Bruschetta alla Caprese

Continuing to build the entertaining repertoire. Amy and I fed the Elders and some friends a few days ago. She wanted Italian, and we both wanted to create a menu that, though plentiful, would create the impression of lightness and coolness. We