Tag: mixed milk
Grilled Pear Crostini with Bonrus
Even though most of us are amidst a stay-at-home quarantine, it doesn’t mean we can’t still have fancy snacks. And luckily, Aperitivo is still open and able to satisfy all your cheese, charcuterie, beer, and wine needs during this odd time.
A newer cheese in the case, Bonrus is a soft-ripened sheep and cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont. It comes from one of our favorite Italian creameries, Caseificio dell’Alta Langa, who make some favorites like La Tur, Langherino, and Blu di Langa.
Bonrus has a soft and doughy texture, with a sweet and straw-like aroma. Its unique oval shape helps its maturation process, and like most soft cheeses, is best enjoyed at room temperature.
In this time of sheltering-at-home, you gotta take what you can get. So any soft, spreadable cheese would work in Bonrus’s place for this recipe.
Feel free to slather this delicious cheese, grilled pears, honey and smoked salt on any carb-y vessel you have on hand – toasted baguette slices, grilled flatbread, naan, English muffins, whatever you can find in your house. Or in this particular case, sliced hot dog buns. 🌭
Grilled Pear Crostini with Bonrus
Ingredients
- 1 firm pear
- ½ piece Bonrus – room temperature
- 2 Tbsp honey
- Smoked flake salt, or regular flake salt
- Toasted baguette slices
- Neutral oil
Instructions
- Heat a grill over medium heat.
- Slice the pear into ¼-inch slices, similar to the size of bread you are using. Drizzle the oil over the slices and place on a hot grill. Grill for a few seconds on each side, until grill marks appear. Try not to cut the slices too thin, or they will fall apart on the grill.
- Remove the slices and set aside.
- Slice the Bonrus into thin pieces (similar in size to the baguette) and place them on the baguette pieces. Spread the cheese out onto the bread and top with a grilled pear slice. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle the smoked flake salt. Repeat until you've used up all the pear slices. Serve immeditatey.
Amber Kunik Snack Mix
Don’t you wish there was a tastier, higher quality version of those plastic “protein packs” filled with cubed cheese, stale nuts, and chunked lunch meat? Of course, you do. And here it is! Right here!
This snack mix has everything you want in each bite – salty, sweet, savory, bitter, tangy, creamy, crunchy and chewy. So many adjectives! And only 4 ingredients.
Amber Kunik from Nettle Meadow is the perfect cheese to use in this snack mix. Because of its dense texture, it holds its shape when tossed together with the rest of the ingredients, but still brings a creaminess you want from a triple crème. And the flavors from its blend of goat milk and cow cream balance perfectly with the bitter and sweet dark chocolate. The recipe only calls for half of the small wheel that is washed with Adirondack Beer and Adirondack Whiskey. But feel free to use the entire wheel if you like your snack mix extra cheesy. Or keep half of the wheel to enjoy on your next cheese board.
Charring the dates gives them an extra little crunch, as well as brings a slight smokiness to the mix. You can skip this step if you are short on time, but it’s well worth the extra few minutes it takes.
You can store this mix in the fridge for a few days, but it won’t last long.
Amber Kunik Snack Mix
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
- 10-12 dates, pits removed
- 1/2 wheel Amber Kunik
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled removed
- 3 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- In a dry skillet, add dates and cook over medium-high heat until dates start to blacken on one side, about 3 minutes. Shake pan to char the other sides of the dates. Once they start to have black spots and start to look moistened and soft, remove from heat. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Chop each date into bite-sized pieces and add to a medium mixing bowl.
- Shave a bit of the rind off the half-wheel of cheese. Using a paring knife, insert the tip of the knife into a corner of the cheese and gently twist your wrist to break off an irregular bite-sized crumble of cheese. Repeat until the entire piece is crumbled. Alternatively, you can dice the cheese into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine the cheese crumbles, chopped chocolate, and shelled pistachios into the bowl with the charred dates and stir to combine.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Roasted Broccoli and Broiled Robiola
Do you miss that beloved childhood dish of mushy steamed broccoli and neon yellow cheese squeezed out from a plastic bottle? Hopefully not. But this updated take on “broccoli and cheese” can satisfy any cravings for the classic combo.
Similar to roasting cauliflower, roasting broccoli turns the cruciferous vegetable into a crispy, tender, and earthy bite.
Robiola is a creamy mild Italian cheese, made with cow and sheep’s milk (oftentimes labeled “due latte” or “two milks”.) It has subtle mushroom notes and a soft rind and is a great cheese to warm slightly and dunk crusty bread into.
Roasted Broccoli and Broiled Robiola
Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 piece Robiola Bosina
- Crunchy salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the florets from the broccoli head and slice into bite-sized pieces. Slice the top part of the stem into ¼-inch thick slices. Spread both sections of broccoli out on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle over enough olive oil to lightly coat. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, flipping pieces halfway through. Once the edges get golden brown, remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the broccoli is roasting, gently slice the robiola into ¼-inch slices, using a serrated knife.
