Real Food Wednesday: Homemade cream cheese

I didn't have to think too hard about this Wednesday's submission. In fact, this one was in the storage tanks to pull out for just this occasion. A few weeks ago I attended a Sustainable Cooking Cooking class taught by Sharon New-Bauckman.  In that class I learned the MOST SIMPLE thing to do....make cream cheese from yogurt.  It truly is fun to make (and soooo simple) and the possibilites are endless on what you can add to the final product.  In a choice between sweet or savory I usually, always, pick savory so my add-ins include garlic, chopped green onions, and some sea salt.  Sharon added a touch of pure maple syrup to the class version of cream cheese too. 

Basically, all one has to do is get a good quality NON-LOWFAT (yes in bold letters I'm emphasizing) plain yogurt.  What was used in Sharon's class and what I use, because that's what's stocked at the store where I work, is Seven Stars plain yogurt. Depending on how much cream cheese you want (lots or not-so lots) and how big your seive is depends on how much yogurt you dump into the seive for the final product.  I usually dump about half the 32 oz. container into the seive.  Sharon also said that you can experiment and use other flavored yogurt for the cream cheese.  Seven Stars offers Maple and Vanilla yogurt as well.  Just rememeber to always use the full fat versions. 

Equipment needed:
A:  A medium to large mesh seive.
B. A large bowl to place under the seive and to catch the whey.
C. Cheesecloth.
D. Yogurt of your choice.

Place the seive over the large bowl and line with the cheesecloth.  Dump the yogurt in the cheesecloth lined seive (I slightly cover) and wait about 24 hours.  Well, that's what I wait because I want a thicker result but anywhere between 12-24 hours per Kelly the Kitchen Kop. 

After your cream cheese is at the desired consistancy feel free to add any ingredients to your hearts desire.  The above photo shows what I added.  Refrigerate the final product

I slathered my cream cheese on some bread I got from Magnolia Bread Company at the Chestertown Farmers Market.  I also added some bacon (I have an addiction and will put bacon on nearly anything) from Lew's farm to complete the bliss.

I hope you try this project.  It was fun, easy, and very gratifying to make a food product with my own hands.  The next step is to make my own yogurt but that's another Real Food Wednesday project!  As for the leftover whey from straining the yogurt, store in a clean glass jar in the refrigerator.  Try some new projects with the whey as I have.  You'll be surprised at the foods that stem from whey!

This post is included in: Real Food Wednesday

Call me Xerox: (MUSHROOM-ARTICHOKE CHEESECAKE)

Synonyms for original

Sense 1: First (vs. last)
Sense 2: Primary (vs. secondary)
Sense 3: (vs. unoriginal) avant-garde, daring, freehand, freehanded, fresh, new, novel, germinal, originative, innovational, groundbreaking, newfangled, new, underivative

Not me unfortunately. I'm at it again. Not original and making something mine from someone's else's recipe. So to begin, I really enjoyed the Zucchini-Ricotta cheesecake (101 cookbooks) and wanted to make a variation, again. It's not novel, first, or avant-garde but it's mine-ish. I LOVE mushrooms so I wanted to make a Mushroom and Artichoke cheesecake. I needed the proportions (egg and ricotta amounts) so that's why I feel like a poser. I also wanted the goat cheese IN the cheesecake this time to see how that tastes too.

Mushroom Cheescake:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. real butter
10 oz. sliced button mushrooms (I used Crimini)
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup sliced shallots
1 1/2 cup diced marinated artichokes
1/3 cup chopped roasted red pepper (jarred is great too)

1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 7" Springform pan with oil.

2. In a large frying pan, over medium heat, brown the mushrooms in the olive oil and butter. Cook the mushrooms, stirring constantly, until they are "dry" and aren't juicy in the pan. Let cool.

3. Beat the eggs with the sour cream until fully incorporated. Add the parmesan, ricotta, and goat cheese. Stir well.

4. Add the oregano, mint, garlic, lemon zest, and shallots.

5. Add the artichokes, cooled mushrooms, and red pepper. Stir everything together well.

6. Put mixture in oiled Springform pan and place on a layer of aluminum foil to prevent any possible leaks from the bottom.

7. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (an eeeensie jiggling in the middle).

