After-Party Surprise: Fritata Gruyere

December 6th, 2011

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!

Hangover Bufala Mozzarella Ball Tartlets

November 29th, 2011

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!

Thanksgiving Sides with Blue Stilton Cheese

November 23rd, 2011

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.

Cauliflower Gratin with Blue StiltonThe 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!