Queso Fresco or "Hey, I just made cheese!"

If you are a close friend of mine you've probably heard me talk about my 649 dream to buy a goat farm in Prince Edward County where I will make artisinal cheeses that I will sell at farmer's markets until Lynn Crawford and all the other hot Toronto chefs discover my amazing cheeses and make me independently wealthy (which I am already anyways in the dream having won $25k in the lottery duh!) by using them in their restaurants.

In addition to my small Anglo Nubian herd, I will also have a Jersey cow named Daisy for milk, 2 little pink pigs that will always look like Babe, and at least 6 chickens.  And the chickens will be Araucana ones from Chile, which will lay the pretty blue eggs for me, and some Cochins with feathered feet,  in case you wondered.  Cochins make excellent pets apparently.  I know...wake up, right?  Ah well, maybe one day.

A few months ago there was an article in Toronto Life Magazine about making your own ricotta, and I kept meaning to do it but never did.  Then...inspiration struck...I am taking Chorizo Sloppy Joes to my friends' this weekend for their annual Lane Party and I thought I would try making cheese to sprinkle on them.  Ricotta wasn't right, so I started looking into fresh cheeses.  Now I am no expert on fresh cheese nor any kind of cheese, but I love to eat it and from what I saw on the internet it seemed pretty easy to make.  There are only three ingredients:  milk, vinegar and salt.  Generally it is called Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco.  

It is not quite feta but not really mozzarella or ricotta either.  I think it will be a nice mild slightly salty cheese to sprinkle on pizza or sloppy joes, and there is no goat milk in sight, which will make my friend James happy.  Junior Chef J-Man thought it was a fun project tonight and so did I.

As an FYI, this cheese will not melt nor can it be shredded but it can be crumbled or sprinkled.  And it can be made using any kind of milk - the only difference being the yield of cheese.  I did it with 1% and only got a small amount of curds, but using 3.8% organic homo (the highest fat milk I could find), I got quite a nice yield.  If you don't have white vinegar, other kinds like rice wine or apple cider will work but you will have a slightly different tang to the cheese.

When adding salt, remember that some will drain out with the whey, so what might seem salty at first, might not have much salt to it in the finished product.  What I did here was crumble my cheese into a container, and grind some additional salt in, and shook it around.  Worked well.

This entry level foray has inspired me to pick up some ingredients to try more complicated cheeses.  Next thing poor Glen knows, goats and chickens are living in the back and our garage is converted to a cheese cave.  Sorry about that...but you know it is inevitable....the dream never dies.

Queso Fresco

2 litres (1 gallon) homo milk

1/3 cup of white vinegar

1-2 tablespoons sea salt (adjust how salty you want it)

Directions:

Rinse the inside of a medium saucepan with water to coat the surface.  Add milk and heat on medium for about 12-15 minutes or until it comes to a low rolling boil.

Add the vinegar. The curds will separate from the whey almost immediately, and the mixture will start to look grainy.  Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and stir using your spoon to assist in the curd separating.  If the whey doesn't seem to really separate (the whey is the yellowy liquid left after you separate out the milk fat), add another spoonful of vinegar.

Pour the pot’s contents into a cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain for a couple of minutes.  Sprinkle with salt until it has the taste you are looking for.

Gather the curds in the center, and squeeze out what liquid you can.  You can tie the cheesecloth’s ends and hang the cloth on the faucet so it can drain for a few hours.

Or like I did, squeeze out what you can and then place a bowl on top of the cheese, and weigh it down with weights or a couple of heavy vinegar bottles to drive out more moisture.

Leave like this for a few hours or overnight if possible.

The next morning, untie the cheesecloth, and admire your cheese!  It should keep for a while in the refrigerator (did you look at the expiry date on your milk...) but plan to use it in the next few days.

That's it!  We made cheese.  Next step is looking into ordering liquid rennet, tartaric acid and mesophilic culture on-line. 

