Cheese of the Month - Cream Cheese

SLACKER! That is what I am when it came to my Cheese of the Month entry for April. I'm talking serious slacking. Meaning I decided on a recipe last night, made it this morning, and now I am writing this post. To make my slacking even worse, I completely forgot to take pictures. I know, I know. SLACKER!

The selection this month is cream cheese. Cream cheese is a weird one for me. I don't care for it. You will never see me put cream cheese on a bagel. Yuck. But, I LOVE cooking and baking with cream cheese. Heck, cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. So maybe it is just plain cream cheese that bothers me because I have lately become obsessed with turkey wraps that are held together with vegetable cream cheese. Weird, I know.

Okay, on to the recipe. I made Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Muffins. While searching for ideas last night, I found this recipe and knew I had to make it. I had homemade lemon curd in the fridge that needed to be used so this recipe was perfect. Plus, I could make it for breakfast and still get my post up on time!

This recipe was SO delicious! A light, fluffy lemon muffin with a delicious sweetened cream cheese pocket in the middle. I really enjoyed these muffins... maybe that is why there is no picture. I just wanted to eat them!

And to make up for no picture, here are a few links of some yummy recipes that include cream cheese!

Iced Cinnamon Bun Scones
Fruit Pizza
Taco Avocado Wraps
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake
Cucumber Sandwiches
Nutella Cinnamon Dip

Thank you to Brittney of Adventures in Gluttony for hosting this wonderful group! Check out her blog for the round-up!

Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Muffins
Recipezaar

MUFFIN

6 ounces flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 ounces sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
5/8 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
4 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons lemon curd
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 ounce powdered sugar

GLAZE
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 ounces powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a muffin pan with paper cases.

Sift flour, baking powder and sugar together.

Add lemon zest.

Mix together the milk, egg, butter, lemon curd and vanilla.

Mix together the cream cheese and icing sugar in a seperate bowl.

Make a well in center of the dry ingredients, quickly stir in the wet ingredients using no more than 12 strokes.

Put 1 tablespoon of the muffin mix into the base of the muffin pans.

Pop a fraction of the cream cheese mixture on top and then cover with the remaining muffin mixture.

The tins should be almost full to the top.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Prepare the glaze by mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice together.

Remove the muffins from their tins, cool for five minutes and then drizzle with the glaze.

February Cheese of the Month

The cheese for February is one of my all time favorites: FETA! I love feta. It is soooooooo good! I was wanting to try something new and fancy with feta this month, but with being on vacation (is anyone sick of that excuse yet???) I just didn't have the time. I still wanted to participate, though, so I am sharing one of my favorite lunches. I know it is really simple, but I hope that it still counts!

My friend, Monica, made these Chicken Caesar Wraps for me a few years ago and they are so yummy. I love making these for lunch, or on really busy nights, as a quick dinner before running out. Load up on the feta... it is fantastic!

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Tortillas

Grilled Chicken Breast

Black Beans (warmed)

Tomatoes

Romaine

Black Olives

Feta

Newman's Own Creamy Ceasar Dressing

Warm chicken with dressing. Pile everything onto a tortilla and wrap up. ENJOY!

Cheese of the Month: Ricotta

Is January seriously almost over? Didn't it JUST start? Well, the end of the month has snuck up on me, but I managed to make my recipe for January's cheese of the month.

This month's selection was ricotta and I was excited about it. There are so many things to do with ricotta. For me, the first thing I think of when I think about ricotta is lasagna. My brain just immediately goes there. But, I wanted something different. Usually I turn to the web for ideas, but since I have an ever growing collection of cookbooks that rarely get used, I decided to hunt through them for a recipe!



A pasta recipe caught my eye in my Williams-Sonoma Italian Favorites cookbook. The recipe satisfied my two requirements for this month - 1) it had to have ricotta, and 2) it had to be EASY as I am leaving for the states in two days and don't have the time to fuss around in the kitchen!

The recipe is for faralle with ricotta, ham, and corn. It was so incredibly simple and incredibly delicious. The hardest part of the recipe was boiling the pasta! Doesn't get much easier than that!!! :) This meal made a ton and while it was wonderful on a cold January night, this would be a FANTASTIC summer picnic meal, too!

As always, thanks to Britney of Adventures in Gluttony for hosting Cheese of the Month. Check out her blog at the end of the month for the round up!

Farfalle with Ricotta, Ham, and Corn

2 ears white or yellow corn, husks and silk removed OR 1 cup thawed frozen corn OR 1 cup canned corn
1 lb dried farfalle
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 oz cooked ham, cut into strips
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese for the table

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add corn (if using ears). As soon as the water returns to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and set aside until cool enough to handle. Then, using a sharp knife, cut off the kernals. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, place ricotta in a bowl. Add a few tablespoons of hot pasta water and stir until smooth and creamy.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Immediately add the butter, ham, ricotta, salt, and white pepper. Toss well, scatter the corn on top, and serve immediately.

