Easy baked camembert for winter nights

Yes, it is cold outside. I feel you.

Yes, there is a curfew. I feel you.

Yes, you are spending the evening in…again… but it does not have to be boring. You can indulge yourself or your parter…or the friend who is sleeping over at your place with this great 15-20 easy but delish recipe to pair with the white wine you choose for this evening. Yes, because this time you choose white, like a good Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris or anything nice and dry. It as a great combo to warm up your heart, evening and the oven … 😉

So here you are, easy as abc.

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Ingredients

• 1 wheel camembert (in box)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoons fresh sage
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Bread (for serving)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC .Leave the camembert in the box and cover it with aluminium foil to keep the melting cheese , in case it goes a bit over the top. 🙂 Only the side and the bottom, do not close it on top!
2. Score the top of the cheese in a crosshatch pattern.
3. Finely slice 1-2 peeled garlic cloves and poke them into the wholes on the top of the cheese with a few sage tips. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sea salt, pepper and / or pepper flakes then bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
4. Cut bite-sized pieces of any bread you like and lay them on a tray and pop in the oven to cook with the camembert for 5 more minutes.
5. Pour a glass of wine, sit down on the couch and enjoy the evening ❤

Tadddaaa… ENJOY! ❤

Cheese stor(ie)s – Fromage, Budapest

I thought it might be a good idea to to share my experiences with you guys in regards cheese stores around the globe, since now in Budapest I am telling you about Fromage on Pozsonyi street in the 13th district.

The place is just overall gorgeous with a quite nice variety of cheeses, wines, liquores, jams, Italian sweets, charchuterie and breads. So if you love small scale gourmet food then that is your place to go.

The store itself is not bigger than 8 square meters but it is full of goodies from floor to ceiling ( I love these kind of places), also the service is excellent.

This gem is not only for takeaway though, but if you have some time you can ask for a nice glass of Prosecco or whatever you want and a custom made cheese platter that you can enjoy just outside of the place since they have 2-4 small tables. And after that you might just go back and grab some more stuff the you can indulge yourself with.

Unfortunately, I could only ask for takeaway now some Italian salami, a CreMonte and a Gorgonzola Cremificato. I cannot help it, I just love all froms of bleu….

CreMonte is a pasteurized cow milk blue-brie originally made in Germany. It has a creamy, mild texture and mild, spicy flavour.

Gorgonzola Cremificato is smooth and creamy in texture. The cheese is mild and relatively sweet in taste with a rich and grassy aroma.

Both cheese could go well with fresh pears, apple and a sprinkle of honey.

If you would like to pair them with wine they would go well with Pinot Blanc, Sauternes and Moscato Passito or any kind of strong dessert wine that could match the strength and richness of the cheeses.

Enjoy 🙂

Transylvanian farm cheese #1

It is great to be back in Budapest for a short while since I have been missing not just my mom’s great dishes but good Hungarian farm-style cheese too as well as cheese making myself… but that is another topic.

Since my apartment is quite close to the farmer;s market I went down today to look around but I sadly had to realize that my favorite specialty stores have all closed due to the pandemic hopefully not forever.

This time I bumped into a cute cheese place serving mostly farm-style cheese from Transylvania and this is just what I needed that point. Lovely fresh cheese made with care and love 🙂

I did try 3 for this time that I would like to recommend some pairing with :

1.6 months old semi-hard Trappist monk style, cow mil cheese ( from Torocko)

6 months old Trappist Monk cheese made in the Transylvanian countryside. Creamy, buttery cowmilk cheese with some nutty notes.

& pairing : Pinot Grigio or Riesling.

2. 2 years old semi-hard cow milk cheese (from Tekerőpatak )

2 years old semi-hard cow milk cheese from Tekerôpatak, Transylvania. Great Swiss-style cheese with earthy and complex characteristics .

& pairing : Cava, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling

& pairing : Brown ales and Pilsners

3. Fresh sheep cheese

Fresh sheep cheese No unnecessary additives just a tiny pinch of salt and it becomes your best friend for the summer. Ideal for summer salads

& pairing : ideal with crisp, dry and young bottlings like Pinot Blanc, Verdejo, young Chardonnay and of my all time favorite Sauvignon Blanc.

