Gorgonzola Torte

Pungent, creamy, rindy, milky, sweet, smooth, hard, coarse, crumbly, soft. If chocolate and billowy clouds of confections are food of the goods, cheese is food of the earth.

I found this on Pinterest and followed the recipe to the grand Boulder Lovcavore blog which I have followed for years. I cut the recipe down because I needed to feed 5 and I thought it would never all get eaten. But I encourage you to look at the original recipe complete with the beautiful photos. Find it here. If you are feeding a crowd, I encourage you to go with the full recipe. Plus your slices will be much thicker and more welcoming.

It's sweet, earthy, creamy, spreadable and fulfills all tastebud requirements. It can be dressed down for sports and dressed up - for what? What do I say without sounding pretentious? Let's just say - it's a torte for all seasons.

Smear it on a pear, bread or crackers. I am thinking roasted figs (now sadly out of season) would make it sing.  And the next time - I'll leave off the extra sour cream. I don't need to calm the gorgonzola down. I like it assertive. I'm pleased. I have my mother's mouse gene. Blue cheeses do not scare me.

As noted, the original recipe has pecans which I lefty out because of allergies. But feel free to add them - the crunch and nutsy earth would be grand.

Ingredients
1-8 ounce package cream cheese
6 ounces Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola Dolce is very nice here... just saying)
1-1/4 cups sour cream (can use less if you decide not to add on the extra sour cream at end)
1/8 white pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup egg whites
1/4 cup scallions or chives

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prep a 9-inch springform pan by buttering ( it or spraying it liberally).

Beat cream cheese and blue cheese until creamy. Add egg and beat. Add egg whites and beat. Mix in sour cream and lightly beat. Stir in white pepper and scallions/chives.

Pour into springform pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until knife inserted into middle comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

*Optional: I did this but didn't need to: add 3/4 cup of sour cream to top of torte. Bake for additional 5-10 minutes and cool and refrigerate for 3 hours - or preferably over night. Remove springform and slice and serve.

Writing all winter - for we do have winter. I blog and visit only 1 day per week. 2013 is different than 2012 but I endeavor to find all of you. There is writer's block as you can see.

And then they sleep on the computer and I melt.

Just as I wish the snow would melt.

A plate of cheese, a Pip, and thou

On Thanksgiving, you have your traditionalists that must have a certain stuffing, must have mom's Pumpkin pie and you must make the gravy the way Grandma made it. Happily, with appetizers - you can play. I always had an Italian-American Thanksgiving (where pasta was served before the turkey; this terrified my husband in our early years - the ravioli was brought to the table and he thought there would be no turkey. He ate all and was full when the turkey arrived). This year one of my Italian touches will be the Italian Cheese Platter. It's no-cook (freeing up the stove) and easy to assemble plus - it's just plain Italiany, autumn-goodness, sweet, savory, splendiferous fun!

I treated my family to a "trial run." Gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella, asiago, boschetto with truffles, goat cheese, a piave, taleggio - what's not to like? I will be adding some provolone and buttery bel paese on Thanksgiving.

I scattered almonds, grapes, Sicilian olives, chocolate turkeys and pickled vegetables.

Raspberries, balsamic vinegar jelly and cranberry-fruit spread were the condiments.

The fresh mozzarella paired well with the sun-dried tomatoes on bread.

The asiago stood up to the salty Sicilian olives and pickled carrots.

Some balsamic vinegar jelly atop tangy, creamy goat cheese - brought together with some rosemary crackers from Panzanella.

The taleggio took all in stride: the berry fruit spread, the olives and the raspberries. Nutty, mellow as a cream-cloud, it was the first cheese to disappear.

I am looking at adding Celebrity's goat cheese with cranberries and cinnamon for Thanksgiving. Just the scent alone is worth the plating!

And our little mischievous feline Pip? He's back chasing the dog's tail, sliding cell phones under the stove and demanding snuggles and nuzzles. Cats with FIP have had decent success with holistic treatment. I am grateful for all.

For product information and more detailed info: Click here

For information on making your own cheeses: Click here

Tapenade

Tapenade. It has been my breakfast, lunch and dinner. My daughter's after-school snack and my husband's late night appetizer. I am not home. I didn't even make the tapenade! I have been betwixt and between Betwixt and Betweened and Stuart Little. I never do two shows at one time. But I thought - as the playwright - how often do I need to be at rehearsals? Well, come dress rehearsal - a lot. Mainly for support. When 23 middle school students premiere a new play, the excitement is infectious, contagious and joyous. They want to chat with the playwright. And so after writing every morning, I spent my afternoons at a Black Box Theatre in Mahtomedi, MN and then ran to Lakeshore Players in White Bear Lake to audition, cast and start work on Stuart Little. It's kind of like dividing your time between Never-Never Land and Oz. En route, I smeared cream cheese on a slice of Italian bread and covered it all with some olive tapenade.


Heaven. My reward. My treat. Salty, tangy, briny olives mixing with the milky creaminess of the cream cheese (mascarpone would be good!).

Scarfing them down at home, in a car and at the theatre. Olives running down my chin. I felt decadent - living on a rich Mediterranean treat. No bags of potato chips for me!

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I bought the tapenade. But if you'd like to try your hand at making your own, a simple recipe can be found here.

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Amid cars overheating, lovely open-faced youthful eyes staring at me during auditions, glorious autumn days, belly rubs for the dog and planning my daughter's 21st birthday, we have had lots of cuddles and nuzzles with Pip. (aka Pippin, Sir Pipster, Pipperoni, Pyip).

