cheese blog

Who am I? I am Squeak! The mouse who appreciates the finest of foods scavenged from the kitchens of fat cats (that means you, Garfield) and 4-star chefs. I have spent a lifetime searching out the most mouth watering morsels to be able to present to you Cheese Reviews, Cheese Recipes, and Questions About Cheese.

Thursday
18Feb2010

Paneer

Where there are cows or goats, there will be cheese. All this time writing about cheeses from France and Italy and I had completely forgotten about India and Persia and the wonderful cheese called Panee

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Wednesday
17Feb2010

Beef and Sausage Lasagna

Cheese Lovers, remember when I called for you to send me your best Lasagna Recipes EVER? Well it seems like someone was listening, the mice and I got a wonderful recipe in our mailbox just yesterday, I read it aloud and had everyone drooling, the name alone says it all: BEEF AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA.

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Tuesday
16Feb2010

Cheesy Bread

I wanted to offer my favorite cheese lovers a recipe today that was pizza like, but not quite pizza. As we know from the many version of cheese with bread, a delicious pizza comes in many forms. Today I am talking about a Georgian delicacy called "khachapuri".

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Thursday
11Feb2010

Best Lasagna Recipes

Best Lasagna Recipe EVER? Do you know where to find one? I have my favorites, the cheesiest and the meatiest, but I want to know which ones you guys like. I am posting a good ol' fave today from The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond because it is EASY and has a lot of EASY to find ingredients. You will have to consult her blog for the how to - complete with photos!

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Wednesday
10Feb2010

Cheese Fries

If you are anything like me, every once in a long while there is a craving that cannot be cured by anything else but CHEESE FRIES. And not just any cheese fries will do, they must be the ultimate cheese fries. There are a lot of ingredients in the recipe below but I guarantee the tasty factor to be very high once you are done assembling this *snack*.

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Tuesday
09Feb2010

Cheese from Spain!

Home to the tapa, Spain is also home of Cabrales, Manchego, Roncal and Zamorano cheeses. Each cheese with a lovely different character. My favorite of the moment is the Cabrales, a blue cheese from the mountains of Asturia. The caves naturally carved into the sides of the mountains hold a special culture of mold and bacteria that gives the Cabrales a spicy taste that hits you right on the back of you tongue. Cabrales is the cheese most often used in making the delicious cheese croquettes I spoke of yesterday.

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Monday
08Feb2010

Spanish Cheese Croquettes

Cheese Lovers! Tapas are really popular right now - My Spanish cousins are raving about the different small plates you can get at these tapas restaurants. Well, you know me, I like to make my own whenever possible. Here is my secret recipe for Spanish Cheese Croquettes, it has that tasty blue cheese - Cabrales. MMMMMM.

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Sunday
07Feb2010

Cheese Trays from Amazon

Making a cheese plate, like making a cheese souffle, would be another awesome thing to do for your special someone on Valentines day. If you are a lone ranger though, invite some friends over and impress them with a fancy cheese platter. I have picked out a my favorite cheese boards from Amazon.com and below you will find photos and description of each one!

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Saturday
06Feb2010

Parmesean Cheese Souffle

Cheese Souffle could be a great Valentines Dish for your sweetheart, I am thinking about making it for my mousette when the lovey dovey day comes around. Sometimes, people talk about Souffle like its a big scary task, but I assure you, once you tried it once you can do most anything! I love this recipe below, because the star is the Parmigiano!

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Friday
05Feb2010

Cheese Omelet Diet Recipe

Cheese Lovers, So many of you write to me asking silly questions about nutrition - I am only a mouse, a fatter one at that who will eat most things put in front of me. I know VERY little about calories and fat grams. I do know a few simple rules to live by when trying to cut back on the excess though, and cheese is a harder thing to cut back on - believe me, I know first hand.

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Thursday
04Feb2010

Roquefort Cheese Dressing

Following up my article about the Tariffs on Roquefort yesterday, I wanted to celebrate by making a blue cheese dressing. Here is a very simple recipe for it, any blue cheese can be used, but Roquefort is may favorite for this one. I would cut up some hearty, crispy lettuce like hearts of romaine or butter lettuce heads and just DUMP this dressing on top. YUM.

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Wednesday
03Feb2010

Tariffs on cheese

Basically cheese lovers, a tariff is a tax enforced when something is imported or exported. Things like chocolate, water, oil, meat and yep, cheese are taxed. A while back, U.S. President Bush hiked up the taxes on Roquefort Cheese from France. His reasoning was questionable, something regarding their tariff hike on beef from the USA and its use of hormones, regardless (I am a mouse, not a political analyst) the following President - Barack Obama, dropped the tariffs on the cheese.

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Tuesday
02Feb2010

Munster or Muenster? 

Munster or Muenster? Cheese Monsters... which one is it? Most likely you have seen ONE of these cheeses in a deli case - especially in America. The cheese it gets its name and style from is Munster. The name munster may come from the little town of Munster, where, among Vosgian abbeys and monasteries, the cheese was conserved and matured in monk's cellars. It may also refer to the Latin word for Monastery, monasterium. The original Munster cheese is soft and ripened, and pungent in flavor. American Deli version is closer to a soft Jack Cheese in texture and flavor, and almost always a processed cheese instead of a natural cheese. It can be substituted for with Jack Cheese.

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Monday
01Feb2010

Low Calorie Cheeses

Calorie counting. Cheese lovers I can't say I take part in this regularly, its not really my thing. BUT a friend has written with with a question:

"I am on a diet, and I am trying to count calories, but I really miss cheese - Squeak can you help me find some lower calorie options?"

Well, friend, the key to all diets is moderation, and the same is with cheese. While there are low calorie cheeses made, I don't believe in them. I would take a smaller nugget of really flavorful cheese over a lot of tasteless cheese. Some cheeses are lower in calories without sacarficing flavor. Fresh Mozzarella for one, especially if you make it at home like I taught you here. Its only 60 cal/1 oz. and thats not bad. Also, it seems like fresh cheese are generally calorie affordable - fresh goats cheese is just 80cal/oz and 1 oz in an omelette is ENOUGH, especially when bulked up with veggies.

As with all diets, making sure you are not chowing down on 10 servings is the best - measure your cheese! A secret flavorful addition for the cheese starved is the pungent Parmigiano Regiano - just a sprinkle, a tablespoon is full of flavor. Sprinkle it on steamed broccoli to help the green stuff go down faster.

So though I can't recommend any "low calorie" cheeses, I think the best way to get the cheese in your diet when on a diet is moderation + flavor = happiness.

Sunday
31Jan2010

How To: Making Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella has been made in homes across Italy for centuries, because of its easy production, and that it is not aged - just eaten fresh! Traditionally it was made from the milk of the water buffalo, that is why you see a traditional version called "di bufala".

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