Category Archives: Cheese

Fromage Fort

We are now a few days into the new year but our fridge is still well stocked with festive leftovers. As we are big cheese lovers we ensured we had enough to get us through the holiday season and then we were given yet more by a generous friend. We’ve made a pretty impressive dent in our supplies but the cheese drawer in the fridge is still pretty full.

There are of course many things to do with spare cheese besides just nibbling it with bread or crackers. Melted into cream it can make a quick and easy sauce for pasta or gnocchi (gnocchi with blue cheese sauce is great on a cold winter’s evening with a glass of red). If you have leftover root vegetables you can make a cheesy, creamy gratin. If you’re still making well stuffed sandwiches with your Christmas leftovers why not add a generous helping of cheese and turn them into a hot, gooey toasty?

If you are tiring of eating from the same blocks of cheese or you find yourself with a few scrappy ends of different cheeses you can repurpose them by mixing them together with other tasty ingredients to make a spreadable potted cheese. You can go the classic English route, mixing the cheese with softened butter to achieve a spreadable consistency then seasoning with mustard, cayenne, mace and maybe a little sherry or brandy.

There is also the French approach, which I used today: fromage fort, where the cheeses are typically blended with wine, garlic and herbs to produce a soft, full flavoured spread. The recipe will be different every time depending what spare cheese you have on hand – simply experiment with the seasonings until you achieve a result you like.

Fromage Fort

8oz mixed cheeses (I used the leftover ends from some cheese from Christmas: approximately 4oz cheddar, 2oz of a hard goats cheese and roughly 1oz each of Brie and Stilton)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

1/4 tsp dried thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt (optional)

Crumble or grate any hard cheeses and roughly chop the softer ones. Put in a food processor with the garlic and white wine and blitz together.

How chunky or smooth you want it is down to personal preference. I like the different cheeses to be well blended so tend towards a smoother spread.

Taste it and adjust for seasoning. Depending on the cheeses you use it may not need any additional salt, but a grinding of black pepper is a good idea. You can also add whatever herbs take your fancy. I added some dried thyme but chives or rosemary would also work well.

I also added a little cream to make the spread smoother and balance the flavour.

Fromage fort will keep in the fridge for at least a month. The flavour will develop as it ages.

Collard Floret Gratin

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Spring is officially here and the local seasonal produce that is available is slowly transitioning away from the winter staples that we have enjoyed for the last few months.

Collard Floret Gratin from britinthesouth.com

One of the things I love to find at local farmers markets at this time of year is the fresh tender stalks of young kale, or collards or purple sprouting broccoli.

They are versatile, quick to cook and invariably delicious.

I particularly like to pair them with cheese; they are great dipped into a cheesy sauce but the collard florets I recently picked up made a great gratin.

Lightly steamed and then baked with a creamy cheddar sauce it was a satisfying dish to herald the dawn of spring.

Collard Floret Gratin

1 small bunch of young collard green florets (about 4oz)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk

5oz mature cheddar, grated

0.25 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Bring water to a boil in a steamer (if you don’t have one just put a colander above a pan of boiling water)

Rinse the florets and then steam for until tender (about 5 minutes). Drain thoroughly.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat then stir in the flour. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the milk and stir thoroughly to disperse any lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until the sauce begins to thicken (5-10 minutes).

Add the grated cheddar and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring often, until you have a thick, smooth cheese sauce. Taste and season if necessary with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Arrange the collard florets in a oven proof dish, and then pour over the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the grated parmesan on top, then place in the oven and cook for around 20 minutes until golden on top.

Turnip and Blue Cheese Soup

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I am writing this in late February and the first signs of spring are appearing, with snowdrops and daffodils in bloom and the crazy climate in Georgia giving us the occasional unseasonably warm day when the patios fill up at local bars and folks break out their shorts and t-shirts for a day or two before it reverts back to being cold and damp.

At the local farmers markets the produce scene is still dominated by winter greens and root vegetables and will be like that for quite a few weeks more.

I’m not complaining. The vegetables on offer at the moment lend themselves to hearty soups and stews that are welcome when the temperature dips and the rain is falling.

The goodies on offer at the moment include snowy white hakurei turnips, which are smaller and more delicately flavoured than the larger, more commonly found purple topped turnips. Thinly sliced, Hakurei turnips can even be eaten raw in salads.

I find they make a good base for a soup, providing richness and thickness which you can then enhance with other seasonings and flavours. They work particularly well with fennel or thyme, and to dial up the richness a little more you can add cream or cheese. A couple of parmesan rinds thrown in to soften and melt as the soup simmers is also a good idea.

