4 Quick Goat Cheese Appetizer Recipes

We like to use fresh goat cheese  for theses appetizers  (plain or herbed goat cheese) but you can substitute feta cheese if you prefer.

Fresh Goat Cheese  at Amazon

Prep time: 10 to15 minutes

1) Parboil red potatoes. Scoop out a section of the potato, dice this piece, then mix it with a bit of goat cheese and diced prosciutto, place this mixture back into the potato and bake for 8 - 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

#2) Spread goat cheese on cucumber slices, then place on small shards of romaine lettuce, top with fresh dill or tarragon.

#3) Spread goat cheese on mini toasts or flat bread and top with fig jam or membrillo (quince paste).

$4) Bake goat cheese in pastry puffs, when heated top them off with fruit preserves.

Fresh goat cheese is available in most supermarkets or you can purchase online at Amazon

Tips To Keep Mold Off Your Food

Tips To Keep Mold Off Your Food

By: Jim Corkern

What is the most important major appliance in your house? Most people would probably say their refrigerator and I would probably agree, but do we really keep them clean as often as we should..?
The fact is that refrigerators are not kept as clean by busy families as they should be in order to keep a healthy household. Leftovers are put in the fridge and often get left there for days or something even weeks at a time before finally being thrown away after they have gotten spoiled.
Liquids get spilled, frozen foods are left to thaw on the shelves, and just general mess gets left everywhere. A refrigerator might be cleaned out once every 4 or 5 months by a busy family, but if you keep a watch on the items in your refrigerator and the messes plaguing its shelves, you will not have to do this very often.
Look around in your refrigerator and figure out what is outdated and spoiled. If you keep jelly or jam, you probably know that these get molded after a while, either on the top of the food itself or on the inside of the lids.
These soft items and other things like yogurt, sour cream, soft cheeses, individually sliced cheeses, and just generally anything with a high moisture content need to be thrown away. The entirety of the food will probably be completely contaminated with mold even though it might only appear to be on the surface of the food.
If you bring fruit or vegetables home from the grocery store and just chuck the plastic bags they're inside into your produce drawer like that, you'll probably end up with some moldy and rotted fruit not too long after. What happens in this situation is that condensation builds up inside the bag and mold starts to grow on anything inside it.
Just take the fruits and vegetables out of the bags and make sure that none of the fruit already have mold growing on them. If they do, throw them out and wash anything that was in close proximity to it.
If you see any eggs that are cracked in the carton, these need to be thrown away, too. Bacteria growing on the outside of the egg will get inside and contaminate it.
If mold starts growing on a block of cheese, what you should do is take a knife and cut around and under the moldy spot on the block and remove it. Don't touch the knife to other parts of the cheese to avoid cross-contamination.

Author Resource:-> Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
mold/'>http://www.moldrestorationusa.com">Mold Remediation and
water/'>http://www.rugmasterclean.com">water damage restoration> companies across the united states.

Article From Article Source

Bush, Obama and Roquefort Cheese

I normally try not to inject politics into my daily business, but this story affects my business so I will lay out a rant.

Last week ex-President Bush raised the import tariff on Roquefort cheese by 300%, that is on top of the already onerous 100% tariff that is on it already. The official spin is that this is in retaliation for the European Union not allowing the importation of US beef due to reported mad cow outbreaks and some of its members stands on the Iraqi War. What ever the reason is for this lunacy it seems odd to me (call me crazy) that only one French cheese would be singled out.

Roquefort is an AOC (Appellation D'Origne) cheese meaning that it must be in compliance with all the legal regulations concerning where and how a cheese is made. This designation is strictly enforced. What this all means is that real French Roquefort cheese can only be produced in the area around the small town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon and the caves of Cambalou.

The US market consumes a majority of the Roquefort that is produced and this in turn helps to employ the local population in various stages of cheese production. The increase in the import tariff will devastate this regional economy because the price to the American consumer will go through the roof. Estimates state the price in US dollars could approach $100 per pound. Who will be willing to plunk down their dollars for Roquefort when other blue cheeses are available.

You as a consumer may say who cares about Roquefort or the French but please consider the workers who produce this wonderful cheese their livelihoods depend on it. This is a global economy, for better or worse, and the actions of one country can have profound consequences on many other people, countries and economies.

President Obama has the ability to rescind this new tariff and should be encouraged to do so for economic reasons and moral reasons. No one should have to suffer because of ill will, retribution
or reckless planning. In these rough economic times President Obama has many larger and more profound problems to deal with in the days and months ahead but revoking this tariff could be his first show of good will and it could be accomplished with a mere stroke of his pen. Here's hoping that common sense will prevail.

How To Safely Store Your Cheeses

Once again these tips for storing cheese are not hard and fast rules but we find that if they are followed both you and your cheese will remain happy for a longer period of time. So here we go.

Plastic wrap has been frowned upon as a method of cheese storage by some purists but we have found it to be a safe and versatile tool if used properly.

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1) Each time a cheese is used it should be wrapped in a new sheet of wrapping material. This is one rule that you should always try to follow.

2) Hard, semi-hard, soft, and semi-soft cheeses should be loosely wrapped in waxed paper then covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano, Hirtenkase, Manchego etc. should be rubbed with a light coating of olive oil to help prohibit the growth of mold and then wrapped. With these cheeses any mold that does appear can just be scraped off.

3) Soft ripened cheese with bloomy rinds such as Brie and Camembert. Fresh goat cheese and triple cremes like Briliat Savarin can be wrapped in plastic wrap or cover it  with cheesecloth so it can breathe.


4) For blue cheese you will get good results by wrapping it in aluminum foil then putting it in a plastic zip-lock bag and placing it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. This process will also limit the possible transfer of blue cheese molds to your other cheeses or your food.

5  Write the type of cheese and the date it was purchased on the wrapping material.

6) Any cheese that is wrapped in plastic wrap should be opened and allowed to breathe every few days. Once opened you are more likely to eat some so this is a good policy for all cheese lovers!

3 Holiday Goat Cheese Recipies

 Fresh goat cheese (Chevre) is very versatile in the kitchen. It can be melted over vegetables, added to salads, just spread on bread and crackers for a quick appetizer. Goat cheese is great for anyone who is lactose intolerant. So we would like to present three goat cheese recipes for you to try and enjoy. These are NOT our original recipes. Please visit the websites listed below each recipe to see many other great cooking ideas. We are not affiliated with any of these websites. Enjoy!

ZUCCHINI AND GOAT CHEESE ROLL UPS RECIPE

Make these ahead, refrigerate them if you like, and broil them briefly before serving. Serve with a first-course green salad or as a side to grilled meat, or as part of an antipasto. Yields 8 to 10 roll ups.

Ingredients:
Suggested goat (chevre) cheese to use in this recipe: Montrachet or Laura Chenel plain or herbed, melts great

3 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature1/8 tsp. kosher salt1 Tbs. finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, well drained1 tsp. olive oil Heaping 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped3 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick lengthwise strips grilled2 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, salt, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, and thyme. Spread 1 heaping tsp. of the filling thinly over one side of each grilled zucchini strip (use a mini spatula or your fingers to spread). Roll up the zucchini (not too tightly; this is more like folding), and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Refrigerate if not using within an hour, but bring back to room temperature before broiling. Heat the broiler. Sprinkle with a little grated Parmigiano and brown goat cheese the-broiler, about 1 min.

This recipe is from the Fine Cooking website. This is a great site for all types of recopies.http://www.finecooking.com/

A NICE HOLIDAY GOAT CHEESE SIDE DISH

Delicious, healthy veggie side dish 50 Minutes to Prepare and Cook.

Ingredients:
Butternut Squash, Beets, Greens (any green will do such as spinach, kale etc.), olive oil, fresh goat cheese, salt and pepper, walnuts (1/2 cup chopped mint is optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and cut butternut squash into 1/2-inch cubes. Place on 2 sheet trays, drizzle with olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt and distribute evenly. Place in oven and bake until softened and golden. Wash beet greens and de-stem and chiffonade greens. Toast walnuts in a medium skillet over medium heat. Remove squash from the oven and toss in beet greens, mint and goat cheese. Top with toasted walnuts. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve warm. You can substitute Feta cheese if you don't like goat cheese. Number of Servings: 4

This recipe is from the Spark People website
This is a nice website where members can submit a recipe to the site http://www.sparkpeople.com/

PASTA, VEGGIES AND GOAT CHEESE RECIPE Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil. 2 or 3 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed. 1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, seeded and diced (or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced). 1/4 teaspoon sugar. salt to taste. 1 tablespoon slivered fresh basil. freshly ground pepper to taste. 12 ounces fusilli, penne, or other pasta such as shells or wheels. 1 pound broccoli, broken into florets, stems peeled and chopped. 3 ounces about 1/3 cup) crumbled goat cheese.

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy- bottomed nonstick skillet over medium- low hear, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, just until it begins to color, 30 seconds to a minute, then add the tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Raise the heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down, smell fragrant, and are beginning to stick to the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and pepper. Adjust the salt. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add 2 to 3 teaspoons sale and the pasta. Stir until the water comes back to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is cooked through but still firm to the bite (al dente), about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. About 5 minutes before the pasta will be done, drop the broccoli into the boiling water. Drain the noodles and broccoli together when the pasta is al dente, and toss with the tomato sauce and the goat cheese. divide at once among 4 warm plates. Serves 4.Per serving: Calories 495 (22% from fat), Fat 12 g (5g saturated), Cholesterol 17 mg, Sodium 855 mg

This recipe comes from the Westfield Farm website
www.chevre.com
Westfield Farm produces and sells their own line of goat cheese, check them out.

10 Great Gourmet Cheeses You Need To Try

This is not meant to be a gourmet cheese rating list but just my personal opinion. As with any opinion there will be dissenting opinions so, any and all comments are welcome. Feel free to add any of your favorite cheeses to our list or compile your own cheese list and post it here. As you read the list you will notice that it covers gourmet cheeses from around the world that are made from goat, cow and sheep's milk. Each of these different milks imparts its own character on the cured cheese. The method of production impacts the flavor and aroma of the cheese.

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1) France: Bleu du Bocage is a great goat's milk blue cheese with explosive flavor and aroma. Unfortunately this cheese is no longer being exported to the United States. So if you travel to France search this one out, you will be glad that you did.

2) Italy:Vento D'Estate is an aged cow's milk cheese that must be tasted to be believed.

3) Holland: Goat Gouda try this and you will not believe your taste buds, it is excellent.

4) Spain: Idiazabal is a wonderful raw sheep milk cheese with a great smoky buttery taste.

5) England: Appleby's Cheshire is a raw cow's milk cheese that is not as acidic as many other Cheshires .

6) Portugal: Dom Vilas is a pasteurized cow's milk cheese made the old traditional way. This cheese is Superb.

7) Germany: Hirtenkase is a cow's milk Mountain type cheese. Great with beer for Oktoberfest.

8) Switzerland: Tete de Moine is a masterpiece as are most things form this country.

9) United States: Kunik is a great goat's cheese from New York state. Very creamy.

10) Spain: Aged Manchego is a sheep's milk cheese, this is obvious but it is truly a great cheese.

So there you have our cheese list.
Happy eating !

The Top 5 Stinky Cheeses You Should Know About

Stinky cheese presents an all out assault on your nose and can be quite unpleasant. Try eating ripe Epoisses on a bus in France and you risk bodily harm. However the taste is worth the trouble you might get into. You should always remember “no pain - no gain” when dealing with the stinkys. Here is a “stinky cheese” list with a few stinky cheeses you should get to know.

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The cheese stink rating is from highest to lowest.

