Blog Entries

POP goes the Salad!

cheesymommy

Any salad that gives me an excuse to crack open a bottle of bubbly has this mommy at "hello." That, and the fact that you can get most all of these ingredients at your local farmers market pretty much rocks. This salad goes with anything you can throw on the grill so get in touch with your inner firecracker and toast to the dog days of summer as you whip this up for the family BBQ.

Fireworks Salad (Serves 10)

Ingredients
½ seedless watermelo [...]

Harvest vegetable rye melt, with pan fried au gratin patties

vcardillo

Okay so, a really long title, I know. But this is really good, and I made it with random stuff in my fridge, and it actually looked good, so I decided to share. I'm a bachelor in an apartment, so I'm not exactly running Emeril's kitchen here. Trust me if I can cook this, so can you.

The Melt:

Stuff I used:
Rye bread squares. Or any small bread works.
Deli-sliced chicken (it's really [...]

CPB Cookies

cheesymommy

Remember those pre-packaged traffic-cone orange cheese beanut butter crackers? The ones that you knew on some level CAN'T be good for you but you ate 'em anyway cause the salt/sweet factor was just too good? I have found a healthy solution that tastes great and come from ingredients ( and colors!) that exist in nature.

Cheese Peanut ButterCookies

1/2 c Peanut Butter
1 c Shredded Sharp Or Mild Cheddar Cheese
2/3 c Butter, Softened
1 1/ [...]

Fundue

cheesymommy

Frankly, I am bored. I am bored out of my mind of preparing, looking at, and serving the same foods in the same ways to my kids. I don't know about you, but they moment I introduce ANY new type of food configuration to my 3 year old, whether it features any 1 of the 4 foods that she will actually eat or not, if it LOOKS different, then it goes neatly into the slobbering jaws of
the two yellow labs waiting beneath her booster (darn opportunists.) I go
nuts art directing food into b [...]

Memory Lane

cheesymommy

Ah, to relive preparenting days — all those glorious gourmet meals, which have now been replaced by boxed mac ’n’ cheese. Newsflash: I have decided that in my house eating well and parenthood don’t have to be mutually exclusive. I love superb, healthy food and want my kids to, too. I gotta mix it up a bit…I am going to start by reinventing family food (like BLT pizzaperhaps? Last months kid-fundo went over why… not go with it? ) I may even dig into BAKING (g [...]

Easy to be Cheesy

cheesymommy

It was EASY bein cheesy…

So you and your friends have decided to break out of your coffee-and-catch-up routine and have a proper gathering….Cloth napkins…un-interrupted streams of conciousness….wine… Like, er, actually sitting down to eat. F-U-N! But I feel that in the vortex of time-sensitive kids meals I have forgotten how to do something quick and fabulous in the kitchen! I recently saw a beautiful photo of a cheese board in a magazine, complete w [...]

Imprisioning food vignettes

cheesymommy

Ah, cooking with the kids. Pouring love into a delicious meal that nurtures and sustains your family. Planting the seeds of a lifetime of happy memories. Right. Spend one harried weeknight trying to make it happen and your soft-focus fantasy will fall faster than they can say “Mommy, cheese soufflé? Yuck.” However, I find that if INCLUDE my 3 year-old Barefroot-Contessa-Wannabe in the process of aforementioned soufflé, she will most likely eat it. It’s also a fabu [...]

An ode to summer: Zucchini, Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella Gratin

crogers

Ah, the fruits of summer. Tomatoes. Sweet onions. Summer squash. I don’t know about you, but I could eat Zucchini every day. Grilled, sauteed, baked or raw. In breads, salads, pastas or omelets. Good thing it’s so abundant! If you’re looking for things to do with your zucchini, consider this easy-to-prepare-dish [...]

Cheesy Thought #1001

MikeMike

Cheese is delicious. But you don't just have to enjoy it by yourself. It's meant for sharing. Get some friends together and enjoy a nice glass of wine and some cheese.

You can thank me later.

New Feature: Blogging & Rating!

vcardillo

Hello food enthusiasts. I'm Vince, lead developer, and it's my job to bring you new features and functionality to My Cheese Kitchen. We've just introduced a new feature to My Cheese Kitchen: recipe ratings. Once logged into your account, you may now rate any recipe on the site, out of 5 stars.

