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Moldy Cheese or French Château?

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:30:04 -0700

Today, Oct. 9, is National Moldy Cheese day. To celebrate, I thought I'd quiz you with a second round of last year's popular game, moldy cheese or French château? I'm going to list a bunch of French names, and you tell me if it's a mold-ripened kind of French cheese or a French château. Ready? Let's begin!

Source

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Moldy Cheese or French Chateau?

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:28:33 -0700

Today is National Moldy Cheese Day - YUM! - and I thought it would be a great opportunity to play a new game I'm calling: Moldy Cheese or French Chateau? If you consider yourself a cheese aficionado, or maybe just someone who loves French castles, then this is the game for you. Ready to play? Source

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Burning Question: When Is It OK to Eat Moldy Food?

YumSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:50:51 -0700

The other day, a co-worker asked me whether it was OK to eat a piece of cheese that had grown slightly moldy. That question sparked a discussion on how to handle moldy foods. Can you ever simply cut off the bad parts and proceed to eat the rest? Find out the answer when you read more

Blue Cheese: Love It or Hate It?

partysugar — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:00:30 -0700

With its moldy appearance, pungent smell, and strong flavor, blue cheese is quite a polarizing ingredient. Still, from pizzas to salads, it's a common on many menus. Being a true foodie, I love the rich creaminess of this stinky cheese. How about you?

Turn Leftover Cheese Into Fromage Fort

YumSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:00:45 -0700

Maybe you hosted a wine and cheese pairing in honor of Bastille Day over the weekend. Or perhaps you decided to have fun with fondue. Either way, you've got eight (expensive) odds and ends of cheese in your fridge that you don't know how to salvage. No worries, make fromage fort, a French cheese spread! Any type of cheese can be used to make this tasty spread for crackers and bread. To learn how it's made, read more.

Discard any moldy or dried ends from the cheese.
Place approximately half a pound of cheese chunks into your food processor, along with a couple tablespoons of dry white wine, a garlic clove, and salt and pepper.
Process until smooth and transfer to a serving bowl.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week (the flavor will intensify).

This solution is exciting and incredibly interchangeable. Want to add body? Replace wine with cream. For more bite, swap the wine for cognac. Tossing herbs, like parsley or dill, into the food processor when blending will add flavor. Need a quick, delicious hors d'œuvre? Spread fromage fort onto bread and broil for a few minutes. Très bien!

Soup's On: Broccoli Cheese Soup

partysugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:40:31 -0800

Normally, when one thinks of broccoli cheese soup, cheddar cheese comes to mind. However one of my favorite supermarket soups is a delicious blend of broccoli and blue cheese. Now don't go all "eww I hate blue cheese" on me. Stirred into a puree of tender, green broccoli, the blue cheese is mild and creamy rather than moldy and pungent.

This soup is elegant, delicious, and elevates a cafe classic to a whole new level of sophistication. I topped my bowl with crunchy cheddar croutons. You really won't regret giving this smooth soup a chance, so see how I made it when you read more.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Modified from William Broderick at the Port Charlotte Hotel in Scotland

For Soup:
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 head broccoli, thick stems removed, chopped
6 tbsp. flour
3 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper
4 to 5 tbsp. heavy cream
For Croutons:
2 slices of white bread per person, crusts removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
olive oil to coat
salt and pepper
1 heaping tbsp. per person finely grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.

Add the vegetables, and fry gently for 5 minutes until soft but not browned.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Stir in the stock and return to heat. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously until the soup thickens. Allow to simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the cheddar croutons: preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the bread cubes on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake in the oven until crisp and brown 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Cool soup slightly and blend with an immersion blender or regular blender.

Return soup to pan, add the milk, and heat gently. Stir in the Stilton, salt and pepper, and heavy cream until melted. Reheat slowly allowing the cheese to melt, over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Do not allow soup to boil at this point, it will curdle.

To serve, garnish with croutons.

Serves 4-6.

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Test Your Food IQ!

YumSugar — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:18:31 -0800

Think you're a foodie know-it-all? Well if you do, or if you would like to up your food knowledge, why don't you try one of our fun food quizzes! These past few months we've quizzed you on everything from cupcakes to big macs. Think you can outsmart us? Take one of our quizzes and tell us how you did in the comments below!

Good luck!

What do you know about cupcakes?

Do you think you know a Big Mac?

How big is the biggest bubble and other bubble gum questions

Do you know the answers to "stupid" kitchen questions?

Are you nuts for nuts?

And finally can you identify the difference between moldy cheese and French Chateaus?

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Should Durian Be Destinked?

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:53:41 -0700

If you've ever had fresh durian, you'll know that the pungent odor, along with its spiky exterior, is its signature mark. However many are convinced that the smell, which is often described as moldy cheese, rotting fish or garbage, is what makes it taste great. Like fine French cheeses (think camembert or worse), the stronger the smell, the better the taste.

“To anyone who doesn’t like durian it smells like a bunch of dead cats,” said Bob Halliday, a food writer in based Bangkok. “But as you get to appreciate durian, the smell is not offensive at all. It’s attractive. It makes you drool like a mastiff.”

So then, what is a durian that doesn't smell? And will it have the same delicious taste?

Thai scientist, Songpol Somsri, has been working for nearly three decades to destink the durian. By cross breeding more than 90 varieties of durian, Somsri says he has come up with a fruit that smells "as mild as a banana." He hopes that the fruit, named Chantaburi No. 1 (after his home province), will help broaden the American and European durian markets. However all of his hard work is not being met with 100% praise.

Durian lovers are at once disbelieving of and horrified by the prospect of a no-smell durian. They complain that the fruit is being homogenized like the insipid tomatoes bred to look pretty behind plastic wrap.

Source: NY Times

So how about you, what do you think of this?

Perfect Pickins: Artichokes

YumSugar — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 07:59:01 -0800

Let's face it: being a domestic diva whose prowess ranges from expertly baking a cake to masterly manhandling a chopping knife is hard. There is so much to learn and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

Take a deep breath, I'm here to help. One thing that is super important, often overlooked, and not necessarily common knowledge is how to select groceries. We've all read tons of articles on how to pick the perfect pair of jeans, but where's the 411 on how to choose the correct fruits, vegetables, cheeses and meats? Right here in my new feature Perfect Pickins. I'll explain how to maneuver gracefully through the grocery store so you'll walk out with only the ripest and best tasting foods.

When shopping for artichokes look for those with bronze or frost marks on the leaf tips. People usually avoid these ones because they appear a little damaged, but those in the know jump at the sight. The damage is minimal and the flavor maximal and more delicate. Pick artichokes that feel heavy for their size (fresh artichokes will be heavy for their size due to their moisture content) and have tightly closed buds. Open leaves indicate that they are too mature. The leaves should be a soft green or purple in color and squeak when pressed. Avoid moldy or wilted leaves and stay away from any that are purple in color. These are signs that the artichoke is overripe. For a tasty artichoke treat, serve them steamed with basil mayonnaise.