Buttermilk Cheese

A while back Joel and I took a cheese making class at the Complete Gourmet. I have, several times since that, tried to make goat cheese using the recipe for a cows milk cheese we made in class, to no avail. One thing she specifically said in class is that ultra pasteurized milk is not good for cheese making. I finally concluded that that was the reason my cheese would not set up (it would separate but the curds were so small, I would end up with about a tablespoon remaining in the cheesecloth.) and abandoned the idea all together. Sigh.

Then I saw this post over at One Couples Kitchen http://www.onecoupleskitchen.com/ and was excited to try again. I figured maybe they had the one recipe that would work! It did not work for me and I must say I feel a little bitter they are all happy and cheesy and I am sad and without.

That said, I pressed on. I made a cheese out of Buttermilk. I thought that might give me the tang I craved. It was really good, not goat, but a good sub in a pinch. Someone suggested it would be great in stuffed shells…..maybe we will see more on that later??? Hmmmm.

For now, here is what I did. I don’t think the lemon was necessary, but probably gave some extra tang. I made this up, so for all I know the cream wasn’t necessary, but I had it and needed to use it. Note: there is proper cheese making cloth that you can get at Complete Gourmet and I am sure Sur la Table, however you can use that stuff from the grocery store, just double up.

8 c. buttermilk
1 c. heavy whipping cream
½ c. half and half
1 tbs lemon juice (I used fresh, but I have used concentrate before…your call)
1 tsp course salt
Copious amounts of pepper


Heat the first three ingredients slowly until you see the curds and whey separate (best way to describe is your milk looks like you left it in sippy cup underneath your car seat for a week in the heat, floating in what looks like lemonade?) . Add the lemon. Let sit a minute or two off of the heat and slowly pour or ladle though cheesecloth lined colander. Once a good portion of the liquid is out salt and pepper the curds and smoosh (yep that is an official cooking term) about until mixed. Bundle the cheese cloth and then hang for about an hour to let drip. The longer you let it hang the drier it will get.

Spread and enjoy.  Next time I am going to try my hand at Chevre with this cool kit.  I will post up how it goes.


Remember the Green Duck contest…75 buck guys!

Lamb and Goat Cheese Eggplant Rollatini

Filling

1 tbs olive oil
1 onion diced
6 oz of mushrooms chopped
1 large clove of garlic grated
2 tbs oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
2 tbs dry vermouth
1/8 tsp Penzeys lamb seasoning (optional)
¼ lb soft goats cheese
1 lb ground lamb

Eggplant

1 large eggplant slice thin
Salt
Cooking spray

Sauce

1 c. chicken stock
12 oz Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp oregano
1tsp thyme
½ tsp salt
2 tbs goat cheese
Any leftover meat filling

Honestly when I made this my intention was to use ground veal. If I could not get that, I would use ground pork. Sadly 2 supermarkets and 1 butcher later, only to be told finally that there was some odd shortage of both??? I settled on lamb. I also borrowed my parents meat slicer for the eggplant so I could get even and thin slices (a surgeon, I was never destined to be).

I started by slicing the eggplant longwise, then I salted it and let it sit.

In a skillet heat your oil to medium and add onion. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt and vermouth. Let cook for about 5 minutes.



Add the lamb and cook until done. Suck off (there has got to be a better way to say that… is drain correct??) the excess grease.


Add the goats cheese and stir to incorporate, set aside.




While the meat mixture was cooking I took another skillet and coated it with cooking spray and cooked the sliced eggplant for about a minute on each side. I removed and set aside.

Once the eggplant and the meat mixture is done, I took about 2 tsp of the mixture and put it at one end of the slice of eggplant and rolled it up. I put it in a baking dish. Roll until you are out of eggplant or out of meat.




In a skillet I added the chicken stock, yogurt, seasoning, goat cheese and leftover meat filling (if you have) and heated to let thicken a bit (about 3-5 minutes). Once thickened, remove from heat and pour over rollatini. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Orange and Goat Cheese Salad

I hope everyone had a great holiday and enjoyed time with friends and family. This year for Christmas Eve dinner I did a seafood lasagna. I am quite sure some of you might desert me if I write up one more thing containing orange or orange zest. I love citrus though. I believe citrus is the most underutilized powerhouse of the kitchen. Don’t believe me? Next dish you make, sweet or savory either squeeze some fresh lemon, lime or orange unto it or use a little fresh zest from one of these beauties. It just picks up a dish. It adds a layer of flavor that makes all the difference in the world. The only key with citrus is to add it at the very end. It gets bitter if cooked too long.

This is just a simple salad. It contains only lettuce (your choice), onion, toasted walnuts (pine nuts would be great too), orange and goat cheese or feta. I made this salad twice. The first time I simply used a very good EVOO and a ton of fresh pepper. For Christmas Eve dinner I used a bit of vinegar, EVOO and again a ton of fresh pepper. It was the perfect salad for a seafood meal and pretty as well.

Herbed Goat Cheese Salmon

1 tbs olive oil
1/2 c. goat cheese
5 slices sun dried tomato
½ tsp rosemary
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
½ tsp salt
1 lb salmon

Process first 5 ingredients. Salt and pepper salmon. Heat oven to 350. Smear fish with cheese mixture. Cook for 20 minutes. This would be great on pork too. Again, feta would work.

Baked Goat Cheese

1 c. goat cheese
10 kalamatas
10 slices of sun dried tomatoes
There are two steps involved here. I made my own tomatoes. I like it infinitely better than the store bought sun dried. Or really, I like it and hate the store brought stuff. I can thank my friend Sallie for turning me on to making my own. She told me they were indulgent they were so good and boy was she right.
I find that the size and flavor of plums works better, but I am confident if I were working with true fresh I wouldn’t care. Cut up as many as you like, but stick with what you think you will use in the next couple of weeks. Heat the oven to 250. Line a baking sheet with tomatoes slices roughly the same size. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. How long you bake depends on how chewy you like them. I like them a little more supple. I baked mine for 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350. Once your tomatoes are done, put your goat cheese in a cast iron skillet or baking dish. Top with tomatoes and olives. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with some bread.
This would also be good with roasted peppers, or use brie or feta even. Ymmm.