Goin' Nuts for Blue Cheese - Gorgonzola & Walnut Tart

 Every once in awhile, I get a hankerin' for something SUPER cheesy.  Normally, when this happens, I turn to Macaroni & Cheese in all it's myriad permutations.  After all, what better way is there to showcase cheese than pouring it's rich, gooey and melty deliciousness over a mound of pasta? 

But if you are a blue cheese lover, as I am, this tart that will roll your cheese wheel right out the door.  It's so rich, creamy and cheesy that even I can only eat a small slice, to be accompanied by Watercress soup and a very VERY large salad, to break up the cheesiness. 

This is a French tart that has no equal.  You can consume your whole daily caloric intake in one fell swoop with this one.  But it's sooooooooo good.  The filling is simply a cheese laden custard (similar to a quiche) that is them sprinkled with toasty walnuts to add some crunch.

I actually prefer Gorgonzola for this one.  It seems to me that Gorgonzola melts a little smoother than some other crumbly Blue Cheeses.  I also think that it's flavor profile better pairs with toasted walnuts and the peppercorns in the pastry crust. Which reminds me.  It's not simply the tart filling that is rich and high in calories, the crust I like to use for this is my infamous Sour Cream/Peppercorn pastry dough that I usually reserve for certain quiches and my Asparagus / Gruyere Tart. 

Gorgonzola & Walnut Tart

1 recipe for Sour Cream Peppercorn Pastry Crust
1 cup (100g) Walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup (236ml) Heavy Cream
3 large Eggs
2 large Egg Yolks
6 oz (170g) Gorgonzola, crumbled (you can use Stilton, Saga, or Roquefort if you prefer)
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) degrees.
Meanwhile, prepare the Sour Cream Peppercorn Pastry dough; roll the pastry out to fit a 10 inch quiche dish or a fluted tart pan and chill while the oven continues to preheat.

When the oven comes to temperature, toast the walnuts for 5 minutes.

When the Walnuts are finished, remove the pastry from the refrigerator, line with foil or parchment and fill with beans or weights then bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the foil and beans/rice/weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes. (just until the crust is cooked, but still very pale)

Reduce the oven temperature to 350F (180C) degrees.
Whisk the Eggs, Egg Yolks and Heavy Cream together in a small bowl.

Add the crumbled Gorgonzola and stir.

Season with Salt and Pepper, then pour the filling into the warm tart shell.

Sprinkle with toasted Walnuts.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven, just until the top begins to brown.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before attempting to cut.

Delightfully cheesy and UBER rich.  This is most definitely NOT a diet food, that is for sure.

Mangia!!
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Meatless Monday - Panko Packed Portobello

One of my favorite things to consume, when I am not consuming meat, is mushrooms; especially shiitake.  Shiitake have an extremely meaty flavor, for being "meat free".   Add that to the "meaty" texture of a Portobello mushroom, and you have a recipe for deliciousness that can fool even the most ravenous of carnivores.

Granted, this recipe also includes a significant amount of gorgonzola cheese. Gorgonzola, like most blue cheeses, is blessed with glutamates.  While the level is not nearly as high as that of Parmigiano-Reggiano, the undisputed king of cheeses, it is significant enough to provide even more of that savory umami response on your taste buds.  This, again, lends to that "meat" sensation along with Shiitake flavor and the Portobello texture.

This also makes great lunch time fare... At which point you can still have a steak for dinner. :)  Me?  I am OK with the occasional meatless dinner.  For some reason, I feel healthier when I remove meat from my diet at least 1 day out of the week.  Honestly, if I didn't eat so much fish already, I would probably go meatless more often. 

Panko Packed Portobello

4 Portabello Mushroom Caps
Olive Oil
4 oz (113g) Shiitake, minced
2 TB unsalted Butter
a couple sprigs of Thyme leaves
3 oz (85g) Gorgonzola, crumbled (or shredded Gruyere or Gouda)
3/4 cup Panko
2 TB Italian Parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) degrees.
First, remove the stems of the Portobello.

