The Lounge Cooking Challenge and Food Thread

[Mrs. Utah]

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Does a Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lox count as cooking?



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It does in my book. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Blarg]

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I do not disagree with this. Maybe if you want to use Cheddar cheese use a mild vs sharp.

Other cheeses that could be used in place of Cheddar- Fontina, Mozzarella, Gouda, Provolone, and Jack.

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I used to read up on cheeses a bit and actually know something about them, but now I forget which ones melt best and such.

What do you think about Havarti in that dish, Mrs. Utah?

[katyseagull]

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Does a Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lox count as cooking?






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Awesome. You made me think of my dad. I was going to post about it in the thread on Dads.

[katyseagull]

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I also think it would be very nice if an attempt were made to direct it every so often, just for fun. Like: Fish Fridays -- everybody makes a fish dish. And especially, something like Seasonal Vegetables or maybe Summer Vegetables -- everybody go to the farmers market or wherever they can and get some seasonal vegetables. Maybe our people who know what's what can even suggest some of those fruits and vegetables to the others here so we'll know what to look for.

I think cooking up a vegetable you've never tried before can be fun. There's usually lots of different ways to do it, too.

Which puts me in mind of another idea: Asian Vegetables. Everybody one week goes to an Asian market and gets some Asian vegetable they've never used, and makes it a distinctive part of a new dish they've never made or maybe never even tried before.

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I meant to say that I love these ideas. I would like to try doing a Fish Friday one of these weeks. Also, I think trying out new vegetables is a cool idea. I don't branch out very often and it would be a lot of fun to try something unusual. Count me in.

[Mrs. Utah]

I did a little reading on this so correct me if I am mistaken.

Semi firm cheese such as cheddar, fontina, gruyere, and swiss (lots of others) are considered good cooking cheese because they melt down without getting rubbery or oily.

Katy, gruyere would be a good choice in quiche, imo, because it does melt and cook so well and is fairly mild. Kind of swiss like.

Semi soft cheese such as gouda, havarti, jack, and munster (and lots of others) may not be as tolerant to heat so not good cooking cheese.

Given that information, I think taste wise Havarti would be wonderful but if what I read is true it may not be the best melting cheese. But then again one of Katy's recipes calls for munster so....

There may be only one way to find out.

[Blarg]

Mrs. Utah, I've always found cheddar to get VERY oily when melted. Seen this on nachos when I used to work in a Mexican restaurant a thousand times. Chips would come up swimming in oil. I remember reading cheddar being classified as a "snacking cheese" because of this.

I do remember reading that swiss is a good melting cheese. It's one of my favorites because it can contribute flavor without overwhelming a dish. Cheddar is such a strong flavor that it can overwhelm almost anything, by comparison.

I was thinking a ricotta would be a natural for a quiche -- what do you think?

Thanks for the reading on Havarti. There are so many flavored Havartis these days that I was amusing myself thinking which one might go well with spinach in a quiche.

[Mrs. Utah]

I know. I agree that cheddar can be oily. I am just reporting back as to what i have found in doing some reading.

I think ricotta could work. Texture wise its like goat cheese but far more mild. I wonder if it would get lost since there is not a lot of flavor to the eggs and spinach is so mild as well. A stronger flavored cheese might be better.

Havarti is one of my favorite but I have never cooked with it, just as a snack cheese. I really like the Havarti with dill.
I rarely cook with cheese so I am learning as we go here.

[Blarg]

Havarti with dill is one of my favorites too. I love it in a turkey sandwich.

I think you are defining goat cheese too narrowly. Not all is soft, for instance.

I do think ricotta can be kind of bland, but it has helped sell the world on lasagna, so maybe strong flavors aren't what everybody wants. Also, raw spinach has some flavor, but the flavor of cooked spinach is so very mild. I'm thinking anything that goes with spinach and eggs, two very mild flavors, has to be pretty mild itself or it just becomes pretty much a cheese dish with only minor flavor notes from the spinach and eggs.

That's one of the reasons I was wondering if Havarti could be okay, because it goes so well with herb flavorings. Maybe the herb could provide a lot of the flavor to set off the egg and cheese. Eh, it was a thought, but if Havarti isn't so good for melting, oh well.

I think we need another fairly mild cheese, though. Katie mentioned muenster. That seems like a nice one.

I'm not sure we need multiple cheeses, actually. I'd really like the flavor to be redolent of its basic ingredients -- spinach and eggs. I'd love for the spinach not to be overwhelmed by the cheese. That seems trickier to me than just making a passable quiche. I'd like one where you could really not just say, "Well, cheese makes anything taste good."

[katyseagull]

As far as seasonings, the recipe only calls for salt and pepper. Pretty basic. Would you suggest any other seasonings like dill or nutmeg or something?




Here's a picture of what I want to make

[Mrs. Utah]

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As far as seasonings, the recipe only calls for salt and pepper. Pretty basic. Would you suggest any other seasonings like dill or nutmeg or something?




Here's a picture of what I want to make




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Have you decided what kind of cheese you want to try?