Strata the Gourmet Cheese and French Bread Casserole!

Strata – the “gourmet casserole” It’s got all the homey, comfort food qualities of its predecessors, and a name that brings to mind layer upon layer of savory, custardy bread, melted cheeses, salty meats and seasonal vegetables.

Ingredients
¾ cup shredded Maasdam cheese
¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Cooking spray
1 loaf French bread (approximately 16 thin-sliced pieces)
4 ounces Serrano Ham
1 cup (about 4 ounces) roasted asparagus*, chopped into 1-inch pieces
6 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Preparation
Mix the Swiss and Gruyere cheeses together in a small bowl and set aside. Liberally spray an 8” round casserole dish with cooking spray, and place half of the bread slices in the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the Serrano slices over the bread, followed by a layer of half of the roasted asparagus, and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layering process, ending with a layer of cheese.

In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

When ready to bake, remove the strata from the refrigerator, and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake strata for 50 to 60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and strata is slightly puffed and golden.

Serves 8.

∗ To roast 1 pound of asparagus: Preheat oven to 400°. Wash asparagus and break off bottoms of spears. Place asparagus on baking sheet, and drizzle with about 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned and tender. If you like, pour about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice over asparagus and garnish with some grated lemon rind.

Gourmet 4 cheese Mac and Cheese with Serrano Ham

Total Time 1 hour and 15 minutes (Cook time 50 minutes) Serves 6

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

4 cups milk, warm

1 teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste

Salt to taste

Dash Worcestershire Sauce

8 oz shredded Amish cheddar

8 oz shredded Asiago

4 oz shredded BellaVitano Balsamic

1 pound macaroni of your choice, cooked al dente

1 stack crumbled butter cracker (Ritz like)

2 oz shaved Serrano ham lightly fried and crumbled

2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano crumbled for topping

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Whisk in the warm milk and bring to a boil, continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will thicken as the heat increases. Continue to whisk while adding the dry mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and Worcestershire. Stir in the cheddar, Asiago, Bellavitano and stir until it is melted.

Pour cheese sauce over noodles and add to a 3 quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle top with cracker crumbs, Serrano crumbs and Parmigiano crumbles. Bake for 35 minutes.

Manteche Provolone Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

By Chef Lippe

Serves 6

Ingredients

•          6 ounces fresh lemon linguini – cut into 3” pieces
•          3 tablespoons of butter from the Manteche
•          1 sweet onion, chopped
•          ¼ cup all purpose flour
•          1 ½ cups chicken broth
•          ¾ cup milk
•          Salt and pepper to taste
•          5 cups cooked, shredded chicken
•          2 bunches of fresh broccoli heads
•          1 cup shredded Bouche Cheddar
•           1 cup shredded Manteche provolone

Directions

1.       Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook pre directions (about 3 minutes or until al dente); drain. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
2.       Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in flour. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Slowly stir in milk, and cook, stirring, until sauce begins to thicken.     Season with salt and pepper.
3.       Place cooked noodles in the bottom of casserole dish. Arrange cooked chicken in an even layer over noodles. Place broccoli over the chicken. Pour sauce evenly over the broccoli. Combine cheeses, and sprinkle half over the casserole.
4.       Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Allow to set for 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

 

OH MY GOD and we mean it Mac and Cheese

MY OH GOD Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

3-1/2 cups large elbow macaroni

10 oz. Velveeta cheese, cut into 1″ squares

10 oz. Bouche Amish cheddar cheese, cut into 1″ squares

15 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 cup Asiago cheese shredded

1 cup  Bellavitano with Balsamic vinegar shredded

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

2 eggs

2-2/3 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

Pinch paprika

1 Tbsp. fresh chives, for garnish

 Cooking Directions

Breathe Deep and Smile your family is going to love you!  You’re about to prepare the best mac and cheese ever!

Grease a 13″ x 9″ nonstick metal baking pan with 1 Tbsp. butter. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare macaroni according to the package directions, but make sure it’s al dente. (It should be firm.) Be sure to add a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil to the boiling water while cooking. Drain pasta well and pour into the baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and sour cream; break the cream cheese into little bits with your fingers as you add it to the bowl. Add the egg, flour, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powders, dry mustard, cayenne pepper; combine very well with a mixer to break up that cream cheese. It will look lumpy, but that’s okay.

Starting at the corners of the pasta dish, place and push down the Velveeta and the Bouche cheddar cubes. Work your way around and toward the middle (they won’t push down completely, but just smooch them down a bit).

Now sprinkle the Gruyere cheese evenly over the top. Gently and evenly pour that non-fat, low calorie artery-clogging (grin from ear to ear) mixture on it, covering all areas. Gently shake the pan afterwards for a sec to make sure the liquid is even in the pan.  Make little holes into areas of the mixture with your fingers. (You’re just getting some of that Gruyere down deeper below the surface.)

