Cheese of the Month - Havarti

It's cheese time again and this month the selection was Havarti. Havarti is a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese (thanks, Wikipedia!). Originally I thought that I had never had Havarti before. But, once I purchased it and tasted it, I realized that I have. Here in Germany we have amazing bazaars that are held throughout the many military installations. Vendors come from all over Europe and the shopping is wonderful! There is always a cheese guy with tons of different cheeses. I like tasting all the cheeses, but apparantly I never paid much attention to the names. So, long story short- I've had Havarti before and I really like it! :)

I decided to make spaetzle (German egg noodles/dumplings) with the havarti. I found a wonderful recipe on Recipezaar. It called for bacon and cheese to be baked with the spaetzle. Let me tell you... it was DELICIOUS! Although, can you really ever go wrong with bacon and cheese?

I served it with pork medallions and a salad and it was a yummy dinner! I hope you'll give it a try!

As always, thanks to Britteny of Adventures in Gluttony for starting this group and hosting the monthly challenges. If you would like to join along with the fun, check out her blog! Also, you have until the end of the month to use Havarti, so you still have time to join in the fun for this month!

This picture REALLY doesn't do it justice!

Baked Spaetzle Casserole
Recipe from Recipezaar

Spatzle:

5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter

Casserole Ingredients:

1 lb bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
8 ounces havarti cheese, shredded
salt and pepper


For the spatzle, mix eggs, water, salt and nutmeg well. While mixing slowly add flour until it is mixed and smooth.

Using a spatzle press or colander press small batches of dough into boiling water when it floats to top mix it once and continue to boil about 5 minutes (or once it floats,keep in very hot but not simmering water in separate pot, while cooking the rest). Remove it from water with long tongs and put it in casserole. Cook the rest of the dough adding to the casserole or hot water. Use butter to keep them from sticking together.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut bacon into small strips and saute with onion, add garlic for the last few minutes. Drain off fat.
In big mixing bowl add cooled spatzle, bacon mixture, shredded Havarti add salt and pepper to your taste. Spray 9x13 casserole with cooking spray and pour spatzle mixture in it.

Cook about 30 minutes; just until it begins to brown.