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Savor the season with delicious cheese boards

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5 tips to create holiday meal centerpieces

(Family Features) A cheese board, plate or course can be a delightful way to savor the season with family and friends, bringing together a medley of tastes and textures.

This year, try serving up a board with real, quality cheeses that also set a celebratory tone with these tips from the experts at Real California Milk, representing California’s dairy farm families.

Mix it up. When selecting cheeses, create a range of flavors and textures from soft to hard and mild to sharp, and even pungent varieties. Consider these examples:

  • A bloomy rind cheese such as Brie, Camembert or Formagella
  • A soft or washed-rind cheese like Teleme or Crescenza
  • A semi-firm cheese such as Gouda, St. George or toma
  • A very hard cheese such as dry jack, aged Gouda or aged white cheddar
  • A highly flavorful or pungent cheese such as blue or flavored jack

Add contrast. Flavorful breads thinly sliced or broken into smaller pieces can enhance contrast in both flavor and texture. For a simple solution, try serving breadsticks as part of this California Continental Cheese Board alongside Brie, toma and pepper jack cheeses.

Be patient (but not too patient). Aged cheeses should be allowed time to come to room temperature. Larger pieces typically take 1-2 hours for the full flavor to develop. However, fresh cheeses should be treated like milk, so don’t allow them to sit out for more than a short time.

Use simple additions. Enhance your cheese plates with olives, nuts or fruit to add flavor and texture. For example, pears go well with blue cheese, Gouda and toma; olives accompany white cheddar and pepper jack; walnuts fit with Gouda and dry jack; and dried cranberries pair nicely with cheddar, blue cheese and mushroom jack in this Red, White and Blue Cheese Board.

Consider portions. Estimate 1-1 1/2 ounces of each cheese per person. If you plan to serve three or more cheeses, consider decreasing the amount to 1 ounce (or less) of each cheese per person.

To find a variety of Real California cheeses at a store near you, visit the product locator at  realcaliforniamilk.com.

California Continental Cheese Board

Recipe courtesy of Real California Milk

  • 1-2       ounces California Brie cheese per person
  • 1-2       ounces California toma cheese per person
  • 1-2       ounces California pepper jack cheese per person
  • walnuts
  • breadsticks
  • fresh herbs
  1. On cheese plate, arrange cheeses, almonds, crackers and cherry tomatoes.

Red, White and Blue Cheese Board

Recipe courtesy of Real California Milk

  • 1-2       ounces California cheddar cheese per person
  • 1-2       ounces California blue cheese per person
  • 1-2       ounces California mushroom jack cheese per person
  • walnuts
  • dried cranberries
  • crackers
  • fresh apple slices
  1. On cheese plate, arrange cheeses, walnuts, cranberries, crackers and apple slices.

SOURCE:
Real California Milk

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EDIBLES

Green onions welcome the spring season

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By Suzanne Storey

Do you have an abundance of green onions this time of year? If you’re fortunate enough to experience this, consider yourself lucky! First, let’s clarify a few terms.
Essentially, green onions and scallions refer to the same vegetable; however, the terminology often depends on cultural context. I often call them spring onions, and my parents referred to them the same way. On the other hand, fancy chefs and culinary experts typically use the term “scallions.”
I wasn’t even aware of what a scallion was until about 10 years ago, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re in the same boat.

Read the full story on spring onions, along with definitions of onions and the efforts to grow a community garden in Nocona in your Thursday Bowie News.

Onions from the Nocona Community Garden. (Photos by Suzanne Storey)
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EDIBLES

Celebrate Easter with creative cakes

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(Family Features) Sweet, delicious treats make Easter celebrations magical, putting the final touch on brunch, lunch or dinner gatherings. Whether your crowd enjoys the sweet-tart combination of fruit-infused cakes, mini bundts with personalized decorations or rich, creamy cheesecake, the dessert table is sure to be popular.

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake and Carrot Cheesecake from “Cookin’ Savvy” are perfect desserts for sharing with loved ones, made with little effort and a lot of love. You can even let little ones help in the kitchen with Fun Mini Easter Bundts by allowing their creativity to run wild – just hand over the icing and chocolate toppers then watch the artistry unfold.

To ensure your feast goes off without a hitch, create these tempting cakes the day before for a no-hassle Easter.

Find more ways to elevate Easter celebrations with food by visiting Culinary.net.

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy
Yield: 1 cake

  • 1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed
  • 1 box lemon cake mix
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk

Glaze:

  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  1. Heat oven to 350 F.
  2. Grease bundt pan and place rinsed blueberries in bottom. Mix cake mix, butter, eggs and milk; pour on top of blueberries. Bake 35 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan.
  3. To make glaze: Mix butter, sugar and milk then pour over cake.

Fun Mini Easter Bundts

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy
Yield: 24 mini bundts

  • 1 box confetti cake mix
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk

Chocolate Toppers:

  • 1 cup each color melting chips of desired colors
  • silicone Easter candy molds of desired shapes
  • 1 pouch ready-made green icing
  1. Heat oven to 350 F.
  2. Mix cake mix, butter, eggs and milk. Pour into greased mini bundt pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan.
  3. To make chocolate toppers: In bowl for each color, melt melting chips in 1-minute intervals in microwave until thoroughly melted. Pour into baggies and snip corner. Pipe melted chips into molds and freeze 15-20 minutes. Pipe green icing onto mini bundt cakes for “grass” then place chocolate mold pieces on top.

Substitution: Save time on toppers by replacing with store-bought chocolate bunnies, eggs, crosses or marshmallow bunnies.

Carrot Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy
Yield: 1 cake

Cake:

  • 1 box spice cake mix
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

Cheesecake:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate chips
  1. Heat oven to 350 F.
  2. To make cake: Mix cake mix with carrot and coconut. Using hand mixer, blend in eggs, butter and yogurt. Pour mixture into greased springform pan and bake 30 minutes. Let completely cool in pan.
  3. To make cheesecake: Using hand mixer, whip whipping cream and sugar to form whipped cream and set aside.
  4. Using hand mixer, whip cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar. Add in whipped cream and mix. Pour onto completely cooled carrot cake in springform pan. Let set in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight before unspringing pan.
  5. For topping: Sprinkle chopped nuts and chocolate chips on cake before serving.

Tip: For extra festive appearance, add desired Easter candy on top.


SOURCE:
Culinary.net

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EDIBLES

Street tacos from the slow cooker

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(Family Features) If your idea of street tacos includes standing over a hot skillet, wipe that sweat off your brow and give these Savory Street Tacos a try. They put the slow cooker and oven to work for you, providing that delicious street taco taste without the hassle. For more ways to simplify cooking at home, visit Culinary.net.

Savory Street Tacos

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy
Servings: 4-6

  • 1 chuck roast (2-3 pounds)
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 1 can (10 ounces) beef consommé
  • 16-20 street taco tortillas
  • 1 package (8 ounces) shredded cheese
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • salsa, for serving
  • guacamole, for serving
  • queso, for serving
  1. Cover chuck roast with taco seasoning then place in slow cooker. Pour beef consommé over roast and cook on low 6 hours to braise.
  2. Heat oven to 425 F.
  3. Use fork to shred roast.
  4. Brush outside of tortillas with avocado oil and fill with meat and shredded cheese. Place in casserole dish and bake 10-15 minutes until tacos reach desired crispiness.
  5. Place on tray and serve with salsa, guacamole and queso.

Tip: Recipe can be doubled for large crowds.


SOURCE:
Culinary.net

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