Anyone who says the bacon craze is over clearly doesn't love bacon as much as we do or is, at the very least, unaware of all the ways bacon enhances our culinary world. And it's impossible to imagine any omnivore in his or her right mind hating on bacon when staring down at this bowl of cheddar corn chowder topped off with what blogger Ezra Pound Cake calls "God's confetti."
While the "hearty, creamy, comforting soup brimming with potatoes, corn, onions and sharp white-cheddar cheese" is enough to make anyone's mouth water, it's really the bacon on top that makes this Ina Garten recipe even more enticing.
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Seriously? Sweet potato and cheese cookies? That's what I thought when I saw this recipe too. But Dawn from Vanilla Sugar swears by them, and I'm inclined to believe her. I've always thought that the cheddar cheese + pie combo was highly underrated, so I can see how the sweet and savory flavors would work together much the same way in these cookies. Plus, since cheese has protein, you can eat the cookies for breakfast. Right? The recipe includes mashed sweet potatoes, shredded sharp cheddar, cinnamon, pecans and raisins. I won't have a chance to test these out myself until the weekend, so if anyone else tries them, please let me know how they taste!
But it's just a humble cheeseball, you say, why call it "the ball of shame?" Well, because shame is what you feel when, in mid-manufacture, you say you'll just take one swipe with a cracker to see how it tastes and wind up scarfing down a half-dozen. Shame is what you feel when you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator at night, licking off the Saran wrap. However, pride is what you'll feel when you bring it to a party and watch people fall on it like starved hyenas.
In my ginger shrimp post, Marianne asked about the Swedish vodka currant cheddar that I mentioned. Since I never pass up the opportunity to gush about all things Swedish, here's the low-down.
I first spotted this cheese in Ikea, of all places, years ago. However, I don't think it had the currant -- just Swedish vodka cheddar. It had a wonderful bite, and added an extra twist to the cheddar flavor. Unfortunately, it disappeared from Ikea's food department soon after. I've been on the hunt ever since. I've never found the same variety, but occasionally, Swedish vodka currant cheddar will pop up at cheese stores and some gourmet stores. Currently, I have VOD currant cheddar from Pusateri's in Toronto. (It's also available at igourmet.com.)
With the currant, it's pretty tasty. The currant flavor mixes with the bite of sharp cheddar for fruity kick without the lasting sweetness. It works extremely well with crackers -- especially ones covered in poppy and sesame seeds that can balance the fruitiness. However, if sweet is your thing, or you want to serve it for dessert, it's wonderful on its own with a good fruit beer.
Had your fill of dyed green eggs and lime Jello? Here's a list of some more sophisticated Irish treats, in honor of Saint Patrick's Day.
1) Beef Stew. Chunks of tender beef, potatoes, a shake of Worcestershire sauce, all hot and bubbling. Is there anything better on a cold damp day?
2) Irish chocolate cake. As dark and moist as the soil of the Emerald Isle, kicked up a notch with a dash of Irish cream liquor.
3) Cream scones. Lightly sweet and crumbly, with a shiny top, these with raspberry jam and clotted cream make me wish America had more of a tea time tradition.
4) Irish cheddar fondue. Sharp Irish Cheddar with a glug of stout; try it with steamed Brussels sprouts or chunks of Irish brown bread for a humble, warming dinner with friends.
5) Bread-and-butter pudding. Chunks of slightly stale bread, lavishly buttered and soaked in custard, become a sublime comfort dessert.
6) Steak and kidney pie. Cooking kidneys is not for the faint-of-heart (hint: soak, soak, soak), but this rich, velvety pie will really stick to your ribs.
7) Irish oatmeal. These steal cut oats beat the pants of the insipid instant variety. Try them with fruit and yogurt.
8) Corned beef and cabbage. The ultimate nostalgia food for Irish-Americans, and a perfect slow-cooking Sunday dinner for the rest of us.
Wedginald, the bouncing, or would that be rolling, baby farmhouse cheddar and star of Cheddarvision TV is up for sale on eBay with the proceeds to benefit BBC Children in Need. At 44 pounds the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is quite a big baby indeed. Of course the only reason I refer to him as a baby is that he's not quite mature. West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers, small group of farmers in southwest England, says he should be ready to enjoy just before Christmas.
Way back when we first reported on Cheddarvision, Wedginald had yet to be named. While it's great that the little guy got a name, it's even better to learn that he's being auctioned off for a good cause. The auction ends on November 19 at 12:00 GMT. As of this writing, the bidding was up to £690 ($1,433.71). While I'm quite curious to see how much Wedginald fetches at auction the one nagging question remains. How on earth did the farmers figure out he was a boy?
I've been searching the interwebs, but I can't find anything that explains what this day means. I've found several sites that mention that it is indeed National Cheese Sacrifice Day, but none that go into detail as to what it is. When Wikipedia doesn't have something, you know it's odd. I guess we are left to speculate.
Does it mean that we buy some cheese and sacrfice it somehow, or does it mean we aren't allowed to eat cheese today, as a sacrifice?
After pointing you to Wendy's new Design A Burger contest, I figured I'd point you to this site, since many of you eat pizza and not burgers.
