Cheese Recipes
My father got bit by the frittata bug this week and made these for us for lunch a few days ago. This is a quick and easy, no-nonsense recipe that makes a terrific frittata in hardly any time at all.
Oh la la. This is not your grandma's broccoli cheese casserole. Ever since Christopher Kimball challenged people to Google broccoli casserole, insisting they would be disappointed with what they found, I've been meaning to post a killer broccoli casserole. And...
To make cheese puffs, first you make a pâte a choux dough (pronounced "pat ah shoo"), which, if you've never made it before, can seem a little weird. Weird because most of us who bake are used to mixing dough...
These cheese biscuits from Garrett are the best, enjoy! ~Elise There are a three secrets to making successful biscuits. 1. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty. Mixing with a spoon overworks the dough. Your hands keep...
Being a quintessential Swiss dish, cheese fondue conjures up images for me of alpine ski huts, deep snow and 20°F weather. Well, we don't get much snow or cold weather in the California central valley, but that doesn't mean we...
Most kids grow up learning how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so they can help themselves in the kitchen when they want some lunch. In our family, it was cheese tacos. It's our stand-by what-do-you-make-when-you-haven't-really-thought-about-it-in-advance lunch. There's always...
My friend Michelle loves to throw big parties, with plenty of food and plenty of friends. I think it must be the large Italian family thing, one is never at a loss for food or great company at her house...
I had this crustless quiche recently at a ladies weekend (you know, the kind where husbands and kids are left to fend on their own and the gals take a well deserved break from the regular chaos) and couldn't wait...
Today, as I write this, marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of America's Civil War, with the bombardment of Fort Sumter . I recently took my 13-year old nephew to visit our nation's capitol, including visiting Robert E. Lee's...
The simplicity of this creamy polenta recipe belies its true wonderfulness. This polenta is so light, so fluffy, so creamy, it could almost be a dessert. Polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal and is a staple of Northern Italy...
Our tour of Brazil continues. After posting the moqueca recipe, several of you asked if I had a recipe for Pão de Queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread, sort of like a chewy cheese puff made with tapioca flour. As a...
Enchiladas were a family staple growing up, though thankfully this cheese enchilada recipe has much less fat in it these days. My mother, a fifth generation hispanic Arizonian, learned this recipe from my grandmother. Note that there are many kinds...
I used to love grilled cheese sandwiches growing up; cheddar on wheat bread is what we usually had, using plenty of butter to make the toast tasty and crispy. Here is a variation of that classic theme, but using aged...
For the Easter holiday, I thought I would adapt my mushroom quiche recipe into a Spring brunch dish, with asparagus and ham. It turned out great, my one note is to not add any salt as the ham brings enough...
Please welcome author, pastry chef, and delightful raconteur David Lebovitz of DavidLebovitz.com who shares with us his way of making homemade ricotta cheese. If you haven't yet picked up David's latest book The Sweet Life in Paris you're missing out...
Please welcome guest author and cheese fiend Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic as he walks us through how to put together a fabulous cheese plate. ~Elise Whether served as an elegant appetizer, a palate cleansing course between courses, an impressive...
Call this mushroom pie a California quiche, with its Monterey Jack cheese, parsley, eggs, sour cream, garlic, and a whole pound of mushrooms. Great for company, and pretty easy to make, especially if you have an extra pie crust all...
Now I see why people use frozen pie-crusts to make quiche. It's a lot of work to make the crust from scratch, especially when you "blind bake" (pre-bake) the crust. But there is nothing better than a real butter crust...
Nachos are considered more "Tex Mex" than Mexican, being an invention of one Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, a restaurateur serving American servicemen in the 1940s. At their essence, they are simply a layer of tortilla chips with melted cheddar cheese and...
My mother grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and remembers fondly what she calls "Sonoran Quesadillas" - large, thin, flour tortillas, toasted with butter and cheese, and often topped with strips of mild green chiles. The quesadillas are called "Sonoran" because...
My dad is a meat and potatoes person. And as such, you can almost always count on potatoes as part of the dinner meal at our home, most often boiled. Usually I skip them (more for dad) in favor of...
Winter is the best season to collect wild porcini mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest. They usually start popping up a couple of weeks after the first rain in November. Although great sliced and dried for future use, the large fresh...
A perfect summertime appetizer, prosciutto-wrapped melon is a delicious blend of salty and sweet flavors. Mozzarella balls adds another touch. You may want to serve some with the mozzarella, some without. Or, try wrapping some prosciutto around the mozzarella.
I grew up making quesadillas, the benefit of having a Hispanic mother who is a great cook. "Queso" is cheese in Spanish. And a quesadilla is a toasted tortilla with melted cheese inside. But in addition to cheese, you can...
It occurred to me a while ago that the site was missing a Quiche Lorraine recipe. Hah! An opportunity to cook bacon! (Like we don't get enough of those around here?) Culinary trends took an odd turn in the 70s...
I don't know about you, but I could really use some comfort food right now. Updated, from the recipe archive. Originally posted a gazillion years ago. ~Elise A few months ago I prepared macaroni and cheese this way for some...
I think this recipe is based on one from a Jimmy Dean ad. I got it from my friend Heidi, and we've both made it several times for brunch gatherings. If you want you can make it ahead the night...
According to the Wikipedia a frittata is "a kind of Italian omelette that can contain cheese, vegetables, or even leftover pasta. Frittatas are cooked slowly. Most often, they are cooked on the stovetop on low heat until the eggs are...
Looking for a way to use up those Parmesan rinds collecting in your cheese drawer? Check this out. A friend of mine showed me this trick the other day that was so drop-dead easy, so obvious, so I-can't-believe-I-didn't-think-of-this, and so...
If you didn't catch this recipe the first time round, it's a winner! And perfect for ripe garden tomatoes. From the recipe archives, first posted August 2009. ~Elise One of the great things about going on vacation is I get...
When I first encountered a recipe for a thin-crust pizza using a flour tortilla as a base I was indignant. "That's not a pizza! That's a quesadilla!" But I soon got over my ire. This approach is actually rather brilliant...
From the recipe archive, first posted last summer, reposting now because not only is it a terrific casserole, it uses up a lot of zucchini, and if your garden is in any way like mine, you have tons of it...