This time I opted for blue cheese, which added a nice salty tang and depth to the mild earthiness of the turnips.

Turnip & Blue Cheese Soup

1 medium onion, diced

2 tbs olive oil

1lb white turnips, cut into 1/2″ dice

6oz blue cheese, crumbled (Stilton is a good choice but other blues also work well)

32 fl.oz. (4 cups) vegetable stock

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and soften for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the turnips and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the vegetable stock, and increase the heat to medium high.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until the turnips are tender, around 20 minutes.

Allow to cool for a few minutes and then blend to a creamy and smooth consistency in a blender or food processor, or using a stick blender.

Return to the pan and heat over medium heat, adding the crumbled blue cheese.

Cook until the blue cheese melts.

Check for seasoning and add salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.

Grits with Stilton and Kale

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Autumn is definitely on the way.

I’ve just returned from a few days in London, where this summer’s heatwave is now a memory and cooler temperatures and showers are the order of the day.

In Georgia it is still warm but the thermometer is gradually winding down. Next Monday is Labor Day, which is widely recognised as the unofficial end of Summer in the USA.

The change of the seasons is also apparent in the contents of my weekly CSA box.

We’ve seen the last watermelons. We’re still getting the odd tomato or two but that won’t last for too much longer. This week also saw the first apples and sweet potatoes of the year in our box.

Last week saw the welcome return of kale, so I celebrated with a simple and comforting dish to help with the transition from one season to another, combining the kale with creamy grits and blue Stilton cheese.

Grits with Stilton and Kale

Serves 2

8oz kale

8oz stone ground grits

6oz Blue Stilton, cut or crumbled into dice (or use another blue cheese of your choice: gorgonzola works well)

2 tablespoons Butter

First of all, cook your kale in salted boiling water until tender. For these leaves that took 5 to 6 minutes, but will depend on the type and age of your greens. When cooled slightly, squeeze out any excess water and coarsely chop.

Next, cook your grits. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and then slowly whisk the grits into the water to avoid lumps. Once it has started to thicken turn the heat down to low. Stone ground grits can take 30 to 45 minutes to cook and require regular stirring. The traditional way of gauging if the grits are is done is when they come away from the side of the pan when stirring but you can also taste it to ensure it is cooked through and has a soft consistency.

Once the grits are ready, finishing and assembling the dish is pretty straightforward. Add the butter to the grits to add richness and glossiness. Stir in the Stilton and then add the kale and stir together. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If desired, finish with some extra Stilton on top.

Baked Cheddar with Herbs

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This recipe was the result of wanting a relatively quick and easy dish in the evening after a long and busy day, but still wanting something satisfying and delicious.

It’s hard to go wrong with any dish involving melted cheese, and this one comes together quickly with just a few ingredients requiring little in the way of prep.

It would be great served with crusty bread but I went in a low carb direction by serving it with lightly steamed, tender stalks of broccolini.

Baked Cheddar With Herbs

12oz grated aged cheddar cheese

1tsp chopped thyme leaves

1 tsp chopped sage leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

Heat your oven to 350F.

Pour the oil into a ovenproof baking dish.

Add the grated cheese. and then sprinkle the herbs on top.

Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and gooey.

Season with black pepper and serve immediately.

Pimento Cheese with a British Twist

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Before I moved to Georgia I had never encountered the delights of pimento cheese. I can’t remember when I first tried it but soon noticed that it was ubiquitous in this part of the world, as likely to be found in a sandwich or an a burger at a dive bar as served with fancy crackers at an upmarket restaurant.

The history of pimento cheese is a fascinating story. Although it seems to be a distinctly Southern staple, according to Serious Eats the origins of pimento cheese can be traced back to 19^th century New York, and the first known recipe appeared in Good Housekeeping in 1908. Mass produced pimento cheese was popular nationwide prior to the second world war, with many of the pimentos grown in Georgia.

After the war its popularity declined in the rest of the country and as commercial brands disappeared from shelves, Southern cooks started making their own pimento cheese at home, thus starting the transition of this humble spread to iconic status. Now every famous Southern chef can boast a recipe and artisanal pimento cheese can be found at gourmet food stores and farmers markets.

Over the years, as I looked at different recipes for it and had a go at making my own I realised that despite its apparent simplicity it is one of those foods for which everyone you ask has a different recipe and strong opinions on how it is made and what should go in it. Some recipes include cream cheese but many don’t. The thorny question of which mayonnaise to use: Duke’s, Hellman’s or homemade? Should you buy pimentos in a jar or roast your own peppers? What should you add if you want to turn up the spiciness: hot sauce, cayenne, mustard, Worcester sauce, paprika?