Cheese Tasting #2

A few months back - ok I admit it, it was January - I did Cheese Tasting #1 with the intention of doing tastings every month and writing about them for you.  I do love cheese and I particularly love gazing lovingly over the little golden hockey pucks in the cases at the Cheesemonger.  I love eating them more.  But I admit I was distracted by other culinary endeavours and went off track.

The below are notes from what I will now call - for the sake of my, e'hem, dignity as a "food blogger"  - a "Spring" cheese tasting.  There....that's brings us up to date!

3 month old Manchego Cheese  - Spain

Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese from the La Mancha region in Spain, which must be aged for at least 60 days and no more than 2 years, so this is a relatively young cheese by those standards. It is a relatively firm cheese, but still retains a butter texture and nutty flavour and slices easily. It is made using milk from the Manchega sheep. This cheese is a "Curado" meaning it is semi-firm and aged for three to six months with a sweet and nutty flavour. The other major type of Manchego is "Viejo", which must be aged for at least one year. This results in a firmer cheese with a sharper flavour.

Rating:  Since I first went to Spain 15 years ago, Machego has been one of my favourite cheeses. So much so that on my last visit there I brought some back on the 7 hour flight only to be stopped by Customs for "importing" cheese and meat into Canada (I also brought some Serrano Ham).  When the Custom's Officer asked me what I was declaring and how much I was bringing I told him honestly.  I am a Compliance Officer of course, so I don't lie.  Then he just laughed and let me go after I told him it was like 500g of each.  Anyway, I love Manchego and it makes a regular appearance on any cheese platter I do - this one was fantastic.  Buy again!

Cana De Oveja - Spain

This cheese is a soft-ripened sheep milk cheese from the Murcia region in Spain.  It is generally aged as a log for 21 days which results in a white bloom on its rind.  As the cheese comes up to temperature, it softens in the middle revealing  a  creamy and nutty centre, with a slightly more firm and sharp exterior.

Rating:  First time I've tried this but truly excellent and a total keeper.
Buy again!

Echo Mountain Blue from Rouge Creamery - Oregon

I don't tend to buy too many cheeses from the U.S. because the wealth of quality cheese makers we have here in Ontario and Québec is often enough to keep my palette entertained.  However, this Blue caught my eye, and once again in this tasting, I was not disappointed.  Wonderful.

Echo Mountain Blue is an organic cheese made from a blend of raw cow's and goat's milk, and aged for about eight months.  It has all the tang, earth and spice that I like in a Blue, combined with assertive taste of the blue mold.  This is the dryer kind of Blue I like - firm and dense and crumbly.

Rating:  Excellent choice for a Blue on your cheese plate.  Buy again!

Orange and Roasted Beet Salad with Lemon Fetish

Yes, yes I did say Lemon Fetish, not lemon feta!  Lemon Fetish is a sheeps milk cheese we picked up at the Wychwood Barns farmer`s market from Fifth Town Cheese located in Picton, Ontario.  Lemon Fetish is a small cylindrical cheese, with a rind washed in Red Fife flour.  It tastes like a creamy, lemony, less salty version of feta.  It is perfect on a salad of roasted beets, oranges, greens and watercress.

Orange and Roasted Beet Salad with Lemon Fetish

4 large beets (about 1 pound)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil for roasting
4 mandarin oranges, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 oz Fifth Town Lemon Fetish Cheese (or regular feta cheese)
2 cups watercress, arugula or mixed baby greens

Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup walnut or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tsp liquid honey
Pinch each salt and pepper

To roast beets:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put on some rubber gloves.  Trim beet tops and scrub beets well if they are young and fresh from the market.  If they are a bit older, you may need to peel them a bit to remove any thick skin.  Cut beets into quarters (or could be more small pieces if your beets are larger).  Place beets in a cast iron pan or other heavy roasting pan, and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.  Roast for approximately 45 minutes until beets are fork tender and well caramelized on the outside.  Set aside in a bowl to cool slightly.

To make vinaigrette: 

In bowl, whisk together oil, shallot, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper; set aside.

