Favorite Things....Cheese

Growing up I never dreamed there would be so many cheeses for me to discover when I ventured out on my own. I consider myself fairly adventurous but I completely understand that haven't even touched the surface with how many I've tasted. Until I was about thirty, there were three cheeses in my life, American, Mild Cheddar and Parmesan. Even the Parmesan wasn't the wonderful salty goodness I've come to love, but rather the amazingly shelf stable white powder in a green cylinder.

I still enjoy all of those cheeses and other than the green cylinder, I still keep them all stocked at nearly all times. American is great on sandwiches, cold or warm; Cheddar goes well with any Tex/Mex or Mexican food I make; and Parmesan is still an excellent cheese to toss on the top of a pasta with sauce. But this is about Gourmet, fake or not! So I will give you five of my top eight, knowing that those staples already mentioned are like work clothes, everyone needs them, but on one brags to their friends about them.

It was really tough for me to put these in any kind of order, so they are not in order of preference or utility or cost. They are just the five favorite cheeses I have outside the standards of the American Kitchen. I also include a little description and ideas of how I use them.

1. Asiago - This is a drier white Italian cheese that visually looks like Parmesan, but has a much more pungent taste. This is an excellent cheese to toast onto bread to give your plain Italian bread a face lift. It is also good in any "three cheese" arrangement, for pizzas or pastas.

2. Stilton - This is a softer sweeter white cheese which usually comes with candied fruit bits in it. This is an excellent snacking cheese. Also a wonderful cheese to include on either an appetizer or dessert tray for a party or just you and your bestie.

3. Manchego - This is a firm white cheese that melts really well. I am slowly moving towards using Manchego instead of Cheddar in my Mexican food. First it is more authentic but second it brings a slight punch itself which holds up better to the spices. Also works VERY  well when making Quesadillas.

4. Provolone - This is another firm but not dry white Italian cheese. This is also a very versatile cheese which is great for eating alone, mixed in a three cheese for pizza or sliced on top of a sandwich. Provolone melts well but doesn't stretch like Mozzarella so pizza is easier to eat.

5. Gorgonzola - That's right, BLUE cheese. I personally love the stuff, but I know it freaks lots of people out. I think Gorgonzola is also available without the mold, but that just seems silly. So what do I do with it you ask? To be honest, I don't directly cook with it, although I'm sure there are recipes that call for it. I like it on salads or sprinkled on a steak. The extra pungent flavor wakes up your tongue and reminds you you're alive!

So there you have my five favorite, plus 3 staples. I actually regularly purchase a dozen or so other cheeses and maybe some day in the future I'll directly blog about the wide range of cheeses. Until then, I can't wait to hear what other people have as favorites.

These are a few of my favorite things...

The best part of writing about food is that everyone eats. We may all have differences of opinion on what we like or hate, but we all eat. So what makes eating great? I have always been a fan of the "quality, not quantity" approach to eating and this blog tends to show that. It would not be very healthy to only eat decedent, over the top, food for every meal, even elite athletes have a limit on what they can eat. That being said, writing about moderation is not as fun as writing about the things that make you drool when you think about them.

This is the first blog in a series highlighting my favorites. I'm going to start with drinks. Just as the Dos Equis man says, I don't drink often, but when I do, I drink....

I don't have a specific category of drink that I enjoy, there are a few beers, a few cocktails and some wines. Since beer and wine don't require assembly, they are the easy way to supplement a meal and really don't require much further discussion. Cocktails are far more difficult since they generally require ingredients you don't normally stock and although simple, you usually need some tools.

Tastes change from time to time, mine included. Here are my current top five mixed drinks.

1. Lychee Martini
2. Cucumber Martini
3. Blood Orange Manhattan
4. Lemon drop or Lemon Martini
5. Prickly Pear Martini

I'm guessing you can see a pattern here. I currently am on a Vodka Martini kick. The only exception is the Bourbon based Manhattan. The beauty of the vodka Martini is that is fairly simple to make up your own recipe. Pick a fruit (or even some vegetables, see #2!) and pair it with Vodka and usually something to add a little sweetness unless it is sweet on its own. Voila, you invented your own martini. As a rule of thumb, use a 1 to 1 fruit to vodka ratio. I'll include common recipes for these, but I'd also love to hear what great twists others like.

Lychee Martini
2 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Lychee "juice" (I basically drain the liquid from the can and then finely chop fruit into it, blender would probably be better)
Garnish with a Lychee fruit in the glass

Cucumber Martini

2 oz. Vodka
1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
2 slices Cucumber
3 pieces Mint
1/2 oz. Sugar Syrup
Muddle 1 slice of cucumber and mint and add to the shaker. Can also be made with half Vodka and half Gin or all Gin
Garnish with the other slice of cucumber, can be served in a martini glass or a Collins glass

Blood Orange Manhattan
2 oz Bourbon (Jack Daniels or Maker's Mark)
Heavy dash of Vermouth
Heavy dash of Blood Orange Bitters
(optional, add an oz of O.J., I don't use)
Garnish with a stem on Cherry

Lemon Martini
2 oz Vodka (lemon or citrus flavored work best)
1 oz Limoncello (if you don't have Limoncello, rethink how you stock your bar!)
1 oz Lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup (or use lemonade instead of juice and syrup)
Garnish with either a strip of lemon rind or a lemonhead candy

Prickly Pear Martini
2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1 oz Prickly Pear syrup
I've never had a garnish on one of these, I'm guessing a chunk of cactus just doesn't work! :-)