1) Epoisses can be a knock you out type of “aroma”, and your guests may just think that you are into bad biology experiments. It has a soft gooey interior pate contained in its red-orange rind and comes in a small round wooden box. It has an incredible flavor that will delight even the most jaded cheese head. Always available
2) Stinking Bishop really lives up to its name and is not for the faint of heart ! This Cheese hails from jolly old England and is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese. It’s rind is rubbed with pear juice and for its “aroma”, think of year old used gym socks. Luckily for cheese lovers the aroma is contained in its rind and once it is removed a truly delicious cheese is revealed. You may have to look hard to find this one.
3) French Munster has a higher stink rating and better flavor than the well known German version. Munster makes a great addition to a sandwich. Always available
4) Morbier has a high stink rating but the flavor is truly wonderful. It has a layer of vegetable ash running through its middle which imparts absolutely no flavor to the cheese. In the old days the ash was used to separate the cows morning milking from the evening milking, old traditions die hard thankfully. Always available
5) Taleggio is stinky but not overpowering, it has a soft pate and nice full flavor. If you notice some mold on the rind don't worry it does not affect the cheese inside. This one is getting easier to find.

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There are many other stinky cheeses but in my opinion these top the list. When having guests over prepare them in advance and try to help them overcome the fear and dread that these cheeses may instill. Hopefully your guests are close friends and they will forgive your for the sensory assault but I am sure they will enjoy the flavors that theses cheeses have to offer. Yes, I have omitted Limburger but that one was way too obvious and common.

French Cheese Brie Nangis

Brie Nangis is a French Brie that is made in the town of Nangis near Paris. It is a very close cousin to the more famous Brie de Meaux. These two Brie's are name certified and cannot be produced anywhere else in France. If you purchase them in France you are in for a real treat and will experience the true essence of Brie. We here in the United States are being deprived of this truly wonderful taste experience. The reason is that Brie Nangis and Brie de Meaux are made with unpasteurized cow's milk that is aged for 40 days. The US FDA will not allow cheeses that are made from raw milk and aged for less than 60 days into the country. So all of the Brie and Camembert imported to the US is made with pasteurized milk. This to me seems to be a silly regulation since the French and Italians have been eating raw milk cheeses for centuries and they do not seem to have any ill effects. Unfortunately there is not much that we can do about this situation. So if you travel to France do yourself a favor and try one of these Brie's and see what you are missing.

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Tasting: As for Brie Nangis it has a white bloomy rind that holds in the soft inner paste. It has a great mushroomy, garlic aroma and flavor and it is a bit milder that Brie de Meaux. This is not to imply that Brie Nangis is a lightweight or bland cheese, on the contrary its subtle flavors and aroma allow it to be versatile. Brie Nangis would be great for the opening cheese on a cheese board or as a nice appetizer before dinner. So, if you are new to Brie try this one first and then compare it to Brie de Meaux.

 Details: A few guide lines on Brie in general: Brie is a living thing and as such it will continue to age as long as the original wheel is not cut. Once the wheel is cut the aging process stops and your brie will begin a downward spiral so it should be eaten in a relatively short period of time. With that said it should last about a week if kept wrapped and refrigerated.The harmless bacteria used to create the bloomy white rind are Penicillium Candidum and Geotrichum. Serving and eating Brie is not complicated , just slice it into a wedge and then cut smaller pieces in the direction of the wedge cut. It is thought to be rude to cut off the tip of the wedge so try not to do that. Once you have your slice you can scoop out the paste or just eat it, bloomy rind and all. Eating the rind is really a matter of personal taste, it does impart a slightly different flavor and mouth feel but it is not unpleasant. However, it is not improper to just eat the inner cheese by scooping it out.

French Cheese sampler  at Amazon

Buying Brie; look at it and smell it, brie should bulge but not run when it is cut and the rind should be semi-soft to the touch, if it is hard or cracked do not buy it. Brie should smell a bit mushroomy but if it smells somewhat like ammonia stay away from it because it way past its prime. Here in the states look for the Rouzaire brand and you will be getting a brie that is VERY close to the brie you would get in France. Pasteurized Brie has fat content of 60%.

The imported Rouzaire brand of Fromage de Meaux Brie is probably the best that is available here in the states followed by Rouzaire Brie Nangis, Chatelain Brie, Isigny Brie, Tour de Marze, and Bellerive Brie. We feel that you should treat yourself well, so buy the French imported Brie instead of the factory made items found in the supermarket. Check out our review of Ile de France Brie.

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Wine Pairing:  Any assertive French red wines like Bordeaux or Burgundy will compliment a good brand of Brie.