cheese

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Hoppin’ Risotto John

January 24, 2010 in bacon, cheese, leftovers, peas, rice by Ted Major

or Debris Risotto: clearing out the last of the week’s leftovers and coming up with a lunch that didn’t require leaving the house.
hoppin_risotto

  • 1/2 an onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 strips bacon, chopped
  • 2 Tbs leftover pork chop sauce
  • Splash of white wine
  • 2 cups cooked short-grain rice
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup cooked black-eyed peas

Sautee onion and bacon in olive oil until bacon is browned. Add sauce and wine, bring to a boil, then add rice and stir until heated. Add cheese and stir until melted and well-mixed, then stir in peas and continue cooking until heated through (I microwaved the peas to speed up the process).


Cheese Grits Casserole

December 18, 2009 in casserole, cheese, grits by Ted Major

Outside the South grits are a foreign and sometimes weird food. There’s no doubt that they can be phenomenally bad. The worst grits I ever had were “cheese” grits at a waffle house outside of Charlotte, NC, in the late 1980s: a bowl of grits with a slice of American cheese food product on top. Disgraceful. They should have known better (and probably did, more to their shame).

Grits at their best are another thing all together, and this cheese grits casserole comes close.

  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup grits (best to use stone ground if you can get them, otherwise regular grits will work, but under no circumstances consider “instant” grits)
  • 6 oz grated sharp cheddar (1 1/2 cups); use other cheeses as desired–Gouda is fabulous.
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 2-quart ceramic or glass baking dish. Cook grits according to package directions. Remove from heat and add 1 cup cheese, and butter. Stir until melted. Add milk, eggs, and pepper; mix well. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


Gouda-roni

December 7, 2009 in cheese, goat, goat cheese, gouda, pasta by Ted Major

Macaroni and cheese is a classic comfort food. Recently, we’ve come across goat gouda, which is an amazing hard cheese from the Netherlands with a sweet, caramelly butterscotch flavor.  Great as a snack, even better in mac & cheese.

  • 8 oz penne rigati or other short, tubular pasta of your choice
  • 3 Tbs butter
  • 3 Tbs flour
  • 1/2 Cup milk
  • dash salt
  • few grinds of white pepper
  • 4  oz goat Gouda, grated

Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, make a classic bechamel sauce: melt butter in a 2 qt saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a roux, then stir in milk, salt, and pepper and cook until it starts to thicken. Add cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Add drained pasta and stir until well-coated.