Posted on 07/23/2015 4:02:37 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Back in the 'Wild West' days of the early Internet, a lady named Susan 'Hattie' Steinsapir posted to the Usenet group rec.foods.cooking. Unfortunately, Susan passed from us far too early; but her recipes live on.
Perhaps her most renowned recipe was her Goat Cheese Torta with Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. (I have to admit that I didn't - and don't - know much about goat cheese; and the first time I made this, my husband said that it tasted as if he'd licked a goat. I decided to change the recipe, until I could learn more about goat cheese; and I substituted the goat cheese/cream cheese mixture for half cream cheese, and half feta. It works out wonderfully that way; bu I intend to do some research on goat cheese, to learn if there are milder types.
Anyway, here is Hattie's recipe, in her words. (Ever since I first found Hattie, in our family 'hors d'oeuvre' has always been pronounced 'HORSE DIVERS' :-)
"Goat Cheese Torta with Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes:
6 oz goat cheese
4 oz cream cheese
Garlic, peeled, smushed, and chopped (I usually put in lots and more, at least 8 cloves. It's up to you.)
1/2 cup pesto (at least)
1/2 cup chopped up fine oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, including 1 - 2 tsp of the marinade
Decorate with fresh herbs, such as branches of thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and sliced baguettes.
"Mix goat cheese and cream cheese, add the garlic. Check the taste. Add salt and black pepper if you want.
"Line a small glass bowl (about 2 - 3 cups) with plastic wrap. Put about 1/3 of the goat cheese mix into the bowl. Top this with the pesto. Put another 1/3 of the goat cheese mix on top of this. Put the sundried tomatoes on this. Top with the rest of the cheese. Put plastic wrap over the top of this. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to four days.
"To serve, invert bowl on a serving dish. Carefully remove the plastic wrap. Decorate with herbaceous materials. Serve with baguettes. Keep out of the way of the devouring mob. Supposed to serve up to 20 - 25 with other horse divers."
Here is a link to Hattie's husband's website and his remembrances of her; it includes a link to her recipes:
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When I was a kid, the grocery store had this wonderful blue cheese dip; it came in a deep blue metal tin, and it may have been a Kraft Roka product. I haven't seen it for sale in decades, and would love to figure out a copy-cat recipe; but that little tin of dip forever sealed my love affair with blue cheese.
One of my go-to books for soup making is Crescent Dragonwagon's "Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread"; in it she writes about Maytag blue cheese. Maytag currently have this recipe on their website, and it looks very good:
http://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/aspx/recipes.aspx
-JT
Hello there, stranger! Pray all is going well for you.
Hi, doing well, as I hope you are too!
Your links are evil ;>)
http://www.winnerdinners.com/baked-reuben-casserole/
I’m so making this!
LOL - That pic grabbed this eye as well!! Rubens, love them
I’m sooo making this one.
Oh no! I love provolone, the kind that makes your tongue burn. You can get the real stuff only in Italian delis in NY or NJ (maybe MA, too). The stinkier the better. Miss that wonderful cheese here in FL.
Sliced provolone doesn’t stink. That’s the mild variety. Sharp provolone - in hard blocks, similar to parmesan, but not quite as dry - has that good stench!
Yes, I figured folks here were using a more processed version. While it really stinks, it does taste nice. I stick in in an obscure part of the fridge when my husband brings it home.
Laurie Colwin’s Jalapenos Creamed Spinach
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Thaw two boxes of chopped spinach
Chop up 2 garlic bulbs and 1/4 cup of onion.
Melt in a pan 4 tablespoons of butter along with 2 tablespoons of flour.
When combined, add the garlic and onion and cook but do not brown.
Add 1 cup of spinach water and then 1/2 cup of evaporated milk.
Combine and then add a package of grated cheese (I used pepper jack today but any kind is fine).
Melt and combine and then add the spinach. Combine.
Dump in a smallish, greased enamel dish or pyrex and stick in oven for 40 minutes. If you want, top with Panko crumbs and remove once they are browned.
This goes with steak and will make you sit up and beg for me!
it, not me. I guarantee this will not make you sit up and beg for me. Although I am a very good cook.
That sounds really good! I love the Stouffer’s Spinach Souffle, and have been trying to find a made-from-scratch recipe that’s a bit like it (I won’t eat just plain cooked spinach). This sounds like a keeper - but are the ‘Jalapenos’ just in the pepper jack?
-JT
Ken, the Universe has answered your call ;-)
I was thinking about your post, and something inside told me that I knew the solution - I had a nagging feeling that I’d seen something.
A quick search on ‘herb stripper’ found this (if you watch the video, she even strips thyme with this thing):
http://www.amazon.com/Chefn-102-566-201-Zipstrip-Herb-Stripper/dp/B00GOEKM22
Oh, I must have it!
-JT
Yes, the jalapenos are in the cheese - not too hot. The original recipe published suggests putting jarred jalapeno slices into the mix. It is much hotter that way. This is the first time I tried the pepper jack - I usually use a “4 cheese” mix and add bits of jalapeno slices from a jar. Hot or mild it is still delicious.
Thank you for posting the link. Just went there and everything looked so easy with ingredients I have already. Great!
That gadget is great! Thank you for posting the link.
Yum, I have to look for sharp provolone then! I’ve only had the mild variety and couldn’t figure out why it was so popular.
In researching making provolone, you can add lipase powder - which can be mild, as for parmesan, or sharp, as with Romano. Pretty neat! I have so much to learn. Thanks for the lessons.
Well, the reviews on the gizmo are very mixed; but I take reviews with a grain or two of salt ;-)
They also make a leaf-shaped one, that includes bigger holes for doing things like kale. I think I’ll try that one first; we use a lot of kale in our favorite soup recipe.
-JT
I just ordered one...
CARROT PEANUT SALAD
METHOD Grate 4 med carrots very coarsely or shred;
mix w/ 3/4 cup salted peanuts; now add 2 tb ea red
wine vinegar, peanut oil, 6 drops sesame oil.
Can add bit of grated gingerroot for extra Asian flavor.
Parsley leaves garnish is nice.
That looks and sounds very good. I’m going to give that recipe a try. My mom used to make a shredded carrot salad with only freshly grated carrots and raisins and mayo, but IMO, she used too much mayo, it made it too heavy. I improvised on hers - I make mine with shredded carrots, finely diced/chopped apples, raisins or "crasins", a bit of orange juice and honey and olive oil for a dressing, with just a smitch of mayo or Miracle Whip for body, and a dash red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper for some heat and top it off with some chopped toasted pecans.
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