To assemble salad:

Peel oranges and separate into segments and remove any extra pieces of pith.  In a pinch you could use a can of mandarin oranges, but as with most things, fresh is best.  Set aside in a separate bowl.

In small skillet, toast pine nuts over medium-low heat, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Cut cheese in to a small dice and set aside.

Place salad greens in a large bowl and toss with half of the dressing.  Divide greens over 4 plates.  Layer  beets and oranges around the salad greens. Sprinkle with nuts; drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Scatter cheese over top.

Croque Monsieur - The King of The Sandwiches!

Being sick and being around sickies last week made me think of comfort food. When I was sick I always remember my Mom making me grilled cheese with tomato soup when I was recovering, so of course that is what I made myself.
It is amazing how wonderful simple food tastes after days of either nothing (air sandwiches LOL) or broth-based soups. Sinking my teeth into that grilled cheese was like experiencing a taste sensation for the first time. The sweetness of the melted butter…the suppleness of the fresh bread…the crunch of its light crust….and the sharp creaminess of the melted cheese.  othing better!

So I am back at work now but still thinking about grilled cheese, so I thought this weekend I would explore different “versions” of grilled cheese. I thought I would start with what Julia Child called the “King of the Sandwiches” – the Croque Monsieur!  I have never actually eaten a Croque Monsieur but for some reason I have decided now that I HAVE to make one. They looked so delicious in that Alec Baldwin- Meryl Streep film I saw last weekend called “It’s Complicated”. I think that is where the obsession began….

There seems to be some debate as to what goes into a Croque Monsieur. At a minimum the traditional Croque Monsier is made with fresh ham (preferably Jambon de Paris), Swiss-Gruyere cheese, Pain de Mie (French sandwich bread) and unsalted butter. Some recipes also call for the addition of Béchamel sauce.

Jambon de Paris is basically an un-smoked, wet cured, good quality boiled ham. I am sure someone will have it at the Market but I haven’t managed to get there this week with the cold, so I am going with the recommended substitute of Proscuitto Cotto, which we can get easily here at any deli counter. As with most sandwich meats, thinly sliced is best.

Pain de Mie is a crustless French sandwich bread that is more or less the same as Pullman Loaf or any fresh sliced sandwich bread you get at a bakery. What it is not is Wonderbread!

Béchamel is one of the 5 French mother sauces, the others being Velouté, Tomato, Hollandaise, and Espanole. Each of these sauces is the basis of other sauces. For example, add shredded cheese to a Béchamel and you get a Mornay Sauce. Hmmmm….I think I feel another themed post coming on….but back to the Croque Monsieur for now.

Apparently at one time McDonald’s – the scourge of France and North America – even tried to introduce the "Croque McDo" sandwich! That is just WRONG on so many levels.

The below recipe is a combination of the traditional Julia Child recipe, mixed in with a bit of Barefoot Contessa, and a sprinkle of Sandra.

Croque Monsieur (Serves 2)

1 recipe Basic Béchamel Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 slices Swiss-Gruyere cheese
4 ounces Swiss-Gruyerre cheese, grated
4 slices Pain de Mie or fresh white sandwich bread, crusts removed
4 slices Jambon de Paris or good quality Proscuitto Cotto, thinly sliced

Prepare Béchamel sauce and set aside to cool.

On a flat work surface, lay one slice of bread and brush lightly with melted butter. Flip bread over (buttered side to your cutting board) and spread the inside with a thin layer of Béchamel sauce. Top with a slice of cheese, several slices of ham, and another slice of cheese. Thinly spread a second piece of bread with Béchamel, lay on top of the open sandwich, Béchamel side down, then brush the exposed top lightly with melted butter. Press the sandwich together firmly, leaning on it with a spatula or the palm of your hand. Trim off the crusts, if desired, and press down again on the sandwich.

In a medium sized frying pan, add 1 tsp of the butter, heat it to bubbling, add the sandwich and brown rather slowly, 2 to 3 minutes on each side, so the cheese will melt. Turn on the broiler while the sandwich is browning.

