BING, BANG, BOOM… BLUE CHEESE
“Every heart beats true for the red, white and blue” - cheese! Exercise some culinary freedom and have a blast with local blues. Think blue cheese deviled eggs, tomato blue cheese tart or red, white and blue cheese sliders.
“Very few people are indifferent to blue cheese. They have an opinion,” admitted Catherine Renzi of Yellow Springs Farm, an artisanal goat dairy in Chester Springs. “We always say our blue cheese is a good blue cheese for people who thought they never liked blue cheese before.”
Named Blue Velvet, “it’s made in reference to Gorgonzola, so certainly a rich flavor but not so strong that it overwhelms the other items in your recipe or on your plate.”
And that’s not the only (award-winning!) blueveined beauty.
“The blues we’re making in the region are so much friendlier, so much mellower and more approachable,” said Stefanie Angstadt of Valley Milkhouse in Oley. “I really want more people to open up to this kind of cheese and explore it.”
She holds this truth to be self-evident, “that not all blues are created equal.” For example, take Blue Bell, “a very golden-yellow blue from the grass milk.”
“It is a blue cheese that has so much more going on than blue mold,” Angstadt described. “It’s a pretty dense, fudgy blue. It has a lot of toasty, baked cracker notes. It almost has the aroma of fresh-baked bread.”
Crumble some over salad for umami fireworks or serve it with “dark chocolate and a glass of port for dessert.”
Another patriotic pairing: “creamy, luscious” Birchrun Blue and fresh berries.
“A lot of people call it a gateway blue,” said Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm in Chester Springs. “I think it’s kind of a humble cheese, but it gets a lot of recognition.”
In fact, “there aren’t a lot of blue cheeses being made because it’s a pain in the neck,” she added, explaining that “it takes about 5 hours to make in the vat, and then we have to age it for another 60 to 90 days.”
Part of the process: piercing wheels “to introduce oxygen into the cheese,” creating those signature blue streaks fans love.
“Life should be filled with joy,” Miller said. “And I think cheese brings that to people.”
Here’s to life, liberty and the pursuit of cheese!
“Life should be filled with joy. And I think cheese brings that to people.” — Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm in Chester Springs
Sip, sip, hooray for wine and cheese
Let freedom ring with red or white wine and blue cheese.
“On a hot summer day, I’m thinking a barbera would be a good choice,” said Catherine Renzi, who makes Blue Velvet goat cheese at Yellow Springs Farm. “On the sweet side, I like the ice wine from J. Maki Winery.”
Party like a patriot with a red, white and blue cheese board, featuring Blue Velvet, Cloud Nine and Red Leaf, “which is marinated in red wine.”
Another option: Offer guests Valley Milkhouse’s “rustic, savory” Blue Bell and Manatawny Creek Winery’s Scarlet, a “versatile red wine made primarily with Chambourcin.”
Or match Birchrun Blue with “a really light, summery white wine” like Galen Glen Winery’s Grüner Veltliner, suggested Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm. Also, “Pinnacle Ridge has a Brut Rosé that would be very celebratory with this cheese.”
Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs
Servings: 6 Ingredients
12 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
8 ounces cottage cheese, low-fat, lactose-free
2 1/2 ounces blue cheese, reduced-fat, crumbled
1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 tablespoon buffalo sauce
2 tablespoons turkey bacon, cooked, crumbled, chopped
2 tablespoons chives, minced
Instructions
Cut each egg in half, remove yolks. In a food processor combine cottage cheese, blue cheese and black pepper; purée until smooth. Sprinkle eggs with paprika and, using a piping bag or scoop, fill each with 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture. Drizzle each egg with buffalo sauce; top with bacon crumbles and chives.
RECIPE COURTESY OF WWW.DAIRYGOOD.ORG
Red, White and Blue Cheese Sliders
Servings: 8 Ingredients
1/2 cup low-fat crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 to 4 drops Tabasco 1 bottle cooking spray 2 celery stalks, diced (approximately 1 /2 cup)
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (approximately 1 /2 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 pound ground turkey breast
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Dash salt and pepper to taste
8 whole-wheat slider buns
8 leaves of Bibb lettuce 8 slices of watermelon (4-inch-by-4-inch-by-1/2inch) Instructions
In a small bowl, blend blue cheese, mayo and Tabasco. Cover and refrigerate to let flavors blend. Spray a medium, nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high. Add celery and onion and cook until onion is almost transparent, approximately 10 minutes. Add thyme and parsley. Toss and continue to cook for 4 minutes, or until parsley begins to wilt. Cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, blend turkey, breadcrumbs and celery mixture, as well as salt and pepper to taste, until thoroughly mixed. Divide into 8 small, flat patties. Spray a nonstick skillet or griddle and heat on medium-high. Add patties and cook then turn and cook the other side until burger is cooked through, approximately 5 minutes per side. While patties are cooking, add buns to griddle or pan to toast on one side.
Assemble sliders: Place 1/2 tablespoon blue cheese mayo on the bottom of each bun. (In photo, slice of blue cheese instead of crumble/ mayo). Top with burger, a slice of watermelon, Bibb lettuce leaf and other half of bun.
RECIPE COURTESY OF WATERMELON BOARD, WWW.WATERMELON.ORG
Tomato Blue Cheese Tart
Servings: 6 to 8 Ingredients
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions or 1 basic pie crust
6 ounces Birchrun Hills blue cheese at room temperature (or 3 ounces blue cheese and 3 ounces Shellbark Hollow goat cheese)
1/2 to 2 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half
2 to 3 medium-size heirloom or other tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into a circle a scant 1/4-inch thick and about 10 1/2 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a 9-inch tart pan. Pat into the bottom and sides and trim the edge so it’s even with the rim. Put it in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, using a fork, crumble the cheese and mash together with the milk or half-andhalf, starting with 1/2 tablespoon, until the consistency is spreadable but still has some lumps of cheese. Set aside. Slice tomatoes about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange on paper towels and blot to remove most of juices; set aside. Remove pastry from freezer. Bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool about 15 minutes.
Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Cover with the tomato slices in a tightly packed single layer. Sprinkle with the pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the tomatoes have collapsed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. To serve, gently slide a knife around the edges to release any pastry that might be sticking, then remove the bottom and place the tart on a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
RECIPE COURTESY OF BIRCHRUN HILLS FARM