Slice off the bottom, to clean up the stem a little before finely mincing them.

Remove the stems from the Shiitake and toss (they are usually way too woody to eat),

then mince the Shiitake caps as well.

Place the Portobello caps in a glass baking dish, gills down, and brush liberally with olive oil and place in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet.

Add the minced mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the flame and allow it to cool slightly before adding the Thyme, Panko, and Parsley.

Crumble the Gorgonzola and stir it into the mixture as well.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and flip the caps over so the gills are exposed.

Divide the filling amongst the Portobello caps, pressing lightly to form a nice dome of deliciousness.

Place until the broiler for about 5-10 minutes or until the filling is nicely browned.

Serve with a light Uplandcress Salad with Meyer Lemon Citrusette.

Mangia!!
~~

Risotto Blues - Risotto alla Gorgonzola

It's been a while since I have done a risotto post.  Oh, I have been making plenty of it.  Primarily due to the fact that risotto only takes about 20 minutes.  To me, that seems like a quick meal.  I mean, it takes just about that long to heat up fish fingers (sticks) in the oven... and you have to wait for the oven to heat up.

Not that I have been eating fish fingers or anything, but I have been eating more fish of late.  For example, I have just recently rediscovered Mahi Mahi, which is particularly delicious when baked in a hazelnut crust.  (YUM)   Then again, I am a fish fanatic.  From Albacore to Trout (I could not think of a fish with a "u" or"v", and I have never eaten Walleye Pike) and everything in between, I pretty much like them all. Fish cooks so quickly too; whether you sear it, poach it, bake it or fry it, it's always a fairly fast meal to prepare.  And THAT is pretty awesome!

But I digress....  The original point of bringing up the fish is... While it is generally frowned upon, in Italian cuisine, to combine cheese and seafood or fish in the same dish; there is no hard and fast rule that says you cannot have a cheesy dish on the side.  Gorgonzola Risotto is the perfect accompaniment to  Hazelnut Crusted Mahi Mahi. Or at least I think so.  Then again, I am a cheese freak too. 

Risotto alla Gorgonzola

1 TB olive oil
4 oz (113g) Pancetta
1 Shallot, Minced
1 cup (205g) Arborio rice
1/3 cup Pinot Grigio (Muscat Canelli is good too, though a little sweeter)
3 - 3 1/2 cups (700 - 825ml) Chicken Stock
3 oz (85g) Gorgonzola, crumbled and divided
Pinch Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 TB unsalted butter

In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, heat the stock to a simmer.

Place a saute pan over medium heat; when hot, add the Olive oil and the Pancetta, cooking until crisp.

Remove the Pancetta with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Add the shallot and sweat for a few minutes – until wilted and transparent, but not brown.

Add the rice and saute, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes.

Add the the wine and stir until absorbed.

Add the first ladle of broth and continue cooking and stirring until broth is absorbed.

Continue adding stock, 1 ladle at a time and stirring until the rice is al dente. (About 15 minutes)
Remove the risotto from the flame and stir in the Pancetta.

 Add half of the Gorgonzola and the Butter to the pot; stir until melted

Cover and let rest for 3 minutes.

Stir in the remaining Gorgonzola right before serving, to there are un-melted chunks of cheese.

Mangia!!
~~

Tomatoes Get the Brandy Blues - Brandied Gorgonzola Tomato Soup

Don't you just hate it when someone goes to a restaurant and has something really awesome; then, when they are telling you about it, they just automatically ASSUME that since you cook a lot of different things, you will just magically know how to make it?   I mean come on!   Just because I talk like Alton Brown sometimes and have read The Joy Of Cooking, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Silver Spoon from cover to cover like novels, does not mean that I am capable of mind melding with every chef on the planet and simply downloading selected information from their brains.  (Although THAT would be really really really cool)

Such was the story of my mother and her Blue Cheese/Brandy Tomato Soup that she consumed at the 42nd Street Cafe in Seaview, WA (which is just south of Longbeach, WA). 

