belong to your space. Now go back to the kitchen and check on those tarts again to see if the cheese has melted. Am sure with the extra wine plus the tart you just made, pat yourself on the back and say, “great weekend!” If you have no mozzarella cheese at home, you can always order it online through the best cheese shop in town, the Ideal Cheese Shop. And so, with tart on one hand and wine on the other, time to process yourself for that Christmas Spirit!

This is Thanksgiving week for America, which means there will be lots of necks that will be in the chopping board – turkey necks that is. Moreover, traditional food fares for this holiday include pumpkin pies, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, and the Blue Stilton Cheesecake. However, many households have been creative and innovated their own staples.

All over the world, Thanksgiving is celebrated because gratitude has always been a positive emotion that needs to be expressed. It is more of a celebration for a good harvest and whatever other blessings that have come your way during the year. Whatever is in abundance during the season is what’s most commonly found in the dining table.

The real first Thanksgiving meal consisted of pheasants and other faunas, and it was only in the 17th century that the turkey became the proverbial symbol in the dining table along with the season’s bounties such as the pumpkin and apples.

So what are you having for your Thanksgiving meal?

Many an American household would prepare the traditional Turkey, and other sidings such as mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. However, many an immigrant who have integrated themselves into the American tradition have created their own Thanksgiving fare giving, either retaining the turkey or substituting it for a familiar cuisine of their origin. Whatever it is, let us not forget the essence of the celebration.

Not only do we have our own families with us for dinner, we invite guests to share the bounties. And not only do we have the standard turkey, but have made other entrees as well. And here’s a side dish I made a couple of years ago and has been requested as a return for this year’s Thanksgiving:

Cauliflower Gratin with Blue Stilton and Gruyere

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into flowerettes
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 T Stilton cheese
• 4 T light mayonnaise (since this is very rich might as well have the light mayo)
• 4 T sour cream
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place flowerettes in steamer, making sure that the stems are the ones exposed to the boiling water. Steam for about 10 minutes until tender but still has that crunchy bite. Drain in colander and place in sink.

While the flowerettes are cooling off, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, Blue Stilton Cheese , Dijon mustard and black pepper. Stir a third of the parmesan cheese.

Spray a baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Line your flowerettes into the dish and spread out evenly. With a rubber scraper cover the cauliflower with your cheese-mayo mix. Spread evenly over the flowerets. This is not a sauce but more of a topping.

Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese, then bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until cauliflower is bubbling and lightly browned. Makes about 4 to 6 servings. Serve hot.

You can substitute Parmesan cheese with gruyere and or sharp cheddar cheese. But whatever cheese you use, always get them at the favorite cheese shop – The Ideal Cheese Shop. They have just the cheese you need for this merry Thanksgiving Holiday. Whether you need any kind of cheese for your holiday fare, be it for an appetizer, entree or dessert, always get it from the Ideal Cheese Shop. They have all the best quality cheese you are looking for. Thank you Ideal Cheese Shop, you are the store we need!

Have you ever had the problem where your family just rushes at dinner, gobbles up food on the table and then rushes back to where they came from, and all in the span of 5 minutes? The verse “you are what you eat” is better replaced by the phrase “you are HOW you eat” by this kind of behavior.

Moreover, women complain about how their husbands and children refuse to eat new quality and healthy foods being presented or given them and would be contented with just frozen television dinners or fast food take outs. It is very discouraging for moms to slave away in the kitchen, prepare some gourmet dish and then be jilted off by her family.

To women who have this kind of problem, don’t give up. In fact, just change your diet. In reality, DIET means, “a manner of living” and the reason why a family is the way they are is because they choose to be that way. But it doesn’t have to be so, if only we are willing to adjust and lead healthier lives.

Here are a few suggestions:

> No junk food at home. You cannot control your hubby or child from eating junk food, but you can control them from bringing it inside your home, right? So start with that. For snacks, they can have cheese and fruits. Now that’s healthier isn’t it?

> No sweets before meals. That will always ruin the appetite. They can have cheese and lots of fruits. That will tide them over until dinner gets going.

> The reason why dinner can get boring is because we make it so. If you start having small changes (and I mean small but CONSISTENT), then chances are you’re headed for something good. Small changes could mean an extra small dish to what you already have and letting them know it might be considered a main one soon. Weaning them off from one dish and getting acquainted with another.

> Presentation could also be another factor. But whatever it is, be creative.

Here is a simple dish that you can pair with a simple salad…Nutritious, easy to make and is a start away from boring dinners.

The Gruyere Tart

• 2 strips bacon
• 2 potatoes
• 1 ½ cups shredded Gruyere cheese
• 4 baked tart shells (about 4 inches wide)
• salt and pepper
• 1 ½ cups port wine

1. Julienne the bacon strips, saute to cook through, and drain on paper towels.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Peel the potatoes and partially cook in boiling water about 15 minutes.
4. When cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes thinly.
5. Spread a little cheese over a tart shell bottom. Scatter a few piece of the julienned bacon on top of the cheese. Fan a few potato slices over the bacon, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining three tarts. Place the tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the cheese melts.
6. Heat the port wine in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, to simmer. Simmer until the liquids reduced to a syrupy consistency. Remove from the heat and drizzle over each tart.

So whether for snacks or for your main ingredient, always remember to get your cheese at the best cheese shop online, The Ideal Cheese Shop