Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers

Colorado is known for its fickle weather.  Saturday I enjoyed a day at the swimming pool.  It was over 80 degrees outside and in one hour in the sun I managed to get a sunburn.  We had a picnic, including a few of these Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers.  

Today it snowed.  The spring flowers are in full bloom, the lilac bushes have buds, and the air smells of spring.  One can only hope that this April (snow) shower doesn't ruin it all.

Spring or winter, I think you'll enjoy these crackers.  At our March cooking club, three people mentioned how much they loved these and how easy they were to make.  What isn't to love about a cheesy cracker, particularly for a cocktail party or to bring to someone's house as a hostess gift?  Double the recipe and freeze a log so you'll always be able to pop a tray of crackers into the oven.  And while I made these with fresh rosemary, the original recipe calls for thyme and I think you could use any fresh herbs you have on hand.

Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers
Adapted slightly from the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces grated Parmesan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary sprigs (stems removed)
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper 

Directions
1.  Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, rosemary and pepper and combine.

2.  Dump the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a 1 1/2-inch wide log (mine was approximately 12 inches long).  Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.*

3.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a sheet pan and bake for 22 minutes.

* I made a double recipe and froze one log to bake later.  I let the log thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then proceeded with step (3) above.  

Homemade Mascarpone

After a number of consecutive weekends away, it was such a relief to be home this weekend.  There is something about two whole days stretching ahead of you with very little planned.  Rob and I enjoyed fresh oysters and happy hour at Jax, a trail run at Matthew Winters, a visit to Little Man Ice Cream, and some gorgeous Colorado sunshine.  I also finally got back in the kitchen and feel so much more like myself.  Hello, March!

When I read this recipe for homemade mascarpone, I couldn't wait to give it a try.  Homemade Ricotta was so simple and a huge success and I had high hopes that the mascarpone would be similar.... and it was. This comes together in about 20 minutes and then sits overnight. In the morning, you have mascarpone! There is something so amazing to me about making something at home just seems impossible to make.

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast today of toast spread with mascarpone, drizzled in honey, and covered with sliced berries.  My inspiration was Panaficio, a favorite spot of mine on Charles Street in Boston, where they serve Formaggio, which is essentially what I made.  After finishing my toast, I proceeded to just dip strawberries into the mascarpone.  Serve it as you'd like, but definitely don't miss this recipe!

Homemade Mascarpone

Recipe from Two Tarts

Yield = 1 1/2 cups (approximately)

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream (pasteurized is preferable to ultra-pasteurized, but ultra-pasteurized worked for me)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

candy thermometer

cheesecloth

Preparation

Heat the heavy cream over low heat in heavy-bottomed saucepan until it reaches 190° F.  While the hevy cream is heating, stir it to ensure the bottom doesn't scorch.  At 190° F, the heavy cream should be gently simmering.  Add the lemon juice to the heavy cream, stir the cream frequently and continue to heat the heavy cream at 190° F for 5 minutes.  The heavy cream will thicken so that it coats the back of your spoon, but no visible curds will form.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool for 30 minutes.  While the cream cools, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl.  Once cooled, pour the cream into the sieve and allow the cream to drain and cool completely.  Only about 1-2 tablespoonds of liquid will drain out.

Leave the cream in the sieve with the bowl underneath, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge overnight.  The next day, remove the mascarpone from the sieve and store for up to 10 days.

Homemade Ricotta

One of the many bad habits I picked up in college was the late night food run on Saturday night after the requisite dance party at Toad's. For the most part, those nights are a bit hazy, but they typically involved a stop at Yorkside Pizza for a slice of pizza or a calzone. I quickly decided that I didn't like the ricotta cheese in the calzone and always ordered calzones without it... and I haven't had it since.  But then GP and Ina Garten proclaimed it to be awesome and oh-so-easy to make.. and Ali confirmed that it was, in fact, incredibly tasty.... and the final straw was seeing yet another recipe for homemade ricotta in this month's Bon Appétit.  Okay folks, I can take a hint. It was time to give ricotta a second chance.

