Over on Paper Palate, I am starting a new series where I will be going though the book The Professional Chef highlighting skills that they teach at the Culinary Institute of America. I hope everyone goes over to the site and takes the course with me and we all keep making yummy food together!
Monthly Archives: February 2009
Bonus Cheese Post – Cheesy Olives
Okay, so sometimes I gotta throw a little bonus out to my readers. That’s right the 8 Days of Cabot is really the 8 Days of Cabot PLUS ONE!
I had way more fun playing with Cabot Creamery Collective cheese than I thought I would and came up with an extra cheese dish. Here’s to the ninth dish:
Cheesy Olives
This dish came to me when I was writing an article for Big Blend Magazine. I was working on an Italian spread for a basketball feast and I had a few left over olives. I also had some left over Cabot Horseradish cheddar cheese and I got to thinking about a dish my wife and I used to love.
One of our first big romantic dates was catered by Target (no, really) because they had these fried cheese stuffed olives called oliveinos which were amazing. They were basically a black olive stuffed with herbed cheese coated in batter and deep fried. What’s not to love?
My first thought had been to replicate that dish, but use some leftover green olives I had until I realized they were unpitted olives. (D’oh.) So what I did was take the olives, dry them, and coat them in batter. I deep fried them and then topped the olives with cheese while they were still warm. By doing so, I got a lovely flavored melted cheese without needing to stuff the olive. It was a win-win situation.
Cheese Post #8 – 2 Pepper Cheese Souffles
All good things must end, which includes the 8 Days of Cabot, our whirlwind descent into deliciousness with the help of Cabot Creamery Collective‘s amazing cheeses.
Some will say, though, that I saved the best for last with this little cheesy gems because today we’re making
Two Pepper Cheese Souffles
That’s right two different types of chili peppers go into these souffles. What are the two peppers?
Well all throughout the 8 Days of Cabot, I’ve been on a definite Tex Mex kinda twist and the last block of cheese I had left was Cabot Habanero Cheddar. I thought that the spicy kick of the habanero cheese would be perfect in a cheese souffle. So that’s pepper #1.
Never one to leave well enough alone, I got to thinking. Habaneros are good…but habaneros and chipotles in adobo are even better. So I mixed them together to form an amazing cheese souffle. But I wasn’t done yet. I also added mushrooms to the souffle to give it an earthy taste and a firm texture that you are going love.
Filed under cabot, recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #7 – Cheesy Polenta
Post #7… that means just two days left of Cabot Creamery Collective cheesy goodness. But, have no fear, you WILL get two more days’ worth of delicious cheesy goodness, brought to you Cabot cheeses. Like today’s recipe.
Today we’re going to be cooking with one of my favorite ingredients in the world as we make:
Cheesy Polenta
Now I know, polenta is not exactly everyone’s favorite thing to eat. However, I am willing to be that many of the polenta haters out there have only had the stuff that is sold premade in little plastic tubes.
Piffle I say!
True polenta you make yourself bears as much resemblance to the stuff in the tube as the sun does to a yellow crayon drawing. The only way to make polenta is to pour it into some boiling water and stir it yourself. You’re family with thank you and your tastebuds will thank you.
Of course, add some Cabot Horseradish cheddar and your family and tastebuds will REALLY thank you. Ready to make it?
Filed under cabot, recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #6 – Mac and Cheese Muffins
Well, we’re past the halfway point of the 8 Days of Cabot, but we go not slow down in us! I hope you’re hungry for more Cabot Creamery Collective cheese on this Fat Tuesday because we’ve taken a classic cheese dish and made it into something extraordinary. So if you’re needing a little Mardi Gras pick me up, you definitely have to try:
Mac and Cheese “Muffinsâ€
Like so many cheese dishes, this one was inspired by Mrs. Well Done, who is the cheese lover in the house. Back during unResolution month, I made seven cheese mac and cheese which she pretty much devoured. But something stuck with me. Between mouthfuls of mac and cheese, her comment was that she liked the crusty parts around the edge of the plan best.
This got me thinking…what if it was all crust? Or at least mostly crust? Could that possibly rock the mac and cheese experience any more? What if I threw in some Cabot Extra Sharp cheddar?
Continue reading
Filed under recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #5 – Taco Pizza
Okay, I know what you’re thinking…more pizza for the 8 Days of Cabot?
Heck yes!!
