Waimea Blue Fog Cheese for Daring Cooks

Sawsan from chef in disguise was our March 2013 Daring Cooks hostess! Sawsan challenges us to make our own homemade cheeses! She gave us a variety of choices to make, all of them easily accomplished and delicious!

I was happy to jump onto this latest challenge, due to my long postponed goal of making pressed and formed cheese.  Having experimented with cream cheese, feta and ricotta, I purchased a form and follower (the doo hickey that fits snugly on top) for pressing cheese.  Those items have been languishing in a cupboard, so hurrah, they've been put to use!

Making my own blue cheese sounded fun, despite my granddaughter's dire warnings, mentioned in an earlier post.  So using a favorite kefir and cheese site, Dom's Kefir for instructions, I started off with a half gallon of fresh, raw goat's milk, and inoculated it for 24 hours with kefir grains rather than rennet.  For a variety of reasons.  I always have it on hand for one.  You can visit his site for more information than you need or want to know.  I'm calling it Waimea Blue Fog, since I bought the goats milk there in Waimea, on the cooler, North end of the Big Island, known for an occasional fog blanketing its road and green hills.

Lemon Shrimp with Polenta and La Vignarola

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is The Shape of Water, by Andrea Camilleri. A favorite author of mine, though on second reading, this first novel of his Inspector Montalbano mystery series, is not my favorite. Too much of the corruption, poverty and sleazy side of life in Sicily maybe. Albeit thankfully balanced by the Inspector’s sense of humor and fair play.  And who, with that, according to one of his favorite chefs, "was a good customer with discerning tastes."  However, even his love of and descriptions of good food are not given as much scope in this one. 

Despite a slowish beginning of complex sentences, depressing descriptions of environmental travesties, and dour political mutterings, we do move on eventually into the plot, convoluted though it is.   I’m still not quite sure who all did what to whom and why.  Somehow you don’t feel too sorry for the various corpses.

But you have to love his conflicted main character, Inspector Salvo Montalbano.  He tries to do the right thing, despite the moral climate and political expediency, is known as a just man “who when he wanted to get to the bottom of something, he did.”  And, of course he does, intervening under cover to protect the innocent.

Duck Roulade with Sweet 'N Sour Ginger Passion Fruit Sauce

 I will start off this post with a disclaimer about sausages.  They are not my favorite food.  Also, grinding meat and stuffing pig intestines is not my idea of a fun cooking project.  To begin with, our old grinder is a bust, as opposed to "the bomb", just so you know.  And secondly, I do not possess a sausage stuffer, nor have any plans to get one.  But it's okay, there were alternatives in our Daring Cooks' challenge for this round.

For the January-February 2013 Daring Cooks’ Challenge, Carol, one of our talented non-blogging members and Jenni, one of our talented bloggers who writes The Gingered Whisk, have challenged us to make homemade sausage and/or cured, dried meats in celebration of the release of the book Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn! We were given two months for this challenge and the opportunity to make delicious Salumi in our own kitchens!

As discerning readers may have noticed, I do have a fondness for duck, so thought I would give Michael Ruhlman's Duck Roulade, from his book Charcuterie, a try.  Though it is a fairly difficult process, which briefly stated, involves removing the skin in a piece large enough to envelope the rest of the duck, which has been ground into a filling, augmented with pieces of sauteed duck breast, herbs, seasonings, etc.

Roast Duck with Cassava and Dandelion Greens

For Cook the Books Club, our latest read has been The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.  An inspired selection, for which the challenge was coming up with food to match.  Perhaps something from the extravagant feasts of the Capitol higher-ups or relating to the frugal, hungry foraging of the masses.

I had put off reading this particular book, not only because it is classed as "Young Adult", but its category, Science Fiction, is not my usual choice.  As a teen I went through an intense period of reading only this genre.  Perhaps got it out of my system.  Well, except for the Eve Dallas thrillers (by J.D. Robb), which do appear occasionally in my stack.  However all the adults I questioned gave it a thumbs up.  And, I must say, I was hooked right from the first page.  What a terrific read.  Even though you come to realize that nothing is really resolved or happy ever after, given that world.

At the same time, a scary reminder of what can all too easily happen in our own world.  As Gale muses, "It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided among ourselves."  Harkening to our recent elections as well as the continuing media and governmental drive to divide, by economic status and color.  So, not a completely lightweight book, but one which gets you to think as well as be entertained.

My inspiration for our cooking challenge came from the book's characters, Gale and Katniss, foraging and hunting in the forest, using whatever they could, to keep themselves and their families from starvation.  When Bob and I bought the property we live on here in Hawaii, one ideal (back in the day) was to grow some of our own food, to be able to survive if necessary, in an emergency situation, on what we could produce.  As I mentioned, an ideal.

So for this meal, duck traded with a friend, and cassava grown in our garden along with greens. Especially dandelions I thought, since they're not really cultivated, but foraged, would be a good survival meal.  Along with a glass of Lemon Mead, not necessary for existence, but groovy and  made from our own lemons.

Turkey Paté Chinois or Pilgrims' Pie

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Sometimes known as Shepherds' Pie or Cottage Pie, aka Paté Chinois, a name I was completely unfamiliar with, albeit quite familiar with the dish itself in its many guises, a veritable staple in the use of left-overs.

Our Daring Cooks’ December 2012 Hostess is Andy of Today’s the Day and Today’s the Day I Cook! Andy is sharing with us a traditional French Canadian classic the Paté Chinois, also known as Shepherd’s pie for many of us, and if one dish says comfort food.. this one is it!

According to Andy, the name for this dish, Paté Chinois, "translates from French as Chinese Pie. It’s an odd name for a French Canadian dish that doesn’t have any connection to Chinese food. The history of the name has been traced back to the Chinese cooks who worked at the camps for the railway builders in the late 19th century. Ground beef and potatoes were cheap and a dish could be spread out to feed many people."