Sprinkle the Asiago and Bellavitano combo over the mixture and sprinkle the paprika on top. Put this piece of heaven in the oven (make sure your oven rack is right in the middle) and bake until brown and bubbly — approximately 30 minutes.

It will be creamy in the center and crustier on the top and edges. Chop some fresh chives and get those taste buds ready. When it’s done, garnish with the chives. Try not to eat part of the crusty top before you serve it, I know it’s hard so Breathe deep and try hard.

This is your ticket to a happy family.

To change it up a little sprinkle 3 oz. of finely chopped Serrano Ham on the very top just after the Asiago and Bellavitano. 

Day 3 of Blue Cheese weekend – Amish Blue Cheese

Day 3 Amish Blue Cheese

The Amish have been making cheese the same way for hundreds of years. The animals are hand milked twice a day, grass feed, are sustainably raised. The cheeses are farmer-certified rBGH free.  Because of the wonderful care given the these animals the cheese is rich in calcium, contains no preservatives or chemical additives.

We will have Amish blue cheese made from cows, sheep and goats. This cheese is great served with wine and crackers, as a dessert with fresh fruit or in dips and pasta.  Our friends at Farris Farms have some WONDERFUL  grass fed steaks that the blue cheese will taste great on. Make sure to wear BLUE for your discount this weekend.

 We have paired it with the following: Stout, Sherry, Scotch, Sauternes,  Porter, Port, and late harvest Riesling.

Serrano-Wrapped Figs

Ingredients

18 fresh figs, cut in half

1 cup Amish Blue cheese, softened

18 slices Serrano ham, cut 1/16” thick by 2” wide

1-1/2 cup arugula leaves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 500° F. Scoop a small amount out of the center of each fig half and fill each half equally with the Amish Blue cheese. Put the halves back together and wrap each fig with Serrano. Bake until the Serrano begins to crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil and toss with the arugula. Place three warm figs on each plate. Place 1/4 cup of arugula in the center. Sprinkle with the almonds and serve

Ubriacone Cheese and Ricotta Cheesecake

By Chef Lippe

Ubriacone is a traditional, Italian cheese made in northern Italy’s Veneto region. Affectionately called “drunken cheese”, it is bathed in gallons of red wine along with skins, seeds, and leftovers from the wine making process  to extract the unique sweet, delicate aroma of the wine and complex flavors.

An unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese, Ubriacone is matured for a minimum of 2 months but rarely for over a year. Upon maturity, it develops a soft and supple texture, which ages to become firmer and crumbly, similar to a Parmigianino. Seasonally produced, the best season to avail the cheese is from late fall through early summer. The cheese has a flowery aroma and smells of heavenly red wine.

I have added the sweetness of this wine flavored cheese to my favorite cheese cake recipe for a very addictive dessert that will have your guests begging for more!

Ingredients:

8 eggs

2 cups sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon pear extract

3 pound of ricotta

1 cup crumbled Ubriacone cheese

½ cup sweet wine such as Adytum Honey & Pear Mead

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs with a mixer until foamy. Add the sugar while beating eggs continuously with the mixer. Once the sugar is dissolved, beat in the flour, followed by the heavy cream, one by one, add in the pear extract, ricotta, Ubriacone and the wine.

Butter and flour a 9” springform pan. Pour in the mixture and sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, check to see if done with a toothpick, Once toothpick comes out clean, shut off the oven and leave the cheesecake in there to settle for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Once cool (this will take a few hours), sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Balsamic Cheddar Soup in Pumpernickel Bread Bowl

By Chef Lippe

Before I moved to Florida I use to think it was funny to hear the weathermen say “it’s a chilly 65 degrees” but now that I have been here a while I know that yes even 65 can be chilly and today it is only going to get that warm all day! So today I am making my cheddar soup with this wonderful Balsamic cheddar cheese from Satori, it is sweet, nutty and fruity tasting that pairs well with porter beer and dark breads. Once you taste this you will crave it even on the hottest days!

Cheddar Soup
1 cup celery minced
1 cup carrots minced
1 1/2 cups onion minced
1 1/2 sticks (6oz) butter
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
3 cups Vegetable Broth
12 oz. smoked porter beer
3/4 cups milk
4 cups shredded Sartori Balsamic cheddar cheese
minced chives for garnish

1) In a skillet on Low/Med – cook carrots, onions and celery in butter until tender (about 15 minutes). Season with salt.
2) Add flour and mustard to the skillet and whisk until incorporated and smooth.
3) Add Veggie broth and beer, cook and stir until thickened.
4) Puree in a blender, then return to skillet.
5) Stir in milk and stir for about 6-10 minutes, then add cheese and cook/stir for about 10 mins. (Add more liquid as desired) *Can be frozen to heat and serve later*