- In a smaller oven-safe serving dish (or on the same rimmed baking sheet,) lay the robiola slices over the broccoli. Place back in the oven and set to “broil.” Broil until the cheese starts to bubble and melt over the broccoli, about 3 minutes. It doesn’t take too long, so don’t walk away.
- Serve directly from the broiled dish (or transfer to a serving dish,) sprinkle with crunchy salt and serve.
La Tur Crème Brûlée
Breaking through the burnt sugar crust on a crème brûlée has to be one of most satisfying food moments of all time. Now, imagine under that sweet, crunchy exterior is a complex and sweet custard – made with cheese.
La Tur is a favorite of the Aperitivo staff and a great cheese to serve on a board or use in your kitchen (see Cauliflower Mac and La Tur.) It is a cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy and packs a sweet, earthy creaminess in its cute little package.
A few cheeses in the Aperitivo case are sold in their own little ceramic dishes – Le Secret and St. Albans. Once you are done devouring the cheese, the dishes are great to keep in your kitchen, and make perfect crème brûlée dishes!
You can also find different sizes of shallow terra cotta dishes on the Aperitivo shelves. Using these shallow dishes is more similar to Spain’s Catalan cream, and allows for a higher crust to custard ratio. Which, isn’t that why we are here in the first place?
If you are using regular 4 oz. ramekins, you will need to increase the cooking time to 30-40 minutes, since the custard is deeper in the dishes.*
Using a kitchen torch is one way – and the most fun way – to achieve the burnt sugar crust on top of the custards. But if you don’t own one, using the broiler setting in the oven can accomplish the same effect.
La Tur Crème Brûlée
- 5 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 piece La Tur, set out at room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 quart hot water, for water bath
- 8 teaspoons granulated sugar, for the brûléed crust
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is well blended and begins to turns a pale yellow.
In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream and vanilla over medium heat until it is very hot, but not quite boiling. Gently scrape off the top rind of the La Tur to expose the creamy interior. Take the cream off the heat and spoon out half of the La Tur and fold in. Once the cheese is melted and the mixture is homogeneous, add in the rest of the cheese and stir until smooth.
Slowly add the cream to the egg and sugar mixture, a little at a time, while stirring constantly.** Once the mixture is smooth, evenly divide amongst shallow ramekins.
Place ramekins in a roasting pan or glass baking dish and place in the oven. Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the ramekins and bake the custards for 20 minutes. They should be set, but still gently tremble in the middle.
Carefully remove the ramekins from roasting pan and let cool on a kitchen towel for at least 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours to continue to cool (cover with plastic if cooling overnight.)
When ready to serve, sprinkle the additional sugar over the custard to evenly cover. Using a blow torch, melt the sugar to form the crust. If using the oven, place custards on a sheet pan and set to broil for 3-5 minutes.
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, if you can stand it.
*This recipe makes around 16 oz. of custard, so plan accordingly for whatever size of ramekin you are using. Just try and fill them evenly so they will cook at the same rate.
**If you have a buddy in the kitchen, have one person whisk and one person stream in the warmed cream. If you are tackling this dessert solo, wrap a kitchen towel around the bowl to hold it in place as you simultaneously pour and whisk.
Roasted Cauliflower Mac & La Tur
Don’t let the lack of color on this hearty plate fool you into thinking it lacks flavor.
Using La Tur, a beautiful three milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy, in a cheese sauce adds an earthy sweetness that is a great contrast to the nutty and caramelized cauliflower. Depending how ripe the La Tur is, the rind may stick to the paper around the outside. Don’t panic. Just use a spoon to scrape as much of the soft cheese as you can into the sauce.
Whole wheat macaroni makes the dish a bit more toothsome and hearty, but feel free to use any white macaroni or an alternative flour pasta.
This is a baked version, but the recipe can be haulted for a stovetop version. After mixing the cheese sauce, noodles and cauliflower, transfer to serving dishes and that’s it!
Roasted cauliflower mac & la tur
1 head cauliflower- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 box, whole wheat macaroni
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 piece La Tur, top rind removed
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Breadcrumbs, or crushed crackers or chips
- Microgreens to garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut the cauliflower into small florets (around the same size as your noodles) and toss on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 35-40 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a handful of salt and boil noodles according to box instructions.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Continue to stir in order to cook the flour, about 3 minutes. Slowly stream in the milk, whisking constantly to avoid clumping. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from the heat and add the La Tur, a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce becomes smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Mix the noodles, cauliflower and cheese sauce together into a baking dish, top with crushed crackers or breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil and pop under the broiler for 5 minutes, until golden and brown. Serve and enjoy.