My inspiration for this round of Daring Cooks' was turkey and breadfruit.  Using what's on hand being the main idea behind a Cottage Pie.  I was stumped on what to call it though.  Post Thanksgiving Pie?  Paté Pilgrim?  Of course, it would be the Pilgrims to Hawaii.  A later period in time.  Oh well.

Baked Guavas Stuffed with Cranberries and Sausage

These were originally meant to be Baked Stuffed Apples, as per Carolyn Hart's fictional character, the handsome, all around fantastic, Max Darling in Death Walked In.  A breakfast surprise he whips up for his wife.  How cool is that?  However I thought, this is Hawaii, and there are guavas at the moment, for which I have been feeling semi-guilty, due to neglect.  Hey they just were not calling my name.  Jam, chutney, compote, too cool for ice cream, been there, done that, boring.  But this, oh boy, oh boy, the potential!  Baked Guavas, stuffed with that sausage and cranberry combo, maple syrup drizzled over the tops.  As Rachel Ray would say, yum-o!

And they were, for sure, trust me, etc.  It was one of those experiments that come out just right the first time.  Tender, juicy, not too sweet, not too tart, flavorful ....deliciously perfect.  I did a riff off  Rachel Ray's recipe, due to Ms. Hart not providing one.  I will provide her version with my changes noted, and you can vary at will.

Since guavas are nicely tart, I skipped the vinegar, as well as the herbs, mustard, oil, salt and pepper.  You might want all those with apples, depending upon the flavor and sweetness of your fruit.

Lavender Scones and Mysteries

Mysteries and food, they make such a lovely pairing.  I can think of a number of writers who combine the two interests, and one of my favorites is Susan Wittig Albert.  This recipe for Lavender Scones comes from her 2004 mystery, A Dilly of a Death, featuring China Bales, sometime sleuth and proprietor of a small town herbal shop and tea room, somewhere in Texas.  Where is not exactly important, it is the fleshing out of characters, plot development and all the rest that make us come back for more.

Like these scones.  One of the more irascible characters quibbles that China should have left out some of the lavender.  That gave me pause.  But then you consider the person, and say no, I'll try it the way it's given.  What a waste of delightful lavender buds if you could'nt even get a taste.  And, I am here to tell you that there is just enough.  Perfection.  And, wait until you smell them baking; that by itself is wonderful.  Luckily I had some lavender remaining from an earlier experiment in marshmallow making, (Lavender Marshmallows, yum).

Feijoada - A Brazilian Feast for Daring Cooks

This is not to be confused with Black Bean Soup, which I and probably most of you have made many times.  What we have here is a cultural happening, a Brazilian feast comparable to Thanksgiving, for which one dish is not sufficient.  You don't just serve turkey.  At Thanksgiving there should be cranberries, sweet potatoes, stuffing....etc. etc.  Right?  It's like that.

Rachel Dana was our October 2012 Daring Cooks' Challenge hostess! Rachel brought Brazil into our lives by challenging us to make Feijoada and Farofa along with some other yummy side dishes traditionally served with Feijoada, which is a delicious black bean and pork stew.

Accompaniments to the main dish are Farofa (made with cassava flour), collards, (in my case kale since there were no collards) Vinaigrette (sort of pickled salad), sliced oranges, rice, and hot sauce.

For the pork in my Feijoada, part of it anyway, I used a "shoulder blade?" acquired by my friend Nancy's husband, from a naughty, roving wild boar, caught disturbing their gardens, and who came to a well deserved rest in our stew pots.

 I brined that chunk of meat with fresh sage, juniper berries, peppercorns and garlic.  And along with the blade, I used pork sausages and bacon.  All the meats are fried and browned separately before being added to the nearly cooked beans.

With this meal, it helps if you prepare it on a relatively free day.  I did it mostly Saturday, and spread out the prep time, doing things early and setting them aside.  Soaking the beans and brining the pork was begun the night before.

And actually,  I made my kale dish the night before as well.  We had some with our steaks  and there was plenty left to reheat for this extravaganza.  I like the method of par-boiling, after removing the stems and slicing thinly, then quick stir-frying in olive oil with garlic, salt and a bit of lemon.

In the morning while my beans started cooking, I made the garlic and onion base (see recipe below) and then the Vinaigrette.

This is a lovely, colorful side which can rest until dinner, conmingling flavors in the fridge while you rest between fixing all the various parts of your meal.

The Farofa comes together very quickly, while your stew is in the last few minutes of simmering or just sitting there all nice and hot with a cover.

I have to say that the Feijoada surprised me a bit, there weren't a whole lot of additional flavoring agents aside from the pork, beans, garlic and onions.  But the flavor rocked.  Just awesome.  Altogether, a marvelous meal and cultural experience as well, thanks to Rachel, our intrepid Brazilian leader. All her recipes will follow.  Everything you need for your own authentic feast.

Triple Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Baked

Another of those "bucket list" type foodie items, I'd been meaning, wanting, longing (maybe we're going too far here) to try.  Growing zucchini was not a success, as the snails kept eating my plants.  Then this week at our Hilo Farmer's Market, I spotted a large array of lovely squash blossoms.  Hurray!

Most recipes call for frying, so I was happy to find a baked version, which I thought might sit better on my stomach.  And it does.  Fried foods often create a heavy lumpish feeling there.  For me anyway.  Sorry Nancy.  She's from the South, where even salad might turn up fried.

The process was so easy, and the flowers tender, tasty and easy to work with.  I used the nicest looking ones for this stuffing experiment, and the rest (about half) will go into a Mexican soup tonight, from the Frida Kahlo cookbook.