And now I have a confession. I have been eating homemade ricotta on any number of things during the past week. It comes together in a flash and it complements so many foods! I first had it with garden-picked tomatoes from my parents... then on extra plums I didn't use the Plum Crumble... and finally I had to bake it into something so that I would stop myself from taking spoonfuls of it from the refrigerator! If you enjoy fresh mozzarella or burrata, you will love this. You will also be amazed at just how simple it is to make... and I find there is something so rewarding when you make something yourself that it just seems you shouldn't be able to make (I felt this way about making crème fraiche, too). Please make this! And please don't feel guilty if you can't resist the urge to eat a spoonful of the end product... it is that good!

You can see the ricotta forming on the edges of the strainer in this photo - yum!

Homemade Ricotta
from the GOOP newsletter with Ina Garten & Gwenyth Paltrow 
Yield = approximately 2 cups 

• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons good white wine vinegar

Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.

Pour the milk and cream into a stainless steel or enameled pot such as Le Creuset. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).

Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. (I tend to like mine on the thicker side but some prefer it moister.) Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

Crème Fraîche Cheesecake with Sour Cherries

 

Until college, cheesecake was one of those foods that I was a little bit scared of.  It seemed wrong to me that people ate cheese in a cake for dessert.  Granted, I had never tried it... but the whole concept didn't sit well with me.  This all changed when L's Aunt Ellen visited us in New Haven from New York City and brought with her an assortment of truly incredible mini-cheesecakes.  I was skeptical only until the first bite and since then I've been a cheesecake convert.

My dear friend J alerted me to this unusual recipe in the NY Times a few weeks ago.  I say "unusual" because I don't usually think of cheesecake having goat cheese in it and I was concerned about what this would do to the flavor.  Rest assured, it just makes the cheesecake better.  The combination of cream cheese, goat cheese and crème fraîche is dynamite and the sour cherries drizzled on top really make this dish.  I also love adding dishes that can be entirely prepared in advance to my repertoire.  The other unique aspect of this recipe is that the cheesecake doesn't have a crust.  The lack of crust highlights just how tasty the cheesecake is, but if you prefer to have one any graham cracker crust would pair well.

Crème Fraîche Cheesecake with Sour Cherries
From the New York Times 

FOR THE CHEESECAKE:

1 1/2 cups cream cheese
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups crème fraîche
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 large eggs 

FOR THE CHERRIES:

2/3 cup sugar
2 pints sour cherries, pitted
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. 

1. To make the cheesecake, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with foil and place on a baking sheet.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and goat cheese until very smooth. Add the sugar and continue beating until no lumps remain. Beat in the crème fraîche, vanilla and pepper. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions, and beat until combined.

3. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and bake until the cake is just set (it will still wobble a little in the middle), 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. While the cheesecake is cooling, make the cherry topping. Pour the sugar and

2/3 cup water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the cherries and balsamic vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries soften and release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cherries to a bowl. Continue cooking the liquid in the pan until the sauce reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and stir the cherries and any juice from the bowl back in.

5. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan before unmolding and serving with the cherry topping.

Yield: One 9-inch cheesecake.

Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime

This dish is fantastic.  I really needed a dish to turn out well after the less-than-ideal results I've had lately in the kitchen.  Make it now while corn is at its prime and enjoy the fact that it takes only 20 minutes to prepare.  The sweetness of the corn is perfectly off-set by the red pepper flakes, jalapeño pepper, manchego cheese and especially the lime juice and zest.  I don't need to say anything more - just get to the farmer's market this weekend for some fresh corn and try it!

Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime
Bon Appétit August 2011
Yield = 8 servings

Ingredients

6 ears of sweet yellow corn, unhusked

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 jalapeño, seeded, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1 cup finely grated Manchego cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced chives

2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.  Roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp-tender, about 15 minutes.  Let cool.  Shuck corn and cut kernels from cobs.  Discard cobs.

 Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add corn kernels and sauté until heated through and light-golden in spots, 3-5 minutes.  Add butter; stir until melted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer corn to a large wide bowl or deep platter; sprinkle jalapeño and crushed red pepper flakes over.  Squeeze lime wedges over; sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest.