Baked feta cheese appetizer

Most of the posts this week have been longtime favorites, but since one of the goals of this blog is to make sure I stay on the hunt for new recipes, I tried this one to round out the week of cheese appetizers.

Baked feta

From Saveur “The New Classics” cookbook

Ingredients

½ pound firm feta (Israeli feta from the deli, or some other good block feta works well)

Olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes

Crusty bread for serving

Method

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut feta into slices about a half-inch thick. Place each slice (or two slices if your block of feta isn’t very high) on a square of tin foil large enough to wrap it in. Drizzle with olive oi. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Seal foil pouches and place on baking sheet. Bake until cheese is slightly soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plates and drizzle with more olive oil. Serve with bread.

Rating: Simple, but satisfying. Goes well with a hearty soup or as a first-course appetizer. Needs to be served warm, however, so I’d only serve it to company that can be easily herded to the table, and allow yourself a moment alone in the kitchen to try to manage the transfer of a soft cheese from foil packet to plate without the added pressure of an audience. Pouches can be assembled in advance and then baked at the last minute. So not really a cocktail party candidate unless you transfer it to individual small plates with bread slices; more a dinner table appetizer.

Salsa di Parmigiano cheese appetizer

One of the many joys in our sheltered lives was when the Kowalski's grocery chain took over what ever hole in the wall store we never frequented. Among the many things they brought with them, including identifiable produce of edible quality, was the addictive substance from the deli area known as salsa di Parmigiano. I had never encountered this delight, which can be used as a spread on grilled bread, a dip for vegetables or pretty much anything else you can think to put it on. I've used it as a base for a pizza sauce, tossed it with chicken and vegetables over pasta and made a killer grilled cheese with it.

As much as I value being able to swing by the store on the way home to pick it up, it's also super easy to make at home.

Salsa di Parmigiano

From Michael Chiarello

Ingredients

½ pound Parmesan, coarsely grated or chopped into cubes

½ pound Asiago, coarsely grated or chopped into cubes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1½ cups olive oil (the good stuff)

1 teaspoon black pepper

Method

Process cheese, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes in food processor; make sure to leave some texture. Add green onion, black pepper, and enough olive oil to make a wet puree. You want to still be able to tell the cheese is cheese, and you want enough olive oil to be almost more than it can absorb.

Curried cheese ball with mango chutney

When I was growing up, the cheese ball was a standing holiday punchline in our family, much like fruit cake is among others. Each year a family friend gave us a blue-cheese-laden concoction of improbable colors and not the most appealing smell. Since at the time, most of us kids hadn't developed a taste for the blue stuff, my dad was the only one who would eat it, and even he didn't seem to relish that particular interpretation.

But as an adult, I've come around to the cheese ball having a place at the table. This recipe is a sneaker: It's not the lookiest, but if you get guests to try it, they won't move away from that spot on the appetizer buffet table.

 

Chutney curry cheese ball

This recipe comes from my esteemed coworker Tom. Not sure where he got it from, but it's a keeper.

Ingredients

8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons curry powder

½ cup raisins (I usually use golden)

½ cup green onion

½ cup chopped nuts (recipe called for dry roasted peanuts; I often use pecans. Cashews and toasted pine nuts also work. I've even left out the nuts to make it more allergy-friendly.)

Mango chutney

Method

Mix cream cheese, sour cream and curry powder together until smooth. Mix in raisins, onion and nuts. Form into a ball and chill. Cover with desired amount of chutney before serving.

Note: I usually try to transfer it onto a serving plate and cover it before chilling it, one big enough to surround the ball with crackers. Otherwise you may need to soften it just a tad before trying to transfer it. And it's harder for guest to get at if it's in a bowl. I've also divided it in two so I can have a new one to whip out later in the evening for new arrivals or a second table.

Lemon thyme goat cheese spread

Sometimes I top this with a chutney for another flavor/color contrast. This was a cranberry crystallized ginger kind.

This super-easy goat cheese spread is a very usual suspect at any gathering at my house. It’s nearly universally popular, with a fresh lemony tang. I say nearly universally, because once a guest took a bite and blurted out, “Do you have to put garlic in everything?” Point taken, but yes, I pretty much do. 

The garlic certainly works in this dish, but I suppose it could work even without it if you’re one of those people. I actually reduced the amount of garlic slightly from the original recipe. I promise a non-garlicky cheese option for tomorrow’s post, just to show that I can make something without garlic every once in a while. If I have to, I guess.

Herbed and lemon goat cheese spread

Adapted from Bon Appetit, May 1999

Ingredients

2 4-ounce packages goat cheese, room temperature

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, divided

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Mix goat cheese, 2 teaspoons thyme leaves, lemon peel and garlic in serving bowl. Season with pepper. Add remaining thyme leaves to olive oil. Drizzle over cheese and serve with toasted baguette slices.

Fromage fort cheese appetizer

This adaptable recipe is a cook’s dream. You’ll nearly always have the ingredients on hand, it’s a snap to fix, and it’s a highly addictive substance that guests rave about.

Plus, it lets you use up those little bits of cheese that otherwise turn into green furry blobs in the cheese drawer, a waste of an often high-priced commodity. So save yourself the guilt: Grate leftover cheese chunks and store in the freezer; cheese freezes admirably. Then haul it out when you need to use it and feel both frugal and well-fed. Man, this stuff is good.

Fromage fort

Aka strong cheese, as in alcohol-strong. Adapted from Alton Brown. Oh, how I miss “Good Eats.”

Ingredients

1 pound cheese at room temperature (use a mix of whatever’s on hand: cheddar, Parmesan, provolone, Fontina, mozzarella or any hard or soft cheese)

¼ cup dry white wine (about)

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature or slightly softened

2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or other herbs work)

1 garlic clove, minced

Method

Remove any rinds from cheese. Grate any hard cheese. Cut soft cheese into cubes. Blend cheese and butter in food processor. Pulse in parsley and garlic. Add wine with motor running until smooth mixture forms; you may not need the entire amount depending on the nature of the cheese you’re using. Serve immediately with crackers or bread.

Make ahead: This can be made up to a week ahead, but you’ll want to give it plenty of time to soften before serving, and I’ve never found that it’s quite as creamy once it’s been refrigerated. Leftovers work well to flavor vegetables, pasta dishes or pizzas.

Note: If I’m serving this for a large group with unknown health concerns, I post a note that it contains alcohol, since obviously it's uncooked. Also, note that the recipe calls for no salt. I suppose depending on the cheeses you pick, you might need to add some, but generally if I've got at least Parmesan as one of the ingredients, it's salty enough as is.