When finished, slather the top of the toasted sandwich with more Béchamel sauce, sprinkle with a few ounces Gruyere. Place sandwich on an oven safe pan and and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

Eat.

Cheese Tasting #1

I don't know about you but I have a habit of going to the market, picking a number of nice cheeses, coming home, eating them....loving many, but tossing out the valuable piece of paper that tells you the name of the darned cheese!  Then I go back to the market another time hoping that I will remember what it was that I ate and liked, but I can't always find it.

So, today I decided I need to start writing down the names of the cheeses I buy and keep a few notes about each cheese so I can buy them again if I like them or avoid them if I don't.  And being the generous sort that I am, I thought I'd share this info with you lot!  Maybe I'll make this a monthly thing.

In Canada we are blessed with some amazing cheese makers, many of whom reside in La Belle Province, Quebec.  Today I purchased two Quebec cheeses that I haven't had before, along with a blue from Australia and a sheep's milk cheese from Italy.  Here's a little info on each gleaned from various websites along with our thoughts on each cheese:

Le 14 Arpent (Fromagerie Médard ) - Quebec

Fromage 14 Arpent is a Farm cheese made from the milk of brown Swiss cows, and has a creamy interior covered with a orange-coloured washed rind. Strong on flavour, it releases a taste of hazelnut.  The cheese is named after the road that borders the dairy where it is made - Le Chemin 14 Arpents (arpents = acres).

Our thoughts - Definitely a good choice for a cheese tray instead of your run of the mill brie or camembert.  For a soft cheese, it does have a strong flavour which is mellowed by its creamy texture.  I did not get a taste of hazelnut from the cheese, but I certainly enjoyed it and will buy it again.

Alfred Le Fermier (Fromagerie La Station) - Organic Raw Cow Milk Cheese - Quebec

Alfred Le Fermier is firm, washed rind organic raw cow’s milk cheese. It is ripened for eight months on wooden spruce boards by they cheesemaker, Alfred Bolduc.  The cheese has a flowery and nutty in flavour, with its orangey crust having a woody odour.

Our thoughts - This cheese delivers.  If you look closely at it you can see small pin-holes throughout its creamy flesh.  Looking at the cheese in the store,  I expected it to be harder and dryer but it is quite supple and creamy in texture.  It is buttery and nutty in flavour with good salt, but I did not get anything flowery at all.  Totally a keeper.

Pecorino Toscano DOP Fresco - Sheep Milk - Italy

This is a young Pecorino from Tuscany that is made only from the milk of pure-bred ewes. It is mild, and pleasant to taste with a sweet grassy flavor, The D.O.P. designation, much like the VQA or DOCG wine designations, guarantees that it is produced within a specific region of Tuscany and meets special standards. Pecorino Toscano Fresco is rich in butter fat and is best enjoyed as a table cheese; it is not recommended for grating.

Our thoughts - Pretty underwhelming and not something I would buy again.  I found the cheese lacking in any real flavour or character and rather bland to be honest.  It does have a slight sweet grassy flavour but nothing pronounced.  Guaranteed not to offend any palettes.

Roaring Forties Blue (Kings Island Dairy) - Australia

Roaring Forties Blue Cheese is made on an island just north of Tasmania, Australia. The cheese is named after the Roaring Forties winds of more than 100 kms per hour that the island is known for.   Unlike typical French blue cheeses made from sheeps's milk, Roaring 40's Blue is made entirely from cow's milk from Australian cows, which gives it a milder taste than other blues. It is a full bodied blue with a sweet, mild, creamy and slightly nutty taste. It is a rindless cheese, matured in a thick dark blue wax coating to cut off the oxygen supply, which helps it retain moisture and creates a smooth and creamy texture.

Our thoughts - Wow!  This a great blue.  Not as strong as a Stilton and not as daunting as some of the other very heavily blue veined cheeses. Very sweet, creamy and rich in the mouth, though once again I am not getting the nutty flavour all these cheeses claim.  I also like that it has this almost gritty, salty feel in the mouth very much like my beloved Bresse Bleu.  This is a great choice for a blue on a cheese tray.