A while back, I bought come extra sharp cheddar cheese at our local Costco.  All I have to say about the “extra sharp” adjective is – HA!  FAT CHANCE! It was about as sharp as a baseball.  Needless to say, I can’t stand wasting food, so I had to find a way to use it up.

First up, Bacon Cheddar Quick Bread with Dried Pears, (by Dorie Greenspan in the October 2008 issue of Bon Appetit).  Yes, I made something out of the magazine, even though I’ve been very disappointed with the change in format this year.  For me, the biggest strike against the magazine is the microscopic, hard-to-read font that they’ve been using.  A few months ago, I counted five different fonts on one page alone, and finally gave up.  And, I’m not alone in my disappointment over the changes in a much-loved magazine. I really appreciate Bon Appetit trying to keep things fresh and interesting, but I think they went a bit too far.

Now that I’ve got that out of my system (thanks for listening), what can I say about this quickbread recipe from dear Dorie?

Pros:  good texture and great idea. I will try it again, but I will tweak the recipe.  Dorie offers some great alternate flavoring suggestions.

Cons:  the flavor.  I hated the bacon and the sage, and I used a quality bacon from Whole Foods, and I usually like sage.  The aforementioned cheddar was completely indiscernible.  Neither Master Chow nor I would eat more than a slice of this bread (and I picked all the bacon out of mine), so it sits in my freezer.  If you decide to make it (and Brilynn had great results, so don’t be afraid), use a really, really sharp cheddar.  The kind that will put hair on your chest.

What I will do differently in the future:  no sage or bacon.  I will use blue cheese, and increase the pears and walnuts.  Did I say no sage?

On to experiment number 2 – a cheese souffle made with the same shameful IMPOSTOR of an extra-sharp cheddar cheese.  If you’ve never made a souffle before, you should know that it is very important to make a strongly flavored base, so that the dish actually tastes like something once it has been mixed with the egg whites, and baked.

I got to work and doctored this recipe from Food and Wine by adding both anchovy paste and sundried tomato paste, since I didn’t have gruyere (nooooo, I had a crappy cheddar).  Voilá! A pretty good cheddar cheese souffle and, unlike the savory bread, Master Chow had several servings of this, as did I.  If you used a really good flavorful cheddar, this would be excellent.  Recipe after the jump . . . .
continue reading "A Cheddar Cheese Tale"

Hhhm, what to cook for dinner, since I haven’t made it to the grocery store?

What’s in the cupboard? Eggs. Cheese. Milk. And a secret ingredient that makes so many things taste better. Shhh . . . it’s anchovies. Even if you don’t like them (like me), they add an amazing depth of flavor to tomato sauces and souffles. They simply melt in and lose their anchovy taste.

I had some cheddar cheese that wasn’t sharp enough for my tastes, so I decided to use it up in a souffle, and jazzed it up with some of those little fishies. I must say, the smell of this little golden marvel filled the house and wafted outdoors, much to the delight of Master Chow when he came home. “What is that?” he inquired. He soon found out. Just add a nice salad, and enjoy!

Cheese Souffle

Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown

• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

• Butter, room temperature, to grease souffle dish

• 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) butter

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3 anchovy filets, packed in olive oil, minced

• 1 1/3 cups milk, hot

• 4 large egg yolks

• 6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

• 5 egg whites plus 1 tablespoon water

• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartarGrease an 8-inch souffle mold with the room temperature butter. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

  In a medium bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the butter. When the butter has stopped foaming, turn down the heat and add the anchovies, stirring them in. Whisk the flour mixture into the melted butter and anchovy mixture. Cook for 2 minutes. Monitor the heat because you don’t want this to burn, or you will have a rather nasty mess on your hands.

  Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated. In a separate bowl, using a stand or hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Start by whipping the whites on a low speed until they start to foam, and then increase the speed. Be careful – if you overbeat the whites, they will be unusable.

  Add 1/4 of the egg white mixture to the cheese base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently. Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top. If you like, run a damp finger along the inside of the rim to give the souffle a “hat-like” appearance.

  Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.