CHAPTER 16: Great Recipes with Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt
CHAPTER 16: Great Recipes with Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt
Whey-Out Whole-Wheat Bread
Though this recipe calls for liquid whey, you can substitute the same amount of homemade cultured buttermilk. This recipe was a ribbon winner at the 2009 Nebraska State Fair. If you use buttermilk, you can omit the ⅔ cup of dry milk.
Ingredients
1 package yeast
2 ½ cups warm liquid whey (about 105°)*
2/3 cup dry milk
½ cup honey
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
4 tbsp melted butter
4 cups (approximately) white unbleached flour
3 ½ cups (approximately) whole-wheat flour
*The ribbon-winning recipe used whey from cow’s milk and separated from the curds while making cottage cheese. You can also use whey collected from yogurt.
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, proof yeast in warm whey.
2. Whisk in dry milk, honey, salt, and melted butter.
3. Whisk in, 1 cup at a time, 3 cups of white unbleached flour.
4. By this time the dough should be starting to get fairly stiff.
5. Using the dough hooks of an electric mixer, mix in the whole-wheat flour about ¼ cup at a time until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
6. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix in white unbleached flour until the dough starts to lose some of its stickiness.
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is soft, smooth, and not sticky.
8. Put the dough in a large buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about an hour).
9. After the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface.
10. Cut the dough in half and shape into two loaves.
11. Place loaves into buttered 8.5- by 4.5- by 2.5-inch loaf pans.
12. Cover loaves with a light towel and let rise until they are about 1 inch over the top of the pans.
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for about 45 minutes. Cover loosely with foil after about 25 minutes to keep the tops from getting too brown.
14. Remove from pans and cool on racks immediately upon removing from oven.
15. Cool completely before putting into plastic bags.
Absolutely the Best Macaroni and Cheese
Make this mac and cheese for your family once and you will be asked to make it over and over again. Do not let the word macaroni fool you; you can use any kind of pasta that your heart (or your kids) desire. The recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but you may substitute any good melting cheese you wish. Muenster or Swiss cheese would also be very good in this recipe.
Ingredients
1 pound pasta (small pasta, such as elbow, shells, or farfalle work better than pasta like spaghetti or linguine)
3 tbsp homemade butter
2/3 cup of milk (whole, low-fat, or skim)
2 tbsp white flour
1 tsp dry mustard
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese (more or less to taste)
Directions
1. Prepare a 2-quart glass baking dish by covering the inside surface with 1 tbsp of the butter.
2. Preheat oven to 375°.
3. Fill a large pot with water and add 2 tbsp salt. The pot needs to be big enough so the pasta has a lot of room to cook. If the pot is overly full of pasta, the pasta will cook to be sticky.
4. Bring water to a full boil.
5. Add pasta to boiling water and stir it constantly for about a minute.
6. Cook pasta to al dente (slightly firm and not overcooked). The cooking time of the pasta will vary depending of the type of pasta you choose and the brand. If the pasta has a suggested cooking time on its packaging, test the pasta a minute before it is supposed to be done. To test the pasta, retrieve one or two pieces of pasta from the pot with a slotted spoon. Blow on the pasta for a few seconds to cool it off and taste it. It should be cooked but firm — not mushy.
7. When the pasta is cooked, very carefully pour the pasta into a colander in the sink to drain.
8. Rinse the cooked pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process. If the pasta seems a little undercooked, that is all right. You are going to bake the pasta and it will soften up as it bakes.
9. Allow the pasta to drain.
10. In a heavy-bottom saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of your homemade butter over a medium-low heat.
11. Use a whisk to mix the flour, salt, and dry mustard into the butter. The mixture will be paste-like.
12. With the stove still at medium low, whisk the milk into the butter about ½ cup at a time.
13. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir constantly until the milk mixture starts to bubble.
14. As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, remove it from the heat.
15. Whisk in 1 ½ cups of the cheese. The cheese will melt into the hot milk mixture.
16. Stir the pasta into the milk/cheese mixture with a large spoon.
17. Pour the pasta/cheese mixture into the butter-prepared baking dish.
18. Cover the top of the pasta mixture with the rest of the grated cheese.
19. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese on top of the dish just starts to brown.