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.

Cheese of the Month - Mascarpone

Another month, another cheese! Cheese of the Month is hosted by Brittney of Adventures in Gluttony and this month's selection was mascarpone! I was excited about this choice because, believe it or not, I have never had mascarpone. To me it was the cheese that was used in Tiramisu, and I DO NOT like tiramisu! So, mascarpone was never something I considered.

Boy am I glad I joined Cheese of the Month because mascarpone is delicious. It is so rich and creamy! I love it! I made two different recipes using mascarpone, dinner and dessert!

I'll start with dessert, because it was my favorite! I got the idea from Leslie over at The Hungry Housewife after October's Daring Baker challenge. She made a brown sugar mascarpone pizza topped with blueberries and homemade dulce de leche. As soon as I saw her post I KNEW that I would have to make that on my next pizza night.

Sometimes messy = good!!!

Now, there isn't really a recipe for it, but I hope you'll make it one day! I just mixed in a little brown sugar with some mascarpone and spread it on the pizza dough. Then I topped it with blueberries and a streusel topping. After the pizza came out of the oven, I drizzled it with homemade dulce de leche (click here for the recipe). It tasted FANTASTIC! The entire pizza was gone in about 10 minutes. And, no, I didn't eat it all. I shared with 3 friends! Thanks, Leslie, for an awesome recipe idea!

The second dish was made mostly for my friend, Monica. She loves mushrooms and as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it for her. Me, well, I don't care for mushrooms all that much. I mean, I'll eat them, but they aren't my favorite. To be honest, I picked out the mushrooms from my bowl and gave them to Monica's daughter! HA HA HA!

Even though I picked out my mushrooms, this dish was amazingly good! It was incredibly easy to throw together and was on the table in the amount of time that it took the pasta to cook. Tasty and quick... it doesn't get any better than that!

Don't forget to check out Adventures in Gluttony at the end of the month for the round up! And I'll leave you with this link on how to make your own mascarpone. I didn't get around to doing it this month, but would love to try it one day!

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Recipe from Giada DeLaurentis

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Cheese of the Month

Oh, that's right. I have joined another group. Are you surprised? Probably not because I am crazy and am always looking for more. I actually have a few other groups bookmarked that I want to join but I am waiting for some more time to dedicate to them. Although time remains elusive with two little ones!

Anyway... getting back on track. Cheese of the Month was started by (OH MY GOODNESS... I just realized I don't know her real name. :( OOPS!) Adventures in Gluttony. Every month a cheese is chosen and we can make any dish we want (or any number of dishes) with that cheese. I love cheese and love trying new cheeses so this is definately a group that I wanted to join!

October was Cheddar. I was excited about this choice because not only do I love cheddar but I knew that there would be a lot of options!

I have always been intrigued by apple pie recipes that use cheddar. It seemed very odd to me and, well, a little disgusting. But in the spirit of trying something new I decided to make a Cheddar Apple Pie!

Of course choosing what I wanted to make was just the beginning. There are many cheddar apple pie recipes out there. There are the recipes that just call for a cheddar crust and those that actually mix in cheese with the apples. I opted for the cheddar in with the apples in order to get the full effect.

I gotta tell you, seeing the cheese cubes with my lovely apples was a little nerve racking. I thought for sure I was going to have a dessert that would just bomb. But, I threw it in the oven and hoped for the best.

The pie smelled incredible while baking and I started thinking that maybe, just maybe, this would turn out good.
Well, whaddya know? It was A-MAZ-ING! These cheddar apple pie people are on to something! I thought it would tasty cheesy but it didn't. Even the bites that had big pieces of cheese still didn't taste cheesy. It just enhanced the pie. It was soooo good! One note... eat the pie warm like the recipe says. It isn't bad cold but it is MUCH better warm.

I told my husband about the pie today on the phone and he is VERY skeptical. I think a cheddar apple pie might be in order when he comes home on R&R.

Check out Adventures in Gluttony at the end of the month for the round up to see what others came up with. Also, join in the fun and vote for next month's cheese!

Apple Cheddar Pie
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse (BAM! HEE HEE!)


2 pie crusts
3 medium Golden Delicious apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 medium Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes medium cheddar cheese (4 1/2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375° F.Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into two portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-half of the crust to a 12-inch circle and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan, pressing gently to fit. Roll out the second half of the crust to a circle and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and toss to coat the apples. Add the cheese and spoon the apple mixture into the prepared pie pan.

Arrange the second crust over the fruit. Trim the edges to a 3/4-inch overhang, fold under the two crusts, and crimp the edges of the crusts together to seal the dough. With a sharp knife, cut a decorative pattern of slits into the top crust. With a pastry brush, brush the cream over the top crust and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over the top.

Bake until the crust is golden and the juices begin to bubble, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve warm.