After much trial and error I have landed upon a version that pays a nod to my homeland using aged English cheddar as well as English mustard powder. The aged cheddar gives it good depth while the seasonings give it a delicious but not overpowering hit of peppery warmth. Try it on crackers, in a sandwich or as a great topping for a burger or hotdog.

Pimento Cheese

0.5lb Aged English Cheddar

0.5 cup mayonnaise

1 red banana pepper (or a red bell pepper)

0.5 tsp mustard powder

0.5 tsp hot sauce

0.5 tsp salt

Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub the pepper with olive oil and place on a baking tray in the preheated oven.

Roast, turning occasionally, until the skin is charred and the pepper is tender. This is about 20-25 minutes for a banana pepper. A larger bell pepper might take a little longer.

When the pepper is cool, peel it, scrape out the seeds and membranes and chop finely.

Grate the cheddar on the big holes of a box grater.

Put the chopped pepper and cheese in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients and stir well until thoroughly combined.

Baked Cheese with Black Truffles

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There is something magical about melted cheese.

Well I think so anyway. I have a weakness for cheese in pretty much any shape or form but I find melted cheese particularly irresistible, whether it is a fondue, a bubbling rarebit or is oozing out of the side of a grilled cheese sandwich or panino.

Occasionally I like to indulge this passion and take a whole brie or camembert, stuff it with truffles and bake it in the oven. Spooning the resulting mix of gooey cheese and pungent truffles onto crusty bread is a delicious treat, especially on a cold evening.

This time around my cheese of choice was Green Hill, a beautiful soft ripened creamy cow’s milk camembert style cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville in the south of Georgia. Green Hill comes in a neat 7.5oz wheel, making it a perfect starter for 2.

Preparation is simple. Just take your cheese and slice it in half. Generously cover one half with truffles. I used black truffle peelings which come in a can and are a useful pantry staple. If you want to make this during truffle season and have suitably deep pockets you could use fresh black or white truffles.

Then simply wrap up the cheese and stick it in the oven and you are just minutes away from a luxurious dish.

Baked Cheese with Black Truffles

One 7-8oz soft ripened cheese (Brie, Camembert or similar)

Approx. 2oz black truffles

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Slice the cheese horizontally across the middle.

Put a generous layer of thinly sliced black truffle on one of the cut sides of the cheese.

Put the other half of the cheese on top of the truffled side. Wrap in parchment paper and then wrap again in aluminium foil.

Place this package on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Carefully open the package to reveal the molten cheese.

Spoon out onto crusty bread to enjoy.

Dried Tomatoes: Feta and Tomato Dip

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We invested in a dehydrator many years ago and have found it a very useful way to help deal with gluts from our garden and CSA box.

The most common items we dry are apples for snacking and cabbage to add to soups and stews in the winter. We have also found it great for drying herbs from the garden when they start growing out of control.

Ours is a 4 tray Excalibur brand dehydrator which are easy to find online. It is easy to use and has proved very reliable over many years of use.

One of the options for the Food in Jars mastery challenge for October was dehydrating so I thought I’d have a go at something I haven’t tried drying before: tomatoes. We preserve loads of tomatoes at the height of summer but most of them are turned into sauce, paste or jam.

Even though the end of October beckons there are still a few late season tomatoes around in my part of Georgia. Last week’s CSA box included some grape tomatoes which made ideal candidates for the dehydrator.

Prepping them was easy: I just washed them and halved them, before loading them onto the dehydrator trays. Some folks season them at this stage or marinate them before drying but I just left them as they were, preferring to season when I come to use them in the future.

Having loaded the tomatoes into the dehydrator I set the temperature to 135 degrees F and turned it on. They took around 9 hours in total. Larger tomatoes would take a bit longer. The trick is to regularly check them to see if they have achieved the desired result where they are dry and slightly leathery.

Once they have cooled store them in an airtight jar. I look forward to using them to get a burst of summer flavour in some of my winter cooking but I couldn’t resist putting some of them to use sooner than that. I softened some in oilve oil before whipping together with feta and yogurt to make a tangy and tasty dip.

Feta and Tomato Dip

0.25 cup dried grape tomatoes

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

0.5 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free)

2oz crumbled feta cheese (I used an excellent goats cheese feta from a local farm)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the dried tomatoes and the olive oil in a bowl and leave for 30-40 minutes for the tomatoes to soften a little.

Put both the oil and tomatoes in a food processor and blitz for a few seconds to start chopping the tomatoes.

Add the yogurt and feta and process until blended into a pink hued chunky dip.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. As feta tends to be salty you may only need the black pepper.