8. Allow to cool in pan. Remove sides of Springform pan and slice. Have a glass of Chardonnay.

Perfection: (SHRIMP WITH FETA)

I can NOT ever remember Recipezaar letting me down. It is, hands down, my favorite recipe site. I had a two pound bag of frozen shrimp and needed a solution for dinner. I found this and could literally taste the damn thing before I even cooked it just by reading the recipe! Oh, and my guys.....well, my guys LOVED it! Yay! I love it when I hit one out of the park (seriously I'm not really THAT conceited even though I sound it here). I just get tickled when they really like something that I've made for the first time. So without further ado (and heavily borrowed from Recipezaar) here's a real delicious and easy summer dinner for three (if you're piggy like us) but more than likely for four:

Grilled Shrimp With Feta and Tomatoes (Recipezaar # 180223):

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 lemon, zest of
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
3 lbs large shrimp, peeled, deveined, rinsed and patted dry
1 large lemon, juice and zest of
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 head radicchio (I used an Italian blend bag of lettuce instead)
2 lbs ripe plum tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
8 ounces feta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup mint leaf, coarsely chopped (DON'T SKIP THIS!!!)

Directions:

Prepare vinaigrette:
1. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the oil until thickened.
3. Set aside.

Prepare shrimp:
1. Toss together the shrimp, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Let rest for 15 minutes, tossing once.
3. Thread the shrimp on 12 metal skewers.
4. Grill the shrimp over high heat for no more that 2 minutes per side, turning carefully.
5. Remove shrimp to a large bowl.

Prepare salad (final step):
1. If using radicchio: Trim the tough white bottom section off each leaf then add the leaves to the shrimp. *I used spinach which worked REAL well*
2. If using bag lettuce just place into large serving bowl.
3. Add shrimp along with tomatoes, cheese and mint.
4. Toss with vinaigrette.

I made pita chips on the side and this made a great summer meal for the three of us. I've said before Bob and I are big fans of the large one plate meal so this was perfect. I used spinach instead of mixed greens or radicchio (not a fan) and used the full amount of fresh mint that was called for. I INSIST that the mint be used here. What a lovely flavor (and a surprise!). Besides, it gave me great feeling to go out into the garden and use some of the ever-growing mint and harvest my heirloom tomatoes for this. I feel like a complete woman now.....just thinking about it now makes me wish I had a good bottle of wine (ummmm...Bogle Cabernet comes to mind) and a nude beach to eat this on (not with the son of course). I can dream.

I think I'm in love with Heidi Swanson: (ZUCCHINI RICOTTA CHEESECAKE)

I used to have a crush on Angelina Jolie (well I still do) but now I have a new one, Heidi Swanson. In fact, I want to be her. Before I sound slightly John Hinkley-ish, I think that I immediately related to her due to the volumes of cookbooks that I own. There's no way I could possibly cook out of all of them. Besides, some of them are in boxes in the attic and I don't like going up there (anyone seen the scene from The Grudge? Crap why does that always pop in my head as soon as I pull the attic ladder down?). Anyway, I'm stuck in cookbook-land and haven't really branched out like she has done. I enjoy her pictures and I LOVE her recipes. That's what I mean about wanting to be her. Just maybe emulate her talents perhaps.

As I've said before I've been farting around with the first phase of the South Beach diet. I was reading my morning blogs and came across this recipe from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks. I though ah ha! Perfect. I really think this could be compatible with what I'm eating right now. Now I just have to get the zucchini which shouldn't be a problem here in farm stand-land.

ZUCCHINI RICOTTA CHEESECAKE:

To shred the zucchini use a box grater - most micro planes are too fine, you want shredded zucchini, not mush. Feel free to play around with the "add-in" ingredients - for example, use whatever chopped herbs you like. I had dill on hand, and I like how it tastes with summer squash, so dill it was. I suspect anything from chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or chives, to spices, chopped spinach, or corn could work here. Also, when I have the time and inclination I'll drain the ricotta through cheesecloth to get even more moisture out of the cake, but to be honest, most times I won't bother. Lastly, I use a springform pan here, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

2 shallots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

zest of one lemon

2 large eggs, well beaten

1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.
In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Serves 8

The collection of cooking magazines is as enormous as the cookbooks are. I really got to thinking while my pictures downloaded about, perhaps, I need to clean up a bit. Not today though! It's Sunday. Besides it's Birthday bonanza time for the Weeks/Whitten/Luongo clan. Everybody who had preceded us had sex around Thanksgiving and now we're all August babies. It's like Christmas around here. There are literally three birthdays in a row then three more sprinkled in flowing into the first week of September (one more including my step-mom too just to be fair). The gift giving composes, lately, of just having one big bash which includes a crab feast at Daddio and Donna's. This is the only time of the year I usually have crabs (ah hahaha funny I KNOW). So, no cleaning up today. Just eating crabs and figuring out WHERE to put all those prized cookbooks and magazines so that they are not cluttering my kitchen but within reach, just in case.