As a child I loved cheese, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned about all the delicious and varied cheeses of Europe. The boutique cheese makers of California didn’t really start popping up until I was well into my adulthood.
My mom would make me a cheese quesadilla with a corn tortilla and a slice of American cheese when I was a little girl. I loved that. While I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, I still make them and consider them comfort food. White trash comfort food maybe, but they are delicious none-the-less. Just don’t look too carefully at the package of Kraft American cheese slices and you might be able to ignore the fact that isn’t really cheese. Pasteurized prepared cheese product. Huh?
White Trash Quesadilla
1 home style 6” corn tortilla (if you have access to actual home made tortillas, I envy you)
1 slice Kraft American cheese slice
On a non-stick griddle, heat tortilla on one side over medium heat until hot. Turn and place cheese slice on heated side. Continue to heat until cheese is melted and slightly bubbly.
Fold into thirds and serve. Yum! Ooey, gooey and delicious. Try one with a bowl of cream of tomato soup on a rainy afternoon. I swear you will like it, especially if the soup is homemade.
If you look on Wikipedia for “List of Cheese” you will find a VERY LONG list of cheese from around the world. There are a ton of them! But, that list doesn’t even have French or Italian cheeses. There are separate pages for those. My point is: there are a zillion cheeses from around the world. I have tried a lot of them, but I know that I have barely scratched the surface.
We have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, so I am often intrigued with other things from South Africa, but I would never have thought that I should spend some time trying to find a sampling of South African cheese. Today I learned of Bokmakiri, a soft goat’s milk cheese that I’m going to have to track down now.
Back when I was a kid my parents would order Roquefort dressing when we went out to dinner. Roquefort’s tangy taste and pungent smell, not to mention the mold, is not something that would attract positive attention from a seven year old. Believe me, I was there. Ahh, but thankfully we all grow up.
For a quick, easy and delicious side dish try Mizithra with browned butter over pasta. Mizithra is a Greek cheese made from ewe’s milk. It is usually available in specialty shops and is worth looking for. There really is no substitution, although you will be able to find suggestions, they are not the same, and I say don’t bother. Making this dish is simple; it only requires three ingredients and can be made in the amount of time it takes to boil the pasta.
Mizithra with Browned Butter
1/2 pound spaghetti
6 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter*
6 ounces Mizithra cheese, grated
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook spaghetti per package directions. Drain well. Return to pot.
While pasta is cooking, in a sauce pan, melt ghee over medium low heat and cook until slightly browned. Pour browned ghee over pasta and toss with 2/3 of the cheese. Top each serving with some of the reserved cheese.
*If you do not have ghee or clarified butter, take ½ cup unsalted butter and melt over medium low heat in a saucepan. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil and let foam, stirring constantly so that it does not boil over and butter turns to a golden brown color. Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Let stand five minutes to settle and then pour over pasta, leaving behind any solids in the bottom of the pan.
Wait, I’m giving you a recipe for a snack and a dish with cheese as an ingredient, albeit a main ingredient, still just an ingredient. What about the cheese course?
My Belgian friend Vee often has family dinners with include us as extended family. After we finish the entrée, out comes the cheese platter that includes several different cheeses, some yummy bread, maybe some fruit and more good wine. After the cheese course, if we can fit it in, comes dessert. The cheese course is common place in France and much of Europe and is becoming more and more common in the United States. Restaurants are now offering cheese on their dessert menus. Okay, Americans don’t quite get the cheese course if they are including it as dessert, but we are making great progress and I understand the French originally included it with dessert too.
Vee’s father loves cheese and the stinkier the better. He loves Limburger. I grew up watching Looney Tunes and Pepe Le Pew. I have never had any interest in Limburger cheese, except when Charles traveled all the way from Belgium for a visit; I wanted to surprise him. There I was at the Whole Foods cheese counter asking for Limburger with a silly smirk on my face. I can’t help but envision a black cat with a painted white stripe down her back and a huge chuck of the smelly cheese. I think Charles was touched by my purchase. I have to say, Limburger does smell, but then it falls flat for me. It just doesn’t have the taste I’m looking for. It doesn’t tastes like it smells; that’s not why I don’t like it. It’s just not what I’m looking for.
There is a mean part of me that wants to e-mail Charles some information that I found while writing this blog: there is a study that shows the Anopheles gambiae (the mosquito that causes malaria) is equally attracted to the smell of Limburger as they are to the smell of human feet.
Do not get me wrong, I am not afraid of stinky cheese. I’ve been on sort of a quest for some great ones since our dinner with Charles this past summer. We have experienced a few that we will not buy again. Here is a list of some of the winners:
Livarot – cow’s milk, France, a soft, pungent, washed rind cheese. Its earthly aroma is likened to the smell of a barnyard. I have to agree, and I know that this sounds disgusting, but this cheese is fantastic when served at room temperature. When served cold, you get all of the smell and not of the fantastic taste. A friend of mine brought some back from France for me. I’m not sure of the legality of carrying cheese on a flight from France to the United States, but I’m going to make this request of all my friends and family until I find a good local source.
Blue du Bocage – goat’s milk, France, a soft blue cheese. It is toasty, meaty with a sweet finish; extremely creamy without the bite some blue cheeses have. It is expensive and hard to find, but it is worth it.
Burnet – goat’s milk, Italy, a tangy soft cheese with a thin rind. It smells of mushroom and crème fraiche. This is one of my favorites.
For a cheese course, I recommend selecting a minimum of three cheeses, preferably made from different types of milk. I try to pick a strong cheese, a mild cheese and a unique cheese. I also vary the types of cheeses, some soft, some hard, some young, some aged, etc. Always serve cheese at room temperature, for it brings out the taste. If you plan ahead, there isn’t an issue.
A really fun cheese that is delicious is Mimolette. It is a dry bright orange cheese with a rough gray-tan rind. A slice of Mimolette is often mistaken for a slice of cantaloupe at first glace. It is a fun cheese, sure to start a conversation for those that have never seen it before. It is a hard, salty cheese that goes well with fruit.
If are interested in cheese as a course but never tried it, I direct you to Cheese Course 101 on NPR. It’s a great article.
Forget cake; let them eat cheese! Bon appétit.
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