20. Remove from oven and allow to sit for ten minutes.
Impossible Quiche
This recipe is from Emily Montgomery at Calkin’s Creamery.
Ingredients
12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1 cup grated Gouda cheese
¼ cup chopped onion
2 cups milk
5 eggs
½ cup Bisquick®
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly grease 10-inch pie plate.
3. Sprinkle bacon, onion, and cheese in plate.
4. Blend remaining ingredients at high speed for one minute.
5. Spread blended ingredients over bacon, onion, and cheese.
6. Bake until golden brown (about 50 minutes).
7. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.
8. Can be reheated, if necessary.
Pretty Perfect Pizza
After your family and friends taste your Pretty Perfect Pizza, they might suggest that you open your own pizza parlor. Cooking for family and friends is a passionate act of love, and making a great homemade pizza expresses that love more than just about any other food, especially when that pizza is made using your own homemade buttermilk and cheese.
Making your own pizza is a wonderful way to please every taste in your circle because everyone loves pizza. You can either make individual pizzas or a large pizza with different toppings on different parts of the pie.
Offered here is a basic crust recipe that is followed by suggestions and recipes for several great toppings. Pizza is a dish that calls for a great amount of creativity. The toppings are only suggestions, but there is a great pesto recipe among them.
The crust
Ingredients
1 cup warm whey or homemade cultured buttermilk (The whey or buttermilk should be about 90° to 100°)
1 package active dry yeast proofed in ½ cup of 90° to 100° water (To proof the yeast, pour the warm water in a large mixing bowl and pour the yeast into the water. Allow the yeast to sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes. At this point, you will start to see the yeast “explode” in the water. You will notice movement that tells you that the yeast is active)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
Approximately 4 cups of unbleached white flour
Directions
1. Add the whey/buttermilk to the bowl the yeast has been proofing in and mix well with a whisk.
2. Add salt and whisk well.
3. Add olive oil and whisk well.
4. Add flour ½ cup at a time, whisking and mixing well with each addition.
5. The more flour you add, the thicker and stickier the dough will become.
6. As the dough becomes too thick to mix with the whisk, use a large wooden spoon to incorporate the flour.
7. Add flour until the dough starts to come away from the side of the bowl.
8. Spread flour on a flat work surface counter or table.
9. Transfer the sticky dough to the floured work surface.
10. Knead the dough by hand just until you can hold it in your hand for five seconds without having the dough stick to your hands.
11. Prepare a separate bowl by covering the interior surface of the bowl with a coat of olive oil.
12. Place the dough in the prepared bowl and turn it over once. Turning the dough over gives the top of the dough a thin coat of olive oil and prevents it from becoming dry as the dough rises.
13. Cover the bowl with a lid or dishcloth and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
14. After the dough has risen, punch it down in the bowl and turn it back out onto your work surface.
15. Knead the dough for a minute.
16. Return the dough to the bowl it rose in and cover it.
17. Place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator and allow it to cool for several hours.
18. Check the dough after 90 minutes. If it has risen to the top of the bowl, punch it down again and return it to the refrigerator.
Pesto Pizza
You can put anything on top of a pizza. If you travel a good deal, it is always an interesting experience to order a local pizza. You probably know the difference between the thin-crust New York pizza and thick-crust Chicago pizza. Order a pizza in London and you may be offered fried eggs as a topper; order a pizza in Moscow and you may get one topped with pot cheese, potatoes, and apples.
Ingredients
1 batch pizza dough
2 cups fresh basil leaves
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ cup olive oil
3 tbsp finely grated homemade Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated homemade Mozzarella cheese
Corn meal (enough to lightly dust the pizza pan)
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Prepare the dough for the crust as described above.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Put basil, pine nuts, pressed garlic, and olive oil into a food processor and process until like a paste.
4. Mix Parmesan cheese into basil mixture by hand.
5. Roll pizza dough out into shape and thickness desired.
6. Prepare a pizza pan or sheet by brushing a thin coat of olive oil on it and lightly dusting it with corn meal.
7. Place rolled and shaped dough onto prepared pizza pan.
8. Lightly brush surface of dough with olive oil.
9. Lightly salt surface of dough.
10. Spread a thin layer of pesto over the surface of the pizza.
11. Cover pesto with Mozzarella.
12. Bake 15 minutes or until Mozzarella begins to brown.
13. If you like a thicker-crust pizza, you might bake the crust for about 5 minutes after you lightly salt it and prior to adding the pesto to the dough.
