The day has finally arrived, time to wax the monterey jack cheese. I melt the cheese wax in an old pie plate over a pan (a cheap double boiler set up) and dip the cheese in the wax. First I dip the top, to make sure it is fully coated - usually takes 3-4 dips with 10-20 second rests between dips allowing the wax to semi-harden. Then I dip the bottom of the cheese - again 3-4 dips with 10-20 second between dips. Finally, I hold and roll the cheese on its side in the wax to coat the sides working my way all around the cheese 3-4 times. I hold the cheese for a minute or two to allow the wax to harden and then place the newly waxed cheese on some plastic wrap- into the cheese cave it goes to harden some more. I write the type of cheese and date waxed on some blue masking tape and paste the tape on the cheese for easy reference.
The cheese cave now contains 1 lb. of stirred curd cheddar waxed, 1 lb. of monterey jack waxed and 1 lb. of manchego drying for a few days before waxing. The regular fridge has 2 lbs of drunken goat cheese (made up with cows milk and lipase for test purposes) and 2 lbs of lavender ricotta salata. So, the cheesy adventures continue.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Cheese Cave
Yesterday Michael put my little old dorm fridge outside so I could clean it up and get it ready for cheeses. I had briefly used it as a cheese cave 2 years ago and it promptly populated my cheeses with gobs of blue/green mold.
This time I cleaned out the fridge with warm soapy water and then sprayed every inch of it down with starsan ( I love that stuff for sterilizing cheesemaking equipment, also good for sterilizing beermaking stuff). It dried out in the sun for an hour or so and then we hooked it up to the Johnson controls thermostat set at 45F ('cuz the darn thing needs to be set 10 degrees lower so it will cool the fridge to 55F). The stirred curd cheddar I made earlier this month is sitting in the cheese fridge now in its waxed glory. The next resident destined for the cave is the monterey jack cheese air drying on my kitchen counter on a cutting board and sushi mat. The brine for the manchego cheese is sitting in the cave coming down to 55F so it will be ready when the cheese is removed from the press..
To keep the mold beasties at bay, I'm going to keep the cheeses in individual plastic containers on their own little cheesy mats! That should also help with humidity control as fridges are notoriously dry environments. We will see if that works. I sincerely hope so. If not, I'm not sure what the next steps will be. Stay tuned for more cheesy adventures!
This time I cleaned out the fridge with warm soapy water and then sprayed every inch of it down with starsan ( I love that stuff for sterilizing cheesemaking equipment, also good for sterilizing beermaking stuff). It dried out in the sun for an hour or so and then we hooked it up to the Johnson controls thermostat set at 45F ('cuz the darn thing needs to be set 10 degrees lower so it will cool the fridge to 55F). The stirred curd cheddar I made earlier this month is sitting in the cheese fridge now in its waxed glory. The next resident destined for the cave is the monterey jack cheese air drying on my kitchen counter on a cutting board and sushi mat. The brine for the manchego cheese is sitting in the cave coming down to 55F so it will be ready when the cheese is removed from the press..
To keep the mold beasties at bay, I'm going to keep the cheeses in individual plastic containers on their own little cheesy mats! That should also help with humidity control as fridges are notoriously dry environments. We will see if that works. I sincerely hope so. If not, I'm not sure what the next steps will be. Stay tuned for more cheesy adventures!
Making Manchego Cheese Today
I decided to try making a manchego style cheese today. Michael likes manchego alot and it's pretty pricey so if I can put together something that works well that only costs $4/lb. instead of $20, I'll be ahead of the game.
The recipe I used is on the website http://www.cheeseforum.org I recommend this site to anyone looking for good tested recipes for many types of cheeses. Two years ago it really was a forum where folks met to discuss all topics cheesy, but now it's more a 'wiki' type information only site.
Right now the cheese is in the press for its final pressing at 33 lbs. The brine has been made up and once the cheese is removed from the press, it will be brined at 55F for 6 hours turning 2-3 times during that period. My cheese cave is ready and waiting! Also, my 10 cheese boxes arrived today (actually rubbermaid 7 cup containers that are stackable in the cave). This will hopefully mitigate mold on cheeses as they age.
The recipe I used is on the website http://www.cheeseforum.org I recommend this site to anyone looking for good tested recipes for many types of cheeses. Two years ago it really was a forum where folks met to discuss all topics cheesy, but now it's more a 'wiki' type information only site.
Right now the cheese is in the press for its final pressing at 33 lbs. The brine has been made up and once the cheese is removed from the press, it will be brined at 55F for 6 hours turning 2-3 times during that period. My cheese cave is ready and waiting! Also, my 10 cheese boxes arrived today (actually rubbermaid 7 cup containers that are stackable in the cave). This will hopefully mitigate mold on cheeses as they age.