Kaasbar Amsterdam, heaven for cheese lovers.

Finally, a place that I have been looking for. Stylish, great variety of local artisan cheese, good cheese-wine pairing recommendations ( thankfully not forced) and great service.

I love that finally a place could come over the idea of farm cheese presented on farms next cows, barns and the lovely land. Don’t get me wrong, I love farms and animals, but bringing a great variety of cheese, knowledge about cheese and the chance to choose really unique, tasty and rich cheese and enjoying them with great wines is something extremely important to create the demand for good cheese. As long as people are only given the chance to buy packaged, sliced cheese in supermarkets we cannot really expect them to have a better understanding of cheese or have the craving to try something new, something lot more of quality, lot more exciting.

That’s why I would highly recommend the Kaasbar in Amsterdam. If you are in town you got to try it.!

Here are some hints from the experience and the cheese I tried so far, although I am probably going to be back soon to try the whole variety.

What I tried ( from left to right) :

1.Brabants Blauw with medjool date & grasshopper (from Bastiansen)

2. Boeren Mulder Vergeten Kaas with red pesto & zucchini spaghetti (from Mulder)

3. Reade Jutter with onion chutney & red beetroot, seeds and pips ( from De Terschellinger)

4. Le petit Doruvael Truffel with lemon curd & red pepper fried spring rolls ( from Boerderij Doruvael)

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Cheesy trips in Dutchland #1

I have been traveling a lot to Amsterdam recently due to my new job and to be honest I am more than blown away by the tremendous amount of delicious cheese I can get there.

Basically what we know about Dutch cheese here in Hungary has nothing to do with the repertoire available there in the specialty cheese store.

So I decided to make sort of an introduction of the things I tasted and planning on tasting during my trips also to make new recipes and pairings with my favorite ones so that you can enjoy them just the way I would do. 🙂

So here you go at 1st the Truffle Gouda as my all-time sweetheart.

Step #1: What is this?

Dutch farmhouse cheese (boerenkaas) made of raw milk with Italian black truffle from the mountains. Ripened on wooden planks for only 8 weeks the gentle taste of this Gouda and intense aroma of the truffle form an unlikely, yet irresistible combination.

Step #2:  What the hell is boerenkaas?

Boerenkaas is the Dutch word that’s equivalent to “farmstead” cheese. That is, cheese made from the milk of animals who live on the same farm where the cheese is made. However, the word Boerenkaas also goes one step further, requiring that all cheese labeled as Boerenkaas must also be made with raw (unpasteurized) milk.

Only a small percentage of Dutch Gouda can be called Boerenkaas.

Step#3:  Pairing ideas with wine

Since it has a really unique and mature taste itself it should be served with either an elegant, not-too-oaky, aged Chardonnay or a nicely-evolved, textured dry Riesling.

If you are in Holland for holiday or work I would recommend not to miss out on this delicious darling, but if you have no time to go the specialty store, you can always order it online 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source:

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-aged-gouda-591221

https://www.cheesehub.com/product/truffle-gouda-25411

 

Hermelin ?!! Is it an animal or food?

Hermelin… why hermelin?

The name sounds weird and at first you would think about this fluffy and soft animal not a fluffy and soft camembert like cheese. Though it is…

Hermelin is a type of Czech cheese which imitates camembert, with a coating of white mold. In restaurants, the cheese is usually served marinated in oil (nakládaný), deep-fried in breadcrumbs (smažený), grilled (grilovaný) along with Czech beer.

Why would I recommend this for Spring and Summer?

The weather is getting warmer, we drink more and more cold beer and putting ourselves into the risk of getting drunk. 🙂

So if you would like to :

a) munch on something when you are having some cups

b) want to prevent getting tipsy and singing Dua Lipa in a karaoke bar

c) just eat something very rich and flavoury and make sure you do not pick up someone (it is indeed extremely garlicy)

Then your optimal solution is marinated hermelin with rye bread toast …. and of course a pint of Czech beer.