Along with recipe rating, you can now also start your own food blog, and share your cheese recipe insights with the community here, and the world. Simply login to your account, go to t [...]

Orange, Chocolate, Ricotta Bread - A dessert that doubles as breakfast.

crogers

I don’t have a sweet tooth. My daughter, however, has a huge one. Every night she asks, What’s for dessert? (And let’s be clear here, by dessert, she really means chocolate.) I keep telling her that we’re not dessert people but she’s not buying that. Therefore, I’m constantly looking for healthy, chocolate desserts that will make her h [...]

Ricotta never tasted so delicious

crogers

The other day I was cleaning my fridge. This is where those of you who know me well gasp. Me, clean? Well, yes. At some point, my clutter gets too much for even me. Anyway, while cleaning, I noticed a tub of ricotta that was nearing its expiration date. Now, being June, the temperature was about 83° so I wasn’t in the mood for lasagna. However, given the current economy, I wasn’t about to let anything go to waste, either. Therefore, I headed straight for my collection o [...]

Summer Time is Grilled Salad Time

crogers

I live in Rochester, NY, which is, at this moment, a city on the verge of summer.

Lilacs and tulips are in full bloom and yards are turning verdant green, but local vegetables haven’t quite made it from the field to the markets and nights are still a tad cool. But hey, the days are definitely warmer and longer, so I’m okay.

Because, being a gal from Texas, there’s nothing I love more than the Sun. And you can bet from this point on, every chance I get [...]

COOKING WITH THE KIDOS:

Artseybroad

COOKING WITH THE KIDOS:

Ah, cooking with the kids. Pouring love into a delicious meal that nurtures and sustains your family. Planting the seeds of a lifetime of happy memories. Right. Spend one harried weeknight trying to make it happen and your soft-focus fantasy will fall faster than they can say "Mommy, cheese soufflé? Yuck." However, I find that if INCLUDE my3 year-old Barefroot-Contessa-Wannabe in the process of aforementioned soufflé, she will most [...]

Minted Lamb Burgers for Special Guests

mary

One of my favorite meals, as well as that of many discerning palates that have joined my dinner table, is minted lamb burgers, with a grilled eggplant and tomato feta salad. I am always pleased when my guests are delighted by the food put before them, but was particularly thrilled when, a friend who is a top chef in the area, fell slave to the enchanting flavors put before him.

I serve this meal often for many reasons, it has a wonderfully rustic quality, it i [...]

From kindergarten to college, my how time flies

crogers

Last week, I went on a weeklong tour of colleges with my 16-year old daughter. We went to Montreal, Burlington, Boston, and the Hudson Valley. We talked, we laughed, we lingered over lunch. Of course, now that we're back home, it's back to reality. You know, the reality where school, work, and obligations rule, time is measured in seconds, and there is no lingering over anything.

But, I want to tell you about a delicious little restaurant we came across in Burlington whe [...]

ROASTED FENNEL AND WHEAT PASTA

mary

In the mood for a great pasta dish that takes minimal prep and uses only 2 pans? Try this: Slice and combine half a large sweet onion and one fennel bulb, place them on a cookie tray, preferably with edges, and moisten with olive oil. Place in preheated 400 degree oven and relax for a while. Check in about 20 minutes and stir, as they start to brown (not blacken), put water on to boil. You know the veggies are ready when they become delightfully fragrant (generally 45 minutes). I choose who [...]

Food Trends

mary

My least-favorite recent food trend: serving mashed potatoes with everything, even fish! Oh wait I forgot....I really don't like the iceberg lettuce wedge, come on, what's the food cost on that?

Pizza, your way

mary

I love pizza, but am usually disappointed in the toppings that most places use. I dislike toppings that are not sautéed prior to being placed on the pizza. First because they tend to add little flavor and second because they emit moisture on the pizza during the cooking process, which is unpleasant. To solve this problem, on those nights when we pick up pizza, we order a plain pizza and I make the toppings. Usually I sauté some onions and garlic, add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.

Friends in high places!

mary

The other night I came home late from work so we decided to go out for dinner. I had a great meal, including sautéed sea scallops on a fennel salad with tangerines and pine nuts. It was the perfect combination. Although not paired together on the menu, the chef, whom I know, was kind enough to accommodate my wish. I wouldn't recommend doing this as a general rule, but from time to time I think it is OK.