Enjoy with crudites or on crackers.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Stilton Sauce

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As the name suggests, purple sprouting broccoli is a bright purple cousin of regular broccoli, producing small vivid violet florets.

It is rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic but holds a special place in the hearts of British vegetable lovers. It is a frost hardy plant that grows slowly through the winter, reaching its peak between February and April, thus providing a welcome burst of colour and flavour in the garden and on the plate when folks are starting to tire of winter but the delights of the spring vegetable garden still seem a long way away.

So imagine my delight to find some recently at one of my local farmers markets.

It is tender enough to nibble raw so doesn’t need a lot of cooking and whilst a versatile vegetable I find a relatively simple approach is best.

It takes just 2-3 minutes in a steamer to cook, maybe a minute or so longer if the stalks are on the thick or woody side.

It is glorious just dipped into a soft boiled egg but I also like to pair it with a simple blue cheese sauce. Just eat it with your fingers, licking off any stray sauce.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Stilton Sauce

1 bunch purple sprouting broccoli

6 fl.oz (0.75 cup) heavy whipping cream

3oz Stilton cheese

Bring water to a boil in a steamer (if you don’t have one just put a colander above a pan of boiling water)

To make the sauce simply warm the cream over medium heat and crumble in the cheese. Stir regularly until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth (8-10 minutes).

Trim any thick or woody pieces from the end of the broccoli stalks. Place in the steamer and cook until tender, 2-3 minutes.

Remove the broccoli from the steamer and serve immediately, drizzled with the cheese sauce.

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“Apple Cider & Cheddar Sourdough Tear-and-Share Bread”

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It is not usually a good thing to have something lurking about your kitchen for years on end, quietly fermenting, but when the item is question is a sourdough starter it is a wonderful thing indeed. It requires a little care and attention and regular feeding but pays back time and time again, adding that gorgeous sour tang to breads and pizza dough.

My starter is a relative youngster, which will celebrate its 5th birthday later this year. I sometimes use it to make”real” sourdough bread, without the need for added yeast, but that takes a little forward planning, so often, when feeding time rolls around, I take the cup of unfed sourdough starter that would otherwise be discarded and use it to add a delicious sour dough note to a conventionally made dough. Usually that is just a loaf or a batch of pizza dough but occasionally I feel like doing something different.

As I write this we’re in the middle of that cold post-Christmas stretch of January when spring seems so far away. I’m cooking a lot of soups and stews and wanted something a little different on the bread front to go with a batch of soup. Months ago I’d jotted down an idea for adding cheddar and cider to bread and now seemed like an ideal time to experiment. When I say cider, I always mean what is known as “hard cider” in the USA, i.e. the one with alcohol in it.

The recipe is similar to one I use for making regular bread but instead of water I used cider, a bottle of homemade from 2012 which was still surprisingly good, and I added a generous amount of grated cheddar. This will work best with a strong and/or aged cheddar. I used one that was a bit like me: aged and English.

The dough came together easily in a mixer with a dough hook and after rising it was simply a case of dividing and shaping it into rolls and arranging them in a skillet to rise again before cooking.

I was delighted with the result. The bread was soft and delicious with both the cider and cheese coming through in the final bread but in a subtle way. It was tasty enough to eat by itself, but even better with butter or a hunk of cheese, and it made a great accompaniment to home made soup.

Apple Cider & Cheddar Sourdough Tear-and-Share Bread

1 cup unfed sourdough starter

1 cup cider

1 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

2.5 cups all purpose flour

2 cups grated cheddar

Put all the ingredients in a bowl. I use a stand mixer with a dough hook but you could do it by hand of you prefer. Knead for 6-7 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and leave until it has doubled in size. Don’t worry if it takes a while: my dough took about 4 hours.

Place the risen dough on a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate it and then and divide and shape into 7 equal sized rolls. Line an ovenproof skillet with baking parchment and arrange the rolls into a “daisy” pattern as shown below. Make sure the rolls are touching each other.

Cover and leave to rise again for about 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Just before putting the dough in the oven give the top of the bread a quick spritz of water from a spray bottle to help get a golden crust. Cook until golden brown on top and the base sounds hollow when you give it a tap, about 40 minutes.

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Brit In The South

A Blog from the Deep South with a British Twist

Category Archives: Cheese

Fromage Fort

Collard Floret Gratin

Turnip and Blue Cheese Soup

Grits with Stilton and Kale

Baked Cheddar with Herbs

Pimento Cheese with a British Twist

Baked Cheese with Black Truffles

Dried Tomatoes: Feta and Tomato Dip

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Stilton Sauce

“Apple Cider & Cheddar Sourdough Tear-and-Share Bread”