Interested already?  There you go…

Ingredients:

• 4 rounds of Hermelin or Camembert cheese
• 1 onion& 1 purple onion ( semi-thick slices )
• 7-8 cloves garlic, sliced
• a few sprigs or rosemary
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 1 Tbsp paprika powder ( can be sweet and spicy as well)
• Approx. 2-3 dl of Sunflower or olive oil to cover (I used a mix of olive and just normal oil)
• 4 -5 bay leaves
• Pepper

Method

1. Pour a little oil into the base or a jar or sealable container
2. Put in some garlic.
3. Cut your cheese into half to make two rounds.
4. Lay all the cheese out and sprinkle with the paprika powder.
5. Place one piece of cheese into the bottom of your jar/container then a piece of onion and purple onion.
6. Layer it up and make sure you have cheese and onion in every layer
7. In a separate bowl mix up the oil with the herbs.
8. When you have finished the layering of the cheese pour in the oil mix, close the jar and put it in the fridge for 1-2 weeks (minimum 5 days) to marinade and let the flavors infuse to the cheese.
9. Serve alongside with cold beer and with toast. 🙂

GOOD APPETITE 🙂

source :

http://www.thekiwifruit.com/recipes/czech-marinated-hermelin-nakladany-hermelin/

Sunday spinach-cheddar pie

Sunday Spinach- cheddar pie

Good evening!

I know that I have not posted for a while but I had been pretty busy recently, new work, new adventures  each day so its been pretty challenging  to convince myself to get  back to the kitchen… but, it was indeed more than releiving and energizing to grab the knife again and pamper myself with something cheesy and indulgent.

I usually eat a lot of spinach,..I am basically addicted o it…I love each form of these green leaves from eating it raw in a salad, mixing it with garlic or making a quick soup, but as I enjoy playing with different types of pies I really thought it would worth trying outit  in this form …and without any unbearable self-esteem this spinach – cheddar- cottage cheese pie has turned out to be more than I wished for for a relaxing  Sunday evening.

Why Sunday??? I think it is especially  important to finish a week in the most fullfilling way to be able to start the next Monday  with full energy and positive vibes, and also its not the worst thing to have some pie leftover to bring to work for lunch and remind yourself that you had made something delicious the other day. 🙂

This pie is even better on Mondays served cold…but be aware that your colleagues might ask for a bite.

Enjoy! 😉

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 25 dkg ( 2, 5 cups) wholegrain flour
• 8 dkg (0, 8 cup) butter
• 1 dl cold water
• salt
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 1 cup ( 10 dkg) of cottage cheese
• ½ cup of cheddar
• ½ cup of créme fresch
• 6 eggs
• salt
• pepper
• ½ onion
• 2 cups (20 dkg ) of spinach

Preparation:

• Put the flour in a big bowl, pulse it together with salt.
• Add butter and one egg and mix until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Slowly add water and process until a dough comes together.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 30-40 minutes in the fridge before rolling out.

 

Meanwhile, prepare filling as follows:

• Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook it until transclucent, than add garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until the garlic is just beginning to brown.

• Add the spinach to the pan, stir it with the olive oil, cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Uncover and turn the spinach over again. Cover the pan and cook for an additional minute. (If you cannot find fresh spinach you can also use frozen ones.)

• Lightly whisk 6 eggs in a mixing bowl and add créme fresch, cottage cheese, cheddar, salt and pepper than pour the mixture on the spinach and stir it together.

The „final” steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. ( 180 C)
• Take the chilled dough, roll it out and press it into the bottom of a 10-inch pie dish.
• Prick it with a fork all around, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Take it out from the oven, pour the filling in and put the pie back in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the filling is set.
• Allow it to cool for a bit before serving.

 

Beverage  pairing recommendation: I would highly recommend to have a pint of Guinness or a coffee stout along with the dish. The strength and creamyness harmonizes with the salty  and soft texture of the pie. If you are more of a wine person I’d advise to have a glass of Chardonnay.

