Cheese enhances cuisine from morning to midnight

If there was ever a processed food that satisfied craving as well as hunger, I would vote for cheese. Alone, served with fruit for a snack, stirred into omelets, quiches and casseroles, grilled in a sandwich, or accompanying a wine tasting, it is the peerless protein, sating every taste desire.

That’s because there is such a great variety of cheese — soft, semi-soft, blue, semi-hard and hard — as follows:

Soft — Brie, Camembert, Farmer cheese, Feta, Mascarpone, Neufchatel, Ricotta;

Semi-soft — American, Del Paese, Baby Swiss, Brick, Edam, Fontina, Havarti, Limburger, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Muenster, Port Salut, Scamorza, Teleme;

Blue — Blue, stilton, Gorgonzola;

Semi-Hard — Cheddar, Colby, Dry Jack, Emmentaler, Fjontina, Couda, Gruyere, PepperJack, JProvolone, Queso Blanco, Swiss;

Hard — Asiago, Pepato, Parmnesan, Romano.

All of these choices offer taste, the Gourmet Cooking Arts Center tells us, that includes buttery, earthy, mellow, robust, sharp, sweet, tangy, toasty and zesty, and Texture that can be pillowy, velvety, pliable, creamy, silky, smooth, firm or granular.

Our illustration, taken from “The Definitive Guide to Cheese”, compliments of the afore-mentioned GCAC, shows a tempting cheese display for wine accompaniment. Not pictured is a basket of bread sticks and baguettes. I’m going to contribute to that with a delectable little “biscuit” — actually more of a cracker — that is easy to make and a delight for any cocktail party.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

(About 2 dozen)

2 cups loosely packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 Tb. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Dash of Tabasco

1 1/4 cups all=purpose flour

Poppy seeds

Dill seeds

Fennel seeds

Sesame seeds

Mix Cheddar, butter, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and stir till thoroughly combined. Shape dough into 10-inch long log. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. Preheat oven to 350F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch thick slices; space evenly on baking sheets. Sprinkle with seeds -some with poppy, some with dill, etc., so about each quarter of the biscuits features a given seed flavor. Bake till edges are golden-brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 15 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Best if eaten within three days. Store in airtight container.

Recently this column has presented several cheese-based recipes — gratins and such — And it’s a coincidence that today’s choices are of the “pancake” ilk. However, the first is a breakfast/brunch recipe — and the second a classic Swiss “rosti” suppertime dish. Enjoy them both.

Ham and Cheese

Griddle Cakes

(Four servings)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1n4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 large eggs, separated

4 Tb. (about) melted butter

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/3 cup finely chopped ham

Maple syrup

Mix first5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks and 1 1/2 Tb. melted butter to blend. Whisk into dry ingredients. Mix in cheese and ham. Beat egg whites in another bowl to stiff peaks. Fold whites into batter in two additions, gently incorporating all together.

Heat 1 Tb. melted butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter into skillet by 1/4 cupfuls. Cook until cakes are puffed and golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, turning once. Add more butter for each batch if necessary. Transfer to plates, serve with maple syrup.

Potato Pancakes

w/Swiss Cheese

2 pounds russet potatoes

2 Tbs. (1/4 stick) butter

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups packed shredded Swiss Cheese

Chopped fresh parsley

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water till nearly cooked through, about 25 minutes. Drain, refrigerate overnight. Next day before dinner, peel potatoes and grate with large-hole grater. Melt 1 Tb. butter with 1 Tb. oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle half of potatoes in even layer on bottom of skillet; season with salt and pepper. Layer cheese evenly over ppotatoes. Sprinkle remaining potatoes evenly over the cheese , season again with salt and pepper; press gently over top layer to compact mixture. Cook until bottom is brown, about 7 minutes . Remove skillet from heat, place large plate over skillet and using a heavy hotpad, turn potato cake onto plate. Return skillet to burner and melt 1Tb butter with 1 Tb. oil. Slide potato cake back into skillet till raw side is browned and cheese is melted — about another 7 minutes. Remove whole onto serving plate, garnish with parsley and cut in wedges to serve.

One of the most impressive presentations at any dinner or party — and probably the most daunting — is a soufflé. Recently, however, I ran across a recipe touted as the “world’s easiest soufflé” — and it really does seem to be. It takes a blender — and most everyone has one, so for your next special dinner or wine tasting, give this one a try.

World’s Easiest

3-Cheese Souffle

Butter

Finely grated Parmesan

4 eggs

1/2 cup sharp Cheddar, finely cubed

1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese cubed

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup regular grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter bottom and sides of 1-quart soufflé dish or straight-sided casserole. Dust evenly with fine-grated Parmesan to coat lightly. Set aside.

Place all remaining ingredients in blender container. Cover and blend at Medium speed until smooth — about 30 seconds. Blend at High speed an additional 10-15 seconds. Carefully pour into prepared dish. Bake in preheated oven until puffy and delicately browned — about 25 to 30 minutes. (Don’t open the oven till the 25-minute buzz). Serve immediately.

For more fun recipes and information, try ilovecheese.com.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.