A Date For Santa – Stilton Cheese

December 14th, 2011

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!

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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!

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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!

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