Let me know if you have any comments to share, I hope you enjoy this tendering dish.

Trust me, you won’t regret this happy ending for the week. Stay cheesy and enjoy!!! 🙂

 

Amazingly boozy Cheddar-Stout muffin

I have been hunting for good cheese and beer recipes  for a long time but it seemed  that the only chance I have is to  either start eating stout beer- cheddar dips in a thousand versions or start inventing new things myself.

I actually  did start to feel down about not finding any creative options for the usage of my 2 favourite ingredients together when I bumped into my new idol’s blog just randomly.  Beeroness herself is a really inventive lady whose aim is to show all sides of beer and open people’s eyes to the zillion opportunities a beer can offer even as a drink or a proper meal.

So I started browsing in her recipes and could not decide where to begin actually. The exploration of the goodies just got me too excited to decide  which one should be the first.  Thank God I was already extremely hungry so I  saw the words  „ stout” and „bread” and „muffin”… totally hooked on it…

So here you are the recipe from Beeroness , of course a little bit modified to totally fit my needs, but I would like to thank this awesome lady for creating the basic idea of the beer-cheese muffin :).  Originally its with all purpose flour and  Lagunitas Red, an imperial red ale, but unfortunately it was only a limited edition, so I had no chance to get it anyway.

So I shut my mouth …. here is my version, the Cheedar- Imperial  Stout  bread muffin with Tarragon Pear souce.

Ingredients

For 10-12 muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups flour whole grain flour
• 1 tbsp cain sugar or Xilitol
• 2 tsp baking powder ( half a package)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup shredded  red cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup shredded Mimolette cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped   leek
• 1/4 cup melted butter + 2 additional tsp
• 6 oz / 1.8 dl  Agressor Imperial Stout beer 

For the sauce:

• 4 pears
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp cain sugar or Xilitol

How to?

Preheat oven to 350 F ( 180 C) .

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in the melted butter plus the beer, stir until just combined.

Put muffin papers in the muffins tins and pour the dough  into it until each  is about 1/2 full. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter on the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 F ( 180 C)  for 18-20 minutes.

 

Meanwhile chop the pears to small pieces and put in a pot with the tarragon, sugar and a 1 tbsp of water and simmer it together until the pear gets almost creamy.

Put 2 muffins and 2 tbsps of sauce on a plate,  serve immediately.

                                                     Good Appetite! 🙂

Don’t hesitate to make any comments or ammendments on the recipe.

Source: http://thebeeroness.com/2012/05/31/cheddar-beer-bread-muffins/

 

 

 

A romantic cheese date with yourself

In the last couple of weeks I could not stop eating pear and blue cheese and I was trying to find some new alternatives for their usage after having Pear and Blue cheese pie, Pear and blue cheese salad and blue cheese dip with crispy pear ( I will share it later). Anyway, after realising that although the previous recipes were all delicious I still needed to create a full dish that could serve as a perfect dinner. Easy, cheesy and filling so I started searching for the perfect combination and I guess I could find it. 🙂

The recipe requires quite a few ingredients since I made a new combination on 2 recipes I had found online, but it is ready in 50-70 minutes and its a real indulgence itself. So if you would like to give yourself or your other half a an easy but mouth-watering surprise, than here you are…

 

Chicken with Dijoni mustard and Pear, Walnut ,Blue cheese bake

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 pears, unpeeled, halved, and cored
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 0,5 Tbsp (7-8 ml) Dijon mustard
• 0,5 Tbsp (7-8 ml) pure maple syrup or honey ( I used acacia honey)
• 0,5 Tbsp (7-8 ml) fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup ( 5 dkg ) walnut
• 1/2 cup (10 dkg) crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 Celisus (approx. 390 Farenheit)