Normally I make tomato soup with my slow cooked tomato sauce and some cream or half & half.  Pretty simple really.  So I started asking questions.  I mean, obviously it had Blue Cheese & Brandy in it, but that really doesn't help much... There are at least 10 Blue Cheeses that I can name and they all taste different.  So I started asking questions like.....

"Does it have cream in it?"  She didn't know.
"Is it chunky or smooth?"  She said it was smooth (OK, so it IS pureed)
"Did you taste Basil in it?"  She didn't remember.
"Was it Brandy or Cognac?"  She didn't know.
"Did they mention what Blue Cheese was in it?"  She said no.
"Did you ask them for the recipe?"  She didn't, because she was sure that I would be able to figure it out.

(sigh)  While I am deeply touched that she thinks that highly of my culinary skills, considering that we still argue about the deliciousness of polenta and the intrinsic food value of gnocchi (cause she hates both of them), I knew right off the bat that I was not going to be able to pass off my normal tomato soup by just adding some blue cheese and brandy to it.  Thus, I have been pondering this recipe for about 2 months now.

Enter Michael Symon.....

I was watching a rerun of CHEW, thanks to my SIL for pointing me at that show, and they were covering soups.  Michael was making this Blue Cheese/Sriracha Tomato Soup.

Brain Flash!
After the smoke cleared and the scent of of Ozone dissipated, I decided to use his soup as a base... OK, all I really did was substitute the Sriracha with Red Pepper Paste, change the Blue Cheese from Buttermilk Blue to Gorgonzola Dolce and finish the soup with some Brandy.  Oh, and I dropped the Oregano...  I thought Dill would work better with my changes.

Bingo!!  It worked...  In fact, mom was licking the bottom of the pot.  Woo hoo!  So thank you Mr. Symon for pointing me in the right direction.

Brandied Gorgonzola Tomato Soup

2 TB olive oil
6 oz (170g) Red Onion, chopped (that's about 1 medium red onion)
Kosher Salt
4 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 28-ounce (794g) can San Marzano tomatoes, with their juice
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) (355ml) Chicken Stock
3/4 cup (6 oz) (177ml) Heavy Cream
1 TB Red Pepper Concentrate (The stuff in the tube by Amore)
1 small sprig of Dill Weed (you need to fish it out later)
1/2 cup (2.25 oz) (65g) Gorgonzola Dolce (creamy Gorg - AKA: Dolcelatte), plus more for serving
2 TB Brandy (oh yeah, baby!)
Crème Fraîche for serving

Begin by heating the oil in a stock pot set over medium flame.

When hot, add the Red Onion and Kosher Salt, sweat for about 2 minutes. (The salt will force the water in the onions to release)

Add the Garlic and sweat 1 - 2 minutes longer.

Add the San Marzano Tomatoes, breaking them up a little with a spoon.

Then add the Chicken Stock as well.

Bring the mixture to a simmer.

Add the Heavy Cream and the Red Pepper Concentrate along with the sprig of Dill.

Return the mixture to a low simmer, cover and continue simmering for 40 minutes.

OK, Food Processor, Schmood Processor....  If you have a stick blender, your good to go.

Remove the Dill weed, add the Gorgonzola Dolce and beat the whole mixture into submission with the stick blender.

Run the soup through a strainer into a clean pot.

(this will remove the tomato seeds, of which there really aren't many, cause San Marzanos are almost seedless)

Return the soup to a low flame and stir in the Brandy.

Serve with a dollop of Crème Fraîche and a sprinkle of crumbled Gorgonzola.

Honestly, I think this is the best tomato soup I have ever had!  It's amazing!  If you're not a blue cheese fan, worry not.  You don't really "taste" blue cheese... There just isn't enough in the soup.  But somehow, some way, if gives more of a back bone to the sweetness of the San Marzano tomatoes... Then again, maybe I just got too much brandy in the soup.  ;)

If you'll excuse me now, I think I need to go have another bowl...

Now THIS is what I call Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

Mangia!!
~~