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Cheese enhances cuisine from breakfast to midnight snacking

by VALLE NOVAK / Contributing Writer
| January 19, 2025 1:00 AM

If there was ever a processed food that satisfied craving as well as hunger, I would vote for cheese. Alone, served with fruit for a snack, stirred into omelets, quiches and casseroles, grilled in a sandwich, or accompanying a wine tasting, it is the peerless protein, sating every taste desire. 

That’s because there is such a great variety of cheese — soft, semi-soft, blue, semi-hard and hard — as follows: 

• Soft — Brie, Camembert, Farmer cheese, Feta, Mascarpone, Neufchâtel, Ricotta;  

• Semi-soft — American, Del Paese, Baby Swiss, Brick, Edam, Fontina, Havarti, Limburger, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Muenster, Port Salut, Scamorza, Teleme; 

• Blue — Blue, stilton, gorgonzola; 

• Semi-hard — Cheddar, Colby, Dry Jack, Emmentaler, Fjontina, Gouda, Gruyere, Pepper Jack, Provolone, Queso Blanco, Swiss; 

• Hard — Asiago, Pepato, Parmesan, Romano. 

All of these choices offer taste, the Gourmet Cooking Arts Center tells us, that includes buttery, earthy, mellow, robust, sharp, sweet, tangy, toasty and zesty, and texture that can be pillowy, velvety, pliable, creamy, silky, smooth, firm or granular. 

It's easy to create a tempting cheese display for wine accompaniment; add in breadsticks and baguettes for a nice addition to any party or gathering. 

  

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits 

(About 2 dozen) 

2 cups loosely packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce 

Dash of Tabasco 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

Poppy seeds 

Dill seeds 

Fennel seeds 

Sesame seeds 

Mix Cheddar, butter, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in a large bowl until well blended.  Add flour and stir until thoroughly combined. Shape dough into 10-inch-long logs. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; space evenly on baking sheets. Sprinkle with seeds -some with poppy, some with dill, etc., so about each quarter of the biscuits features a given seed flavor. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Best if eaten within three days. Store in an airtight container. 

 

Recently this column has presented several cheese-based recipes — gratins and such — And it’s a coincidence that today’s choices are of the “pancake” ilk. However, the first is a breakfast/brunch recipe — and the second is a classic Swiss “rosti” suppertime dish. Enjoy them both. 

  

Ham and Cheese Griddle Cakes 

(Four servings) 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups buttermilk 

3 large eggs, separated   

4 tablespoon (about) melted butter   

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese 

1/3 cup finely chopped ham 

Maple syrup 

Mix the first five ingredients in large bowl to blend. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks and 1 1/2 tablespoon melted butter to blend. Whisk into dry ingredients. Mix in cheese and ham. Beat egg whites in another bowl to stiff peaks. Fold whites into batter in two additions, gently incorporating all together. 

Heat 1 tablespoon melted butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter into skillet, 1/4 cup at a time. Cook until cakes are puffed and golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, turning once. Add more butter for each batch if necessary. Transfer to plates, serve with maple syrup. 

  

Potato Pancakes w/ Swiss Cheese  

2 pounds russet potatoes 

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 1/2 cups packed shredded Swiss Cheese 

Chopped fresh parsley 

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until nearly cooked through, about 25 minutes. Drain and refrigerate overnight. Next day before dinner, peel potatoes and grate with a large-hole grater. 

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle half of potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of a skillet; season with salt and pepper. Layer cheese evenly over potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining potatoes evenly over the cheese, season again with salt and pepper; press gently over the top layer to compact mixture.  

Cook until the bottom is brown, about 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat, place a large plate over the skillet and using a heavy hot pad, turn the potato cake onto a plate. Return the skillet to the burner and melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil. Slide potato cake back into skillet until the raw side is browned and cheese is melted — about another 7 minutes. Remove whole onto serving plate, garnish with parsley and cut in wedges to serve. 

One of the most impressive presentations at any dinner or party — and probably the most daunting — is a soufflé. Recently, however, I ran across a recipe touted as the “world’s easiest soufflé” — and it really does seem to be. It takes a blender — and most everyone has one, so for your next special dinner or wine tasting, give this one a try. 

  

World’s Easiest Three-Cheese Souffle 

Butter 

Finely grated Parmesan 

4 eggs 

1/2 cup sharp Cheddar, finely cubed 

1 3-oz. package cream cheese, cubed 

1/3 cup milk 

1/4 cup regular grated Parmesan 

1/2 teaspoon onion salt 

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 1-quart soufflé dish or straight-sided casserole.  Dust evenly with fine-grated Parmesan to coat lightly. Set aside. 

Place all remaining ingredients in a blender container. Cover and blend at medium speed until smooth — about 30 seconds. Blend at High speed an additional 10-15 seconds. Carefully pour into the prepared dish. Bake in preheated oven until puffy and delicately browned — about 25 to 30 minutes. (Don’t open the oven until the 25-minute buzz). Serve immediately.  

For more fun recipes and information, try www.ilovecheese.com.


Editor's note: For many years, Valle Novak wrote gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. "Weekend Gardener" and "Country Chef" became renowned for their humor, information, and common-sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. She left behind many columns such as this one, originally published in January 2018,  to delight her many fans.

    Cheese biscuits are a delight for any cocktail party.
 
 
    These delightful potato pancakes are made even more delicious with Swiss cheese.
 
 
    Valle Novak