Lightly oil a baking dish.  Combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup/ honey, and lemon juice in small bowl and whisk to blend. Place chicken breasts to baking pan, brush Dijon mixture over chicken breasts and sprinkle with a little salt and fresh pepper. Bake for 20 more minutes until juices run clear when chicken is pierced. Remove chicken to a heated platte
r and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (approx. 375 F). Arrange the pears, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and thyme. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake 20 minutes. Spoon 2 teaspoons of crumbled cheese in the center of each pear half, return the pears to the oven and roast until they are tender and gold and the cheese is soft, about 8-10 more minutes. Also, put the walnuts on the baking sheet next to the pears and toast them in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. When the pears are cooked, put 2 of them on a serving plate and add 3 fairly thick slices of the chicken breast,  sprinkle the toasted walnuts and the tle cumbled cheese leftover  over the top. Serve hot.

If you would like to make this cheese date even more engaging you’ better add some booze to it;)

My personal recommendation would be a glass of Fuller’s London Black Cab stout or Pyromani from Roth Beer. Of course if you’d choose a more traditional combination and more of a wine person the best match would be a glass of Tokaji or Rajnai Riesling from the Frittmann winery.

Enjoy!;)
Did you like it? Please share your experience or any ides how the recipe could be improved.

The Finnish cheese platter – or something platter made of something cheese :)

Finnish cheese platter

At first I wanted to make separate posts about the different types of Finnish cheeses but I just decided recently that it is better to write my personal experiences and some history of the different types and make a small cheesplatter along with personal recommendation on how it would be the best to eat these lovely and smooth delicacies.

So here you can find all the cheese I tasted in Finland so far and let me share my opinion on all these. You can argue, you can share what you think of the following.

Please do not hesitate 🙂

#1 Oltermani

Oltermanni is a brand of Finnish cheese that is similar to the Danish cheese called Havarti. It is often eaten on rye bread, or with other meals (e.g. the Finnish rice pie: Karjalanpiirakka). Oltermanni is manufactured by the company Valio. It is a rindless, semi-soft rich cheese with a high fat content usually made of fresh cow’s milk. It has a fresh aroma and I would say that is has almost similar taste as a young Ementaler but it is less ’agressive’.

Taking into consideration that is has high fat content I would suggest having it with a glass of Pinot Noir or a Glass of brown ale from Brewdog  such as #MashTag2015  or Guinness.

#2 Aura cheese

Aura is a type of blue cheese alsoproduced by the Finnish dairy company Valio. Aura is made of cow’s milk and takes its name from the Aura River, which runs through the city of Turku. The cheese is available in two varieties. The regular variety is aged for six weeks, whereas the stronger ‘Aura Gold’ variety is aged for 12 weeks.

Aura has a really strong almost Gorgonzola character therefore it takes the leading role either in a meal or on a cheesplatter. It can be sprinkled on a salad or put on rye bread with a little bit of butter accompanied by grapes or pear. I would also recommend having a glass of Riesling as the sweetness of the wine clings to the fat in the cheese and makes it a perfect taste sensation.

 

#3 Leipajusto a.k.a  Breadcheese

It is my personal favourite from the ones I met in Finland so far. It is soft and fresh almost cottage-cheese like usually made of cow’s milk, but since I am on a goat farm we used goat’s milk and compared to the original cow one, I preferred the goat milk version. The procedure of making is a bit extraordinary as the fresh goat cheese has to be baked in an oven for 20-30 minutes on 250 celsius degrees ( I personally needed 45 minutes), but it actually worth waiting, especially if you have some fresh berries in the garden or any kind of non-sugary jams in the cupboard. It is especially delicious with apple or pear jam along with a cup of sparkling white wine or an ice-cold Merlot or a glass of stout beer.

#4 Fresh goat cheese ( made in the morning)

Well, this is the easiest case since it is a very light, soft and smooth cheese that caneasily be spread on fresh rye bread either by itself or along with lingonberry or other sour type of berry jams, also this can be a perfect match with plum jam also. And to make the indulgence more extatic you should be tasting it with a glass of Sauvign on Blanc.

So take your time and try out either only one of these or the whole variety but I promise you won’t regret any of the moments spent with these lovelies.

Have nice cheese moment 😉