Pizza is one of the finest cheese delivery vehicles in the annals of history! Even better, this particular pizza is a perfect blend of the spicy south of the border flavors we’ve been having and delicious Cabot Creamery Collective cheese because we are making…
Vegetarian Taco Pizza
Two days ago, I hit you with a vegetarian version of my wife’s favorite pizza, the Cheeseburger pizza, which she fell in love with at Gino’s East in Chicago. Well, my favorite pizza has always been the Taco pizza, which I feasted upon as a child at the Godfather’s in my hometown. (Funny how you have fond childhood memories of places you wouldn’t step foot in as an adult, but that’s another story.)
Anyway, after getting my wife’s cheeseburger pizza ready for her, I had:
- Half a package of Fantastic taco meat left
- Another prebaked pizza crust
- A block of Cabot Chipotle Cheddar cheese
- Some tomatoes and onions
And a plan…
Filed under recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #4 – Cactus Quesadillas
Hopefully you’re still hungry after 3 of the 8 Days of Cabot, a delicious delving into the domain of Cabot Creamery Collective cheese. Today, we’re going to make another famous cheese dish with an authentic Mexican twist:
Cactus Quesadillas
I actually got the idea for doing cactus quesadillas when I was making the chili rellenos. As much as I hate to admit, I just don’t have that much use for cactus in my daily cooking, but I had half a jar of cactus left.
And I had a block of Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Jalapeno cheddar cheese.
And then I had quesadillas.
Filed under recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #3 – Cheeseburger Pizza
Yesterday I mentioned that we were only briefly leaving the world of pizza for the 8 Days of Cabot and I meant it. True to my word, we’re back with another amazing pizza topped with Cabot Creamery Collective cheese (which they were nice enough to give me.)
Today, we are making my wife’s absolute favorite pizza in the whole world:
Cheeseburger Pizza
My wife fell in love with this pizza when she had it at a restaurant called Gino’s East in Chicago, IL and she still talks about it even though she had it four years ago. So every now and then, when I get the urge to experiment with pizza, I try to recreate what she had there. Strange how a little Cabot Seriously Sharp got the urge going. 🙂
There was only one problem… my wife is now vegetarian. Never one to be daunted by a little thing like vegetarianism and knowing that Cabot does not use animal-based rennet (did you hear that vegetarians??) , I grabbed a little Fantastic sloppy joe mix and it was pizza time.
Filed under recipes, vegetarian
Cheese Post #2 – Chili Rellenos
Welcome to another edition of the 8 Days of Cabot, a culinarilogical examination of cheese as seen through the lens of Cabot Creamery Collective cheese. (Actually, I think I made up the word culinarilogical, but it sounded sort of like something they’d say in the opening of a Discovery channel show.)
Anyway, yesterday we made a cheese pizza using garlic and herb cheese. Today we’re going to leave pizza (albeit briefly) to explore a little sizzle south of the border. Today we’re making
Chili Rellenos
The idea for this dish came from watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay. In this particular episode, he challenged two gentlmen to a chili relleno throwdown. Chef Flay’s relleno was pretty much what I would expect from a chilli relleno: a deep fried poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and veggies.
However, the competitors were doing something completely different. The pepper was roasted and filled with a vegetarian mix of tomatoes, mushrooms, nopales (cactus), olives, and other goodies. It was an eye-opening experience for me and one that got me interested in trying to make my own chili rellenos, but it was not until I received the gift of good Cabot cheese that I finally got the motivation to get into the kitchen and cook.
Continue reading
Filed under recipes, vegetarian
Cabot Cheese Post #1 – Cheese Pizza
Welcome to the first day of the 8 Days of Cabot, a delicious look into the world of Cabot Creamery Cooperative cheese and the many delicious things you can do with it. First of all, I wanted to say thanks to Cabot for supplying me with eight different types of cheese. I used them to make eight delicious dishes which I will share with you over the next eight days.
Ready? Good! Let’s start with:
Cheese Pizza Using Cabot Garlic and Herb Cheese
Okay, so I know it seems a little lame to start 8 days of Cabot with a cheese pizza, but believe me, this was no ordinaly cheese pizza we made.
Mrs. WellDone was looking for a quick supper for her and BlogWellDone, Jr. Sadly, BWD, Jr. is a bit of a picky eater, so whenever she makes pizza, she is limited to cheese pizza only. He just won’t eat any toppings. I know she gets tired of plain cheese pizzas, but she doesn’t have a lot of options. To remedy this culinary conundrum, I suggested she take some of the garlic and herb cheese and cut into thin slices.
She laid the slices out on top of the pizza, put it in the oven, and baked the pizza for about 12 minutes. When the she pulled the pizza out of oven, the Cabot cheese had melted entirely, leaving little bits of herb mixed in with the cheese. I was shocked how well it melted (I was expect lumpy cheese).
Anyway, she loved the pizza and the first Cabot dish was born!
Filed under cabot, recipes, vegetarian