Pumpernickel Bowl (in Bread Machine)
Place ingredients into bread machine in this order:
1 2/3 cups Water
2 1/3 cups Bread flour
1 cup Wheat Flour
1 cup Rye Flour
3 Tbls. Molasses
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. Vegetable oil
4 Tbls. Cornmeal
2 tsp. Instant Coffee
2 Tbls. Unsweetened Cocoa
2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

Turn Bread machine to Basic Dough setting. When dough is finished, remove, cut and measure dough into 3/4 oz. sizes. Using fingers push each dough piece into small round balls, and pinch together on the back side. On floured board, twist each ball seam side down to make a smooth bottom. Place each dough ball on a parchment lined baking sheet (about 2 inches a part), cover and let rise for about 1 hour. Glaze each dough ball by brushing with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbls. water). Bake in a preheated oven set on 350F for about 10 minutes.
Remove to cool on pan.

To prepare the “bowl”, snip off the top of each baked bread ball and using the kitchen shears, carefully, cut out a bit of the inside bread. Be careful to not cut through the bread.

The Bread bowls may be filled now, or freeze them for filling as needed.

TO FILL:

Pour the warmed soup into a squeeze bottle with a medium opening. Turn the squeeze bottle over each Bread Bowl and fill almost to the top with soup. Garnish with snipped chives.

These are easy to reheat in the oven, if your guests are late.

 

Lemon Risotto with Parmesan and Rosemary Asiago

By Chef Lippe

Asiago is one of my favorite cheeses to work with and this one from Wisconsin with Rosemary and Olive Oil is the best I have tasted, so I added it to my risotto with a little lemon and MAGIC happened!

Ingredients:

2 green onions/shallots

1 stalk celery

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 Tablespoons olive oil

1-1/3 cups risotto rice (preferably Arborio from Fratello Sole)

1 quart vegetable stock

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 egg yolk

6 Tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan (I used ½ Parmesan and ½ Rosemary Asiago cheeses)

4 Tablespoon heavy cream

white pepper

Sea salt to taste

Directions.

In a mini food processor, finely chop the celery and green onions/shallots.

In a deep pot, heat half the butter, the olive oil, and the celery/shallot mixture until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

Mix in the rice, stirring to coat the rice with the butter and oil.

In another saucepan, heat the stock and keep it warm and simmering.

Pour a ladleful of stock into the rice mixture and keep stirring until all stock is absorbed.

Add another ladle of stock, stir again.

Repeat this process until the rice is cooked to ‘al dente’.

Use your judgement with the stock — you may not need it all, or you may even have to add some hot water beyond 1 quart.

Mix the lemon zest into the risotto.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan (and Asiago), cream and pepper.

When the risottos still has a little ‘bite’, remove it from the heat and add the bowl of lemon juice, egg, cheese mixture.

At this point, I also added the garlic.  Add the remaining half of the butter. Salt to taste.

Check your seasoning and make adjustments.

Serrano Ham Tapas – A FEAST for your eyes and your tummy!

By Chef Lippe

Serrano ham is one of Spain’s favorite meats. When you walk into any tapas bar, restaurant or little shop you will see the hams hanging from the wall or a wall decorated with the ropes from the ham. I have included the recipe for one tapa and pictures from many others. It has also become a favorite at my Farmers Market stands.

I hope you have fun making and eating these!

Chef Lippe

Ham and Chicken Stuffed Endives

Left over chicken

Serrano Ham

Alioli

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Slice the bottom inch away from the endive, remove the 6 largest leaves and arrange on plate.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of alioli along the bottom of each leaf.

Arrange shredded chicken on alioli and top with Serrano ham

Drizzle with good olive oil and server with tomatoes and fresh bread.

Enjoy the rest of my many uses of Serrano Ham or better yet come and visit our market stand and try a taste!

King Crab meets Mr. Goat a match made in heaven!

By Chef Lippe

Crab meat is one of my favorites and so I combined it with a new favorite Vare (va-RAY) a goat cheese from Asturia Spain.  This is a small Artisan produce cheese where the family only makes about 200 cheese a week.  It is a pasteurized cheese steeped in brine for 12 to 24 hours, then aged for 40 to 50 days. This is when the cheese developes its natural rind richly coated with gray white molds. The cheese is smooth, firm and dense in texture and the flavor is herbaceous and sweet with just enough salt to make it balanced and mellow as a whole.

The combination of the cheese with the crab is quite addictive!

Ingredients:

4 to 8 whole crabs depending on size

1 Vare cheese, grated

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook crab until done and let cool. About 20 minutes

Harvest meat, saving body cavity.

Make a thin bechamel with butter, flour and hot milk by melting butter, stir in flour and then slowly add hot milk. Once the milk has been added stir in half of the grated cheese. Cook on low about 10 minutes stir entire time.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once bechamel is done stir in crab meat and pour into cleaned crab bodies.

Cover each with remain cheese and broil until bubbly and brown.

Enjoy