What's In the Box? 8/31/2011
This week we will be receiving:
Cherry Tomatoes
Shady Lady Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Italian Large Leaf Basil
Summer Squash
Tomatillos
German Butterball OR Yellow Finn Potatoes
Red or Green Bell Peppers
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Strawberries OR Peaches OR Plums
Melon
The fruit will go to yogurt smoothies for breakfast, except the melon which will make great snacking throughout the week. I'm going to roast up those tomatillos with garlic and some tomatoes to make a salsa from Rick Bayless's website, http://www.rickbayless.com. The tomatoes will make a great Greek salad and a wonderful pasta dish with capers, garlic and anchovies (see Lidia Bastianich's website, http://www.lidiasitaly.com ) I think another potato gratin is in our future with lamb chops and summer squash. The hot peppers will be frozen for use during the year. The sweet peppers will be great with some sausage. Lastly those bell peppers will be roasted and frozen for later use - I put them in olive oil last year but they didn't last as long as I had hoped.
Cherry Tomatoes
Shady Lady Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Italian Large Leaf Basil
Summer Squash
Tomatillos
German Butterball OR Yellow Finn Potatoes
Red or Green Bell Peppers
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Strawberries OR Peaches OR Plums
Melon
The fruit will go to yogurt smoothies for breakfast, except the melon which will make great snacking throughout the week. I'm going to roast up those tomatillos with garlic and some tomatoes to make a salsa from Rick Bayless's website, http://www.rickbayless.com. The tomatoes will make a great Greek salad and a wonderful pasta dish with capers, garlic and anchovies (see Lidia Bastianich's website, http://www.lidiasitaly.com ) I think another potato gratin is in our future with lamb chops and summer squash. The hot peppers will be frozen for use during the year. The sweet peppers will be great with some sausage. Lastly those bell peppers will be roasted and frozen for later use - I put them in olive oil last year but they didn't last as long as I had hoped.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Today's Fun - Monterey Jack Cheese Making
Today I made a batch of monterey jack cheese with 1 gallon of milk (yield 1 lb of cheese) from a recipe on Gavin Webber's website/blog http://www.greeningofgavin.com His recipe differs substantially from Ricki Carroll's recipes in both her book and her website. I'm starting to accumulate cheese making recipes that I like and actually work for me. So far I've got a 30 min. mozzarella, feta, drunken cheese, and a stirred curd cheddar. I'd like to get a parmesan and a manchego working as well as the monterey jack. With those cheeses I'd be pretty happy (in addition to the ricotta salata, of course).
The jack cheese is in the press for its final 40 lb. 12 hour press before coming out and then air drying before waxing and then aging in the cheese cave(aka small fridge).
As always I tried to make ricotta with the whey from the cheese making and received a meager 1/3 cup for my troubles.
The jack cheese is in the press for its final 40 lb. 12 hour press before coming out and then air drying before waxing and then aging in the cheese cave(aka small fridge).
As always I tried to make ricotta with the whey from the cheese making and received a meager 1/3 cup for my troubles.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Lavender Ricotta Salata
I just finished rewrapping and putting a 2 lb. block of lavender ricotta salata into the cheese mold for its final 12 hour pressing. I made Ricki Carroll's recipe for ricotta salata from her book Home Cheesemaking. Instead of using regular cheese salt, I used 2 tablespoons of Eatwell Farm Lavender Salt. After the 12 hour press, Michael and I will cut the 2 lbs into 2 1 lb blocks, salt liberally with kosher salt, and age for a week - salting and turning the cheese daily. Then once, it has dried, I'll wrap in wax paper and hopefully 'age' them some more in the fridge.
Pears just came into season and I'm hoping to have pear and arugula salad with lavender ricotta salata this year.
Pears just came into season and I'm hoping to have pear and arugula salad with lavender ricotta salata this year.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Green Tomatillo Sauce
Tonight's dinner is chicken enchilada casserole with green tomatillo sauce. I make two layers poached, shredded chicken , shredded monterey jack cheese and green tomatillo sauce with 3 layers of corn tortillas in a 11 x 13 pan, top with more jack cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Serve with your favorite Mexican trimmings and/or a green salad. The green tomatillo sauce was made this morning from a tortilla casserole recipe in the Tassajara Recipe Book. Right now I'm poaching the chicken, it should be done shortly. After the chicken cools, I'll shred it and layer the casserole, ready for the oven tonight.
This is one of my favorite meals, it's some work but, you get 6 or more servings from one whole chicken and it tastes soooo good. Along with some homemade guacamole, you can't go wrong.
This is one of my favorite meals, it's some work but, you get 6 or more servings from one whole chicken and it tastes soooo good. Along with some homemade guacamole, you can't go wrong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)