Chèvre (Homemade Goat Cheese)

Chèvre is the French word for goat so it is used to describe any cheese made from goat's milk. Next to paneer it is one of the easiest cheeses to make. Chèvre cheeses come in a variety of sizes and shapes including cones, cylinders, discs, and hearts. It takes the shape of whatever mold you put it in. 

 It can be mild or tangy.  Most of that depends on the quality and taste of the goat milk is to start. We keep a good check on our goat's milk and people have often said they cannot tell the difference between it and cow's milk. If you taste your milk plain and it tastes "goaty", your cheese is going to also.  Some people like that.  We do not.   I use a dry culture from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

Chèvre

1gallon goat's milk  (not ultra high pasteurized*)
1 packet dry chevre culture

 Heat a gallon of goat's milk to 86 degrees

Add one packet of Chèvre starter, mix well.  Let set in the pot with a lid on for 12 hours, at room temperature (at least 72F). ** I tipped the pot here so you can see the separation of the whey.

Gently ladle the curds into a mold in the shape of your choice or dump into a cheesecloth lined colander. The one I am using here is the Crottin (2-1/2"x4-3/4") and has small holes on the sides and bottom to allow for draining.  If you are using a cheesecloth you will need to tie and hang up to drain. 

Allow to drain for 6-12 hours, at room temperature.  I forgot and put mine in the refrigerator and it was just fine.

The longer it drains the drier it will be.  Just check in on it every few hours. This is how much it shrunk in 12 hours. If you use cheesecloth  that one will be drier I believe than the one in my mold since it has more places for liquid to escape.

Wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator.   I hear it can be frozen.  I have not done that myself but will here to use up milk.  I will let you know how it works out. This batch made two logs approximately 11 ounces in weight.  Will vary by goat milk and how long you drain it.

Slice and serve with honey, jam, or fresh pesto and crackers. I will be trying this soon in other recipes and will be sure to share any successes.

*The proteins in ultra high pasteurized milk have lost their ability to set into curds.

** By mistake I let it set for 24 hrs before draining in the fridge.  I found it made more curds that were more moist and less tangy the the original version. It is the same amount of time spent at room temperature but the difference is whether it is in the whey or not.  Please ask me questions if you have any.

Pin it:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/273593746085836972/

Cheater's Guacamole

I love guacamole but don't always have the time to chop or want to make a mess.  This is a quick and easy way to cheat your way to guacamole!

Cheater's Guacamole

1 ripe avocado
salsa
sour cream

Mash avocado in small bowl, add about 2 Tablespoons or so of drained salsa and 1-2 Tablespoons of sour cream.

Mix and enjoy without all the chopping and mess!! 

Raspberry Bites

Raspberry Bites

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
6 oz fresh raspberries
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract.


DIRECTIONS




Heat oven to 400°F.  On lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry with rolling pin into 12-inch square. Cut square into 6 rows by 6 rows to make 36 squares. On ungreased cookie sheet, place squares 1/2 inch apart.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.  If you need to make the puff pastry squares a day or two ahead of time. Store at room temperature, lightly covered.
 
Reserve 36 of the smallest raspberries. In small bowl, mash remaining raspberries with fork. In medium bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar (reserving 2 teaspoons of the powdered sugar) and the almond extract with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold mashed raspberries into whipped cream. 
 
Split each puff pastry square into 2 layers. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the whipped cream mixture on bottom layers; replace tops. Top each square with tiny dollop whipped cream mixture.  Top with raspberry. Squares can be refrigerated up to 2 hours at this point. Any longer and they will start to get mushy.  Just before serving, place reserved powdered sugar in small fine-mesh strainer, and sift over tops of squares.
 
So cute and so yummy! I am sure you could do this with other fruits.

Strawberries and Cream Mini Muffins

Strawberries and Cream Mini Muffins

1 cup strawberries, diced

1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 ounces low fat cream cheese

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add baking cups to mini muffin tins. Put strawberries in small bowl, toss with lemon juice.

 In medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder.

In another small bowl whisk together oil, cream cheese, orange juice, vanilla, and egg.

Pour over dry ingredients, stirring just until combined with a spoon or spoonula. (If you don't switch you'll be digging the batter out of the whisk.)

  Fold in strawberries.

Scoop into mini muffin tins (I use small cookie scoop.) Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in the tins on a cooling rack for 5 mins. Take out the muffins and continue to cool. If serving right away, let them set for 5 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar. If serving later wait until you are ready to serve to dust.

Veggie Pizza Cups

Veggie Pizza Cups

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
salt and pepper to taste
1 can crescent rolls (they make one with no seams but it's not light)
Various veggies and favorite toppings

Roll out crescent roll dough, press seams together if that is the type you purchased. Cut into 24 even squares.  Press lightly onto back of mini muffin tin. Make it look like a checker board leaving blanks in between or they will puff up and stick to each other.

Bake according to directions, maybe a little less. When they are golden brown they are done. Take them off and put them on a cooling rack. 

Mix rest of ingredients together. Taste and add more or less spices as you like it. You could also use some premixed Ranch dressing dry packets. Use disposable decorating bag and star tip and fill each one. Quick and easy!

Have a relish tray full of diced carrots, green peppers, tomatoes, bacon bits, cheese, green onions, whatever veggiess you like for guests to assemble their own. They are easy to pick up and eat and everyone can have the type of veggie pizza they like without having to pick off the stuff they don't!

Ice Cream Cone Cake Ball Pops

What a fun twist on the cake pop.  They look like ice cream but hide a yummy cake secret inside!!

Ice Cream Cone Cake Ball Pops

1 box cake mix and ingredients to make cake
1 container ready made frosting
1 package almond bark
Frosting color (I prefer Wilton jarred) 
Sugar cones
Chocolate chips
Sprinkles

Bake cake according to directions and let cool.  

After it is completely cooled, crumble the cake into a large mixing bowl. 

Add 3/4 of the frosting to the cake mix and mix until thoroughly combined.  They should be sticky enough to form balls but not coat your hands when pressed together.

Roll into 1-1/2 inch balls, cover with plastic wrap, and cool for several hours in the refrigerator.

Cut the tops off of the sugar cones so that the hole is about 1-1/4 inches.

Use lollipop stick, meat thermometer, or skewer to hold the pop.  Coat with melted almond bark.  I tinted mine pink.

Press into top of ice cream cone.  Don't worry about drips, they just add to the effect.  Place into drying rack or styrofoam block to set up.

 Drizzle melted chocolate chips over top for 'hot fudge.'

 Sprinkle right away before chocolate sets up.

For the dropped cone look:  Press the dipped cake ball into cone and tip upside down and place on waxed paper.

Have fun!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound whole mushrooms (white or baby portabellos are fine)

1/2 cup cooked bacon

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup bread crumbs

dash oregano

dash parsley

dash basil

dash salt

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Clean mushrooms, remove stems from mushrooms, chop stems and set aside. Arrange mushrooms, bottoms up in a baking dish. In medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together chopped mushroom stems, bacon, garlic and bread crumbs. Slowly cook and stir 5 to 7 minutes, or until bread crumbs start to brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Mix cream cheese and parmesan cheese into mushroom stem mixture.

 Stuff into mushroom caps.

Stuff into mushroom caps. Bake stuffed mushrooms in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until stuffing is lightly browned.

Chili Con Queso Dip

Chili Con Queso Dip

1 pound Velveeta
4 ounces sour cream
1 cup salsa


Melt cheese in double boiler or microwave, stirring often. Add sour cream and salsa and stir thoroughly. Briefly reheat to serving temperature. Serve with tortilla chips. Add milk as needed to keep from getting too thick.

Layered Taco Dip

Layered Taco Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces taco sauce (or picante)
shredded lettuce
chopped or diced tomato
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1 bag tortilla chips


Blend cream cheese and sour cream until smooh. Spread into bottom of 9x13 dish. Layer taco sauce over sour cream, then lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips. You can make the cream cheese mixture ahead but do not add the other parts until the party as the lettuce and cheese will get soggy.