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Chasing the Cheese

partysugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:45:21 -0700

While many of us celebrated Memorial Day on Monday, the people of Gloucestershire, England, celebrated a different annual occasion, their infamous Cheese Rolling tournament. In this crazed and unique sporting event, men and women chase an eight-pound cheese wheel down a steep hill. The person who grabs the rolling cheese - which can reach up to 70mph! - before it crosses the finish line wins. The prize for winning the race? The handmade Gloucester cheese wheel. While the race may be all fun and games, each year numerous people are injured as they slip down the hill. To watch a video of this year's cheese rolling, read more.

What do you think of the competition? I'm a huge cheese lover, but would never plummet my body down the side of a hill. How about you: Would you participate in this race for cheese?

Source

Fast & Easy Dinner: Turkey-Cheese Roll-ups With Red Pepper Sauce

partysugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:03:31 -0800

Making a delicious seasoned sauce doesn't have to take all day. In fact, this dish features a red pepper sauce that comes together in minutes. With the help of a blender, roasted red peppers are mixed with basil leaves, salt, and pepper. The final result is a sauce that is fresh and flavorful. Use it to season turkey rolls filled with cream cheese. Piled on top of orzo, the sauce and turkey rolls make a succulent finish to a long week. For the recipe, read more.

Turkey-Cheese Roll-ups with Red Pepper Sauce
From Good Housekeeping magazine

3/4 cup orzo pasta
1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup plus 16 large basil leaves loosely packed fresh basil leaves
8 (about 1 pound) thin slices turkey breast, for scaloppini (pounded thin)
1/2 cup chive-and-onion whipped light cream cheese

Heat 2-quart saucepan of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add orzo and cook as label directs. Drain.
Meanwhile, prepare Red Pepper Sauce: place 3/4 cup red peppers in blender. Add 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup basil leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Blend just until pureed but not completely smooth; set aside. Makes about 3/4 cup.
Cut remaining red peppers into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Place turkey scaloppines on sheet of waxed paper. Evenly divide red pepper strips and remaining basil leaves among scaloppines.
Spoon 1 level tablespoon cream cheese on 1 end of each scaloppine. Loosely roll each scaloppine jelly-roll fashion to enclose filling; secure with toothpick.
Heat nonstick 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add rolls to skillet; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cover skillet and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until rolls are browned on all sides and turkey is no longer pink, turning rolls over once.
Remove toothpicks from rolls. Divide orzo among 4 dinner plates. Arrange turkey rolls on plates with orzo; serve with pepper sauce.

Serves 4.

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Yummy Links: From Chinese Noodles to the Pork Party

partysugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:50:45 -0700

Chinese noodles are a simple and delicious meal.- Cooking With Amy
Costco is now accepting food stamps at two New York City locations. - Serious Eats
A new movie, Fresh, puts the food industry into perspective. - Epicurious
Should teens be taught more about alcohol? - Alcademics
Don't miss this crazy video of the 2009 Cheese Roll. - Eat Me Daily
Move over margarita, here's 10 other tequila cocktails to enjoy this Summer. - Chow
The latest on the frozen yogurt front: the Pinkberry Fruit Parfait. - Eater
Wouldn't you love to eat at this pork party for the ages? - The Feedbag

52 Weeks of Baking: Brazilian Cheese Bread

YumSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 14:55:31 -0700

When I ~~dined~~ stuffed my face at the Brazilian steakhouse, it was really difficult to not devour the complementary mini loafs of cheesebread. Known as Pão de Queijo, these little puffs are made from tapioca flour and are so light and fluffy and surprisingly dense at the same time. When we decided to highlight Brazilian food today, I knew I'd have to use the opportunity to dig up a recipe. It's pretty easy to follow, just make sure you don't underbake them (which would result in an uncooked/doughy middle). To knead up your own batch, check out the recipe, just read more

Pão de Queijo
Adapted from Recipezaar and Sonia-Portuguese

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2-3 eggs (I had a cracking accident and used 2 eggs, 1 yolk and some white)
2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium-large sized pot bring milk, water, oil, and salt to a low boil. Remove from heat once boiling.
Add in tapioca flour, stirring as fast as possible. Use a wooden spoon, not a whisk, as the dough will become very sticky. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Move dough to a large bowl and knead in eggs.
When eggs are kneaded in, add grated cheese and knead until dough is smooth. Note: If your cheese is coarsely grated, it will appear a bit lumpy.
Once kneaded, form into balls about 2 inches wide and place on parchment paper coated (or greased) baking sheet. Note: you may want grease your hands with vegetable oil before trying to form dough balls.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
Serve warm! If you let them sit too long, reheat in the oven/toaster oven, the microwave will make them too gooey.

Note: Next time I'm going to go 2 1/2 cups of cheese!

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52 Weeks of Baking: Cheese Popovers

YumSugar — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:48:17 -0800

Yes, I know, that is not a picture of a gigantic espresso cake, but here's what happened. I went to the store, bought all of my ingredients, got home and realized that it wasn't just a 4 layer cake with two normal layers each cut in half, but it was actually a 4 layer cake - as in 4 cake pans! Since my kitchen is rather urban (aka small), I don't have the luxury of having the space for 4 cake pans. I'm borrowing two more so that I can make the cake on Saturday (which actually works out better, because this creation is going to take more than an hour or so after work), but this meant there would be no baking for this week! When I realized that, I looked through the pantry and discovered that I had all the ingredients for the Cheese Popovers (the second place choice) and went with them instead. To see how my popover adventure went (and I'll fess up now and say it was a bit flat), read more

Okay, let me just get this off of my chest, I MESSED UP. I broke the number one rule in popovers. Even though I knew I shouldn't do it, I opened the oven when they were cooking (I wanted a prettier picture for you guys!) and poof! Instead of popover, I got pop-ish (the end result was still great for breakfast the next day, but nothing to write home about). Also, I'm not really sure I love this recipe, the middles were a bit doughy in places (I think they needed longer at the higher temp), and I was only able to make FIVE popovers.

If you try it, let me know how they turned out. I'm actually going to make them again and have a 52 weeks of baking revisited, because let's face it, I did not make popovers, these are whacked out muffins.

Oh and you don't need a special pan to make popovers, a plain ol' muffin tin will work too.

Basic & Cheese Popovers
From Recipes a Collection for the Modern Cook by Susan Spungen

1 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting tin)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 cup warm milk
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing tin)
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (optional)
2 ounces cheese of your choice (optional)

Whisk together the flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk and butter.
Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Add the cheese and fresh herbs, if using. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight (the batter rises best when chilled, but they can be baked right away, too).
Preheat the oven to 450F and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Brush a muffin or popover pan with melted butter and dust with flour.
Stir the batter well. Fill each cup three-quarters full with batter; fill unused cups one-third full with water.
Immediately transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.This picture ruined EVERYTHING.
Reduce temperature to 350F and bake until well browned and crusty, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Click on a picture for a larger view:

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:30:03 -0700

Cat Cora offers her expert party planning tips, plus delicious recipes for beef brisket sandwiches and barbecued beans.
Speaking of parties, plan your own football tailgate bash.
We're going macaroni and cheese crazy, starting with this three-cheese mac attack.
Say Happy Halloween with a pumpkin bread cakewich.
It's a wrap! Rolling your own Spring rolls is simple.
Ravenswood winemaker Joel Peterson shares his wisdom.
Finally, tune in to Mad Men this Sunday with a classic cocktail.

Food Section Sampler - Sept. 30, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:50:50 -0700

Beer tries to earn a spot next to cheese plates. - Wall Street Journal
Reforming school lunches isn't easy - or cheap. - Washington Post
New green cookware lets you sauté without worry. - San Francisco Chronicle
In West Virginia, pepperoni rolls are an old-time favorite fast food. - New York Times
Should restaurants be allowed to ban diners from using laptops? - Boston Globe
How dinner parties are changing among cost-conscious foodies. - Chicago Tribune
One LA bakery's strawberry cake is a local legend. - Los Angeles Times

Source: Flickr User Samat Jain

10 Tasty Panini Recipes

partysugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:50:07 -0700

In Italy, a panino (or panini, in the plural) can refer to a type of roll or a griddled sandwich, but here in America, a panini is always a pressed sandwich that is served warm. Why do I have panini on the brain? Because August is National Panini Month! Since I'm a huge fan of the combination of toasty bread and melted cheese, I've rounded up my favorite panini recipes. You don't necessarily need a special kitchen gadget to make them; you can simply cook a panini on a skillet or, if it's hot in your neck of the woods, outdoors on the grill.

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Taste Test: McDonald's Angus Third Pounders

YumSugar — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:30:06 -0700

Back in April, McDonald's announced plans to add a premium Angus burger to its fast-food lineup. The burger, priced at $3.99, would compete with other higher-end fast-food burgers such as Carl's Jr.'s Six Dollar Burger and Burger King's XT burger, and was scheduled to roll out nationwide by August. Well, July's barely begun, but yesterday the chain's Angus Third Pounders hit menus across the country.

The burgers, which weigh at least a third of a pound, or 5.33 ounces, before they're cooked, come in a trio of styles, all on a sesame seed bun: Deluxe, with tomato, lettuce, mustard, mayonnaise, red onions, dill pickles, and American cheese; Bacon & Cheese, with ketchup, mustard, red onions, dill pickles, American cheese, and three slices of bacon; and Mushroom & Swiss, with mayonnaise, sautéed mushrooms, and swiss cheese. See more pictures - and the results of our office taste test - when you keep reading

Fast & Easy Dinner: Jerk Burgers With Mango Salsa

partysugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:45:10 -0700

Bored by the basic all-American burger? Take a trip to the Caribbean with this innovative recipe.

The beef patty is seasoned with jerk sauce and bread crumbs. Instead of the typical tomato, lettuce, and pickle condiments, the burger is topped with a quick mango, pepper, and ginger salsa. A ciabatta roll replaces the bun and Monterey Jack cheese finishes off the scrumptious burger.

Throw in plantain chips and a daiquiri and you've got a meal that's ideal for impromptu entertaining. To kick-start your weekend with this dish, read more.

Jerk Burgers With Mango Salsa
From The Nest

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 medium mango, seeded, peeled, and chopped
1/4 cup apple jelly
1 tablespoon lime juice
Dash salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup bottled jerk sauce
1/4 fine dry bread crumbs
1 pound lean ground beef
4 ciabatta rolls or hamburger buns, split
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)

Directions

For salsa, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, and ginger; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add mango, jelly, lime juice, and salt; cook and stir until jelly melts. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine egg, 1/4 cup of the jerk sauce, and the bread crumbs. Add ground beef; mix well. Using hands, shape mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.
For a charcoal grill, place patties on the grill rack directly over medium coals. Grill, uncovered, for 10 to 13 minutes or until done (160°F), turning and brushing once with the remaining jerk sauce halfway through grilling. If desired, toast ciabatta rolls on the grill. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place patties, then ciabatta rolls, if desired, on gas grill over heat. Cover and grill as above.)
Divide cheese among bottoms of rolls. Serve burgers in rolls with some of the salsa. Serve remaining salsa on the side.

Makes 4 burgers.

Per Burger: 808 cal., 50 g fat (20 sat. fat), 167 mg chol., 740 mg sodium, 60 g carbo., 3 g fiber, 31 g pro.

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