The little fellow does indeed have something nasty. And one can learn a lot in two weeks. Because there is no traditional treatment, he is being treated holistically by "my-friend-the-research-veterinarian" and we have decided that we will take all the Pip time we can get. Even when he is knocking over hot candles, climbing the chandelier, chasing the dog's tail and sneezing into my coffee and wine.

Italian Cheese Platter and Cats

We had (have) a cat emergency so I have not been visiting blogs. Kirsten's (daughter) little guy (cat) Pippin suddenly (very suddenly) took sick. Such is life. He was diagnosed with FIP - always fatal - but not positive so we are looking stuff up on the internet and I am spending my time cradling him. Meanwhile, in an effort to let life continue, I continued with my work for the Examiner. Work (especially with food) seems life-enhancing, Pip is on meds and better and there is another possibility- so we are playing a "wait and see" game. Hard - because we also have a very sick family member. On the other hand, we also had a 58th grand anniversary party for my husband's mother and father! Life is circuitous.

I had the most delightful interview/tasting sessions with Dexa Franks, the Cheese Specialist from Kowalski's. (A local grocer.) She helped me put together an Italian Cheese Platter with all the condiments. More information on the cheese and the interview can be found here.

Dexa is always all smiles at work. It makes spending money a lot easier!

The asiago with rosemary and olive oil is actually local (Satori is in Wisconsin). It's won many awards and is a good choice for a firm and slightly pungent cheese. I love to pair asiagos with Sicilian olives. It's close to a provolone.

The goat cheese of a choice was "Il Caprino" complete with shaved truffles! Good with a condiment or alone - very mellow and creamy.

Boschetto also has truffles. It is very mild - gentle. It's firm but not hard and also pairs very well with the condiments.

Piave is a hard cheese in the style of Parmiggiano - but not as grainy and suitable for eating alone (or with some pickled vegetables!)

This is sort-of-camembert (I know not Italian!) and sort of taleggio (yes! Italian!) and made in Mankato, MN. It has a wonderful nutty flavor (which pairs well with almonds) and is a good addition because every cheese platter should have a double-creamy cheese.

And of course you need a blue-veined cheese and Columbus's gorgonzola fit the bill. It is very creamy and spreadable and would do well with a marmalade or jam.

Rosemary crackers from La Panzanella was one of her choices for the cracker/bread portion. I would also thinly slice some rosemary olive oil bread and some ciabatta.

Panforte would be the sweet in the platter. I would love this with the taleggio.

And from Japan (mama Mia! I am straying from Italy) is a citrusy marmalade - made from the Yuzu fruit. It is really nice with the Boschetta and Piave - has a sparkly taste of little stars bursting in your mouth.

Scalia makes anchovy fillets with red peppers - a nice salty addition to complement the harder cheeses.

And a balsamic vinegar jelly for the softer cheeses and the goat cheese.

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I will be putting this all together Halloween weekend to try out for Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how it goes. Happy Halloween week all!

Great Expectations

Maybe it's because I'm working on adapting an odd little story of Charles Dickens - The Magic Fishbone that I have Dickens on the brain. I could easily have called this post Oliver Twist or - after discovering there were no mini-muffin pans to be had and the lemon glaze had to be thrown out - Bleak House.
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Yesterday was our April Cover Girl Dinner. My sister and I get together once a month to cook the Cover Recipe from Bon Appetit and other assorted goodies from the same magazine. Every other month we also do Tastes of Italia. The evening has become popular in our family. I even have my daughter's boyfriend asking us what the upcoming menu is. So you see - there are expectations involved. As it involves dinner - these expectations are great.
It was:
Crab Cakes
Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon Pesto
Lemon Cornmeal Cake with lemon glaze and blueberry sauce
I thanked heaven for the blueberry sauce because the lemon glaze became sour-sugary-little balls that refused to become a paste. Maybe I should have spiked it with rum and served them plain hoping the alcohol would dull all wonderment as to what they actually were. As it was, the "glaze" ("Ha!" she said) went into the garbage.
The crab cakes were to be baked in a mini-muffin pan. Without going into reasons why the mini-muffin pan did not happen (this is called avoiding a family "war"), out came my huge-honking muffin pas and the recipe dwarfed into the little muffin holes. Never mind. It's better than the filling winding up in the same place as the lemon glaze.

A tad skinnier than they might have been, they were scrumptious. A savory blend of tart sweetness that to speak the truth - was really a crab dip masquerading as a "cake."
Add a bit of wine and all kitchen splatter-disasters melted. All was eaten and eaten well.
Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
4 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Large pinch of cayenne pepper
6 oz fresh lump crabmeat, picked over, patted dry, coarsely shredded
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pans
Fresh chives, cut into pieces
special equipment:
2 mini muffin pans (I highly recommend that!)
Preparation
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan and egg; beat to blend. Beat in sour cream, citrus peels, 4 teaspoons chopped chives, coarse salt, and cayenne pepper. Fold in crabmeat.
DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 2 mini muffin pans. Toss panko, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 2 tablespoons chopped chives in small bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter over, tossing with fork until evenly moistened. Press 1 rounded tablespoon panko mixture into bottom of each muffin cup, forming crust. Spoon 1 generous tablespoon crab mixture into each cup. Sprinkle rounded teaspoon of panko mixture over each (some may be left over).
Bake crab cakes until golden on top and set, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Run knife around each cake and gently lift out of pan.
DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Arrange on baking sheet; let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 350°F oven 6 to 8 minutes.
Arrange crab cakes on serving platter; sprinkle with chives.
Bite sized or mammoth, skinny or fat - the recipe it worked. I do so love forgiving recipes. I am not sure at this point what Dickens would say. I am quite sure Shakespeare might chime in with "All's Well that Ends well."