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/

The perfect cheesy brunch for a rainy Sunday :)

In general I am not a morning person but I definitelly prefer having a proper breakfast or a brunch than going out to fancy   restaurants. The whole atmosphere of these places are so mind-blowing and every time I am  having my coffee, croissant, sandwich, omlett or porridge out I feel like a real queen…its like giving yourself and early treat and having the best kick off for a perfect day. I think its really important to start a day positively and acknowledge as early as possible that you deserve to be given the best of everything…( inlcuding a shower, but that’s out of the point now…)So I decided to follow this rule each and every day and surprise myself in the morning…. also my friends if they are
fit enough to come over to my cave… actually it is better to be enjoyed with others, but you’ll never know who might show up:)

I had plenty of time to wonder a little bit ont he bus on the way back from work about the best brunch menu and I think I quite did a good job and created a list of delicious things that could fit to the autumn mood and a lazy Sunday. Of course homemade cheese took a great part in it and I also wanted to try out a farm-style fresh cheese recipe I recently found online…

Some of the dishes might need a little bit of preparation but I promise that this might help you and your friends to survive a rainy and cold Sunday.

So here is your perfect menu with YOUR homemade spicy farm-stlyle cheese, spicy pumpkin dip, fresh avocado cream and toast with garlic.

Farmer’s Cheese

• 1 gallon milk
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Fresh oregano, thyme and basil
• 1 large pot
• Plastic colander
• Cheesecloth or old bandana

Heat your milk to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and add vinegar. Leave the milk to settle for 25-30 minutes. Once the milk is separated, pour the whey and curds into your colander lined with cheesecloth over another large pot, but you also do it over the sink if you don’t want to keep the whey. ( I actually reheated the whey for extra 20 minutes and added vinegar again. The outcome was a more creamy and sweet ricotta like cheese.) So,  stir in salt and herbs to the curds, then tie up the cheesecloth with a twisting motion to press out whey. Place it back to the colander and allow to drain for an hour and voilá here’s your homemade cheese.

Spicy pumpkin dip… that’s easy also and you can prepare it while the milk is settling 🙂

• 1 small pumpkin
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt

Preheat the oven to 200 celsius, chop the pumpkin to 4 parts and put them to the oven for 25 minutes until they get a bit of roasted. Once it is done smash the pumpkin with a fork and stir it together with all the other ingredients until it gets creamy.

Avocado cream…

Peal the avocado and chop it to little pieces, add some salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of olive oil and stir.

It seems that everyhing is ready now to enjoy the morning … except coffee, but I won’t get into details about coffee making 🙂

And finally,  toast some bread, put some garlic on top ( optional) and enjoy the last day of the week 😉

I hope you have a good morning!

Source:

http://pocketpause.com/farmers-cheese-easiest-homemade-cheese-recipe/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spicy-pumpkin-dip-recipe.html

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 😉