Old Windmill Dairy Lime and de Coconut
This comes from the Lobaughs at The Old Windmill Dairy who say, “If you like dessert, this recipe will knock your socks off.”
Ingredients
3 5-ounce containers of Old Windmill Dairy Lime and de Coconut
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp of key lime juice
1 9-inch graham cracker crust.
Directions
1. Whip heavy cream until it forms peaks.
2. Mix sugar and key lime juice together well.
3. Fold the Lime and de Coconut, whipping cream, and sugar and key lime mixture together.
4. Spread into graham cracker crust.
5. For extra flavoring, try serving with coconut shavings or shaved chocolate.
6. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
Double Key-Lime Cheesecake
Ingredients
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp softened homemade butter
8 to 12 key limes
1 ¼ cup(s) sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup softened homemade cream cheese
1 cup homemade ricotta cheese (a simple pot cheese will work, too)
4 large eggs
2 cups of light cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
Prepare the ricotta cheese using the following recipe:
Ingredients
1 gallon whole milk
1/3 cup key lime juice (this is the amount of juice in about ¾ pound or four to five key limes)
Salt (to taste)
Directions
1. Pour milk into a large, heavy-bottom, stainless-steel pot.
2. Slowly heat directly on stovetop to 180° to 185°.
3. Stir occasionally. You do not want the milk to scorch, but too much stirring will result in curds that are too small.
4. Stir lime juice into milk.
5. Put the milk back on the heat and stir for about 30 seconds.
6. Remove milk from heat and continue to stir until curds form.
7. Allow milk to sit for 30 minutes. Do not stir during at this time.
8. Line a colander with a large, doubled piece of cheesecloth. Make sure the cloth is large enough that you will be able to bring the corners together in a bag for the cheese to drain. Place the colander over a pot to catch the whey.
9. Gently pour the curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander.
10. Make a bag by tying the corners of the cheesecloth together.
11. Hang the bag of curds over the pot and allow them to drain for an hour.
12. Remove the curds from the bag and place them in a bowl.
13. Salt to taste.
14. Set ricotta aside.
For pie:
15. Preheat oven to 375°.
16. Wrap outside of 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty foil to prevent batter from leaking out during baking.
17. In a separate bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs and butter with a fork until crumbs are completely and evenly moistened.
18. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of pan with fingers.
19. Bake crust ten minutes.
20. Cool crust in pan on wire rack for about 15 minutes.
21. Reset oven to 325°.
22. From four key limes, grate 4 tsp peel and squeeze ⅓ cup juice.
23. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in small bowl until well-blended.
24. Beat cream cheese and ricotta until smooth in a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer on medium speed for about five minutes.
25. Slowly beat sugar mixture into cheese mixture.
26. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in eggs one at a time.
27. Beat in cream, vanilla, lime peel, and juice until just blended. Scrape bowl frequently with rubber spatula.
28. Pour batter onto crust.
29. Bake cheesecake one hour.
30. Turn off oven and allow cheesecake to remain in oven for one hour.
31. Remove cheesecake from oven.
32. Run a knife between the edge of your cheesecake and the pan as soon as the cheesecake comes out of oven to prevent cracking during cooling.
33. Cool cake in pan on wire rack three hours.
34. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake overnight.
35. Remove side of pan and foil and place cake on plate to serve.
Amaltheia Ricotta Goat Cheese Cups
This recipe is courtesy of Susan Brown at Amaltheia Organic Dairy.
“A favorite recipe that I would like to share is for a sweet cheese made with our ricotta goat cheese. It is beautiful and delicious,” she said.
Ingredients
Amaltheia ricotta goat cheese
Honey (to taste)
Filo dough cups
Berries
Directions
1. Allow ricotta to soften.
2. Add honey to taste.
3. Fill filo dough cups with ricotta/honey mix.
4. Top with a berry (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry).