Jane DoeWhat’s better than cheese….? MORE CHEESE! If you have a close personal relationship with that dairy product in your life, then there is nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing better than biting into something cheesy and then feeling like everything in life is wonderful.
However, let’s get real for a minute. Even though cheese in its entirety is life itself, just imagine how great it will be when you elevate the cheesy goodness to epiphanic levels. These five recipes aim to achieve just that! So let’s get cheesy!
1. Grilled Cheese Sandwich
(If you think this is your everyday grilled cheese sandwich, then you are mistaken. This sandwich can make grown men weep tears of joy. So do not underestimate the power of The Grilled Cheese Sandwich.)
You need:
- 3 slices thick-cut bread
- 50g butter
- 4 slices of bacon
- 50g mushrooms. Sliced
- 2 slices of any 4 types of cheese of your choice (Cheddar, Gouda, Mozzarella)
- 2 slices of tomato
- Béchamel sauce (flour, butter, milk)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
(You can leave the bacon out of the sandwich and keep it vegetarian. Add as many types of cheese as you want)
- Start on your Béchamel sauce by melting 50g of butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour quickly, into the melted butter to avoid lumps from forming. Take the mixture off the heat and pour in a quarter cup of milk and keep mixing till it’s the consistency of mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper and keep it in a warm place.
- In a pan, add some oil and fry the bacon till cooked.
- Remove the bacon, and cook the sliced mushrooms with your desired seasoning (oregano, salt, pepper) till they are soft.
- Melt some butter in the pan with a little olive oil and place your three slices of bread in the melted butter. Flip the bread when slightly brown and slather on the béchamel sauce on the surface of the bread.
- On one slice of bread, place one slice of each of the chosen cheeses and then top with mushrooms.
- Place the second slice of bread with the béchamel sauce side facing downwards onto the mushroom. Place the remaining cheese on this slice of bread and top with bacon and tomato slices.
- Finally, top with the third slice of bread and hold the sandwich together with a steak knife or a very large skewer.
(It’s okay if the sandwich collapses as this does not make it any less delicious.)
2. Cheesecakelets
You need:
- 2 cups strawberries, quartered
- ½ tsp Balsamic vinegar
- 2 ½ tbsp sugar
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/3 cup flour
Method:
- Place strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and ½ tsp sugar. Stir and keep aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and add the vanilla, cottage cheese and flour.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and fold into the cottage cheese mixture.
- Heat a non stick pan and dollop each Cheesecakelet, 3-4 inches in diameter. Cook for a minute on each side.
- Place on a plate and top with the strawberry mixture!
3. Cheesy Lava Muffins
You need:
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups grated cheese
- 6 cheese cubes
- 1 cup yogurt
- Parsley, chopped
- ½ cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200’c.
- In bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl stir in cheese, yogurt, butter and eggs and parsley. Add this mixture to dry ingredients and fold in.
- Fill greased muffin tin halfway with batter and add half a cube of cheese in the centre of the batter. Add remaining batter.
- Bake at 200’c for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown)
(Makes 12 small muffins or 6 large muffins)
4. Mascarpone Brownies
You need:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 100 g butter
- ½ mascarpone cheese
- ½ cup cocoa
- 100 g chocolate, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180’c.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Whisk in each egg, mixing well. Fold in the mascarpone cheese along with the vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to this mascarpone mixture and stir in the chocolate pieces.
- Place in a greased brownie tin and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through.
- Serve warm with a mountain of vanilla ice-cream!
5. Chocolate Cappuccino Cheesecake
(I cannot write about cheese and not include a Cheesecake Recipe. This is for the coffee lovers out there!)
You need:
- 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
- 100g butter
- 250g cream cheese
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 100g of chocolate, melted
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup of hot water with 2 tbsps of coffee, dissolved
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180’c.
- To make the crust, mix together the cookie crumbs and butter and place in a 10 inch spring form pan, patting gently to make the crust one uniform layer.
- Place the crust in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cream cheese, cream, melted chocolate, coffee, salt and vanilla extract.
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl along with the sugar and add this to the cream cheese mixture and stir well.
- Remove the crust from the refrigerator and place the cheese mixture on top of the pie crust, spreading evenly.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until it is cooked with a slight wobble in the centre.
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