It's the Random Pizza Generator, and it automatically chooses your crust, the types of cheese and all of your toppings for you. It's sort of like that idea Kramer had on Seinfeld, only you won't burn your fingers. The webmaster doesn't suggest you actually make the pizza you get, but if you do, take a picture of it and he'll post it.
The one I got was Smoked Gouda, Provolone, Cauliflowers, Salsa, Wurstel, and Spam. For the record, I am never making that.
Remember when we heard about the woman on the Maury Povich show that had a fear of pickles so intense that it was causing harm to her personal and professional relationships? Meet 29-year-old Dave Nunley, from Wyton in the UK. Nunley is not only afraid of pickles, but of every other food product out there - with the exception of cheddar cheese. He eats about 225 pounds of cheddar cheese, preferably grated, every year and has never eaten a hot meal in his entire life. On the rare occasions when he is able to tolerate other food, he will eat a packet of potato chips or some Ready Brek breakfast cereal. Nunley says that his food phobia is so intense that his "throat closes up, making him feel sick" when he even considers eating things other than cheese.
Doctors say that the cheese is keeping him alive, although it is not the healthiest diet you could subscribe to, as he would quite likely be starving to death if he didn't eat it. He has tried "hypnotherapy, acupuncture and even taken part in a BBC show about people with eating disorders" in attempts to cure the problem that has plagued him since childhood.
It could be worse, though. He could have settled on processed "cheese foods," like Velveeta, instead of mild cheddar.
I am not one of the people who likes cheese on top of my apple pie, despite that fact that apples and cheese go quite well together. But apple pie topped with cheese is a favorite for many people, including my grandmother, so when I first saw the recipe for Apple & Cheese Cake at English Patis, I immediately thought of her. The cake is only lightly sweetened and is generously filled with raisins, apples and cheese. It is much easier to make than a full apple pie, but it has a very similar flavor profile. For those who like the combination for dessert, it sounds like it would go perfectly well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For those who don't, the cake might make an interesting addition to the brunch table, as that is one meal where the lines of sweet and savory often are blurred. The primary benefit
So one of my duties this Christmas at my sister's house (I'm also making this) is to make a cheese and cracker platter that folks can munch on before and after the main meal. I've done them before, but they always turn out to be just very basic cheese and cracker snacks: a couple of different blocks of Kraft cheeses and a few different crackers. A very basic, low-cost type of thing, and it's OK.
But this year I want to do something different. I want to get a really good selection of nice cheeses and several different types of crackers to place around them. So I need your help! What kinds of cheeses and crackers would make a good selection for my family? Any tips or tricks you can give me to make it just a bit more than the usual "cheese and Ritz cracker" affair? Anything besides the cheese and crackers you'd put on the platter too? Fruit? Chocolate?
That pic on the right looks like a cool presentation.
There seem to be an endless variety of cookies that people trot out for the holidays. I know that I like to have a lot of variety when I'm just offering cookies (and perhaps hot chocolate) for dessert. Lex Culinaria has gone one better and made a batch o sweet and savory Cheddar and Cranberry Cookies. The cookies are very similar to shortbread, but with the salty tang of aged cheddar that makes them extremely snackable, much like a good cracker. The cookies are of the slice-and-bake variety, so the dough is rolled into logs and stored in the freezer. LC makes a very good point about how convenient it is to be able to just slice off a few rounds for baking when you want some, so you'll always have fresh snacks for entertaining and won't be overly tempted by having a huge batch sitting around.
"I want cheddar, but I'll settle for anything yellow." "How can you eat that on your sandwich? Provolone is the best sandwich cheese." "I prefer swiss." "Get some Muenster, too!" "And I want pepper jack."
This conversation, or one very much like it, plays over and over at family gatherings, barbecues and even during some weekend lunches. Cheese on sandwiches is a contentious issue and no one seems to be able to agree on what best complements their turkey, cold cuts or even tops a hamburger, for that matter. Can you narrow it down to just one type of cheese so you don't spend a fortune for a half-dozen cheeses at the market?
The yellow cheeses, American or otherwise, tend to go into kids sandwiches, where the color is just as important as the flavor. Judging from the selection of cheese that is offered at deli counters, many prefer mild cheeses, like muenster and provolone, which don't distract from the main components of the sandwich. The problem with those cheeses is that sometimes you can't taste the cheese at all. It's harder to match a stronger cheese with sandwich fillings and it can have the opposite effect, overwhelming everything else.
The three cheese groups don't often want to compromise, and after having dealt with a lot of cranky relatives, it seems prudent to spend the extra money at the store and get a cheese everyone likes. Unless you don't mind listening to complaints as you happily munch a sandwich topped with your favorite cheese.
But it's just a humble cheeseball, you say, why call it "the ball of shame?" Well, because shame is what you feel when, in mid-manufacture, you say you'll just take one swipe with a cracker to see how it tastes and wind up scarfing down a half-dozen. Shame is what you feel when you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator at night, licking off the Saran wrap. However, pride is what you'll feel when you bring it to a party and watch people fall on it like starved hyenas.
Wedginald, the bouncing, or would that be rolling, baby farmhouse cheddar and star of 
OK, your guess is as good as mine.
After pointing you to Wendy's new 
Remember when we heard about the woman on the Maury Povich show that had 
So one of my duties this Christmas at my sister's house (I'm also making 
"I want cheddar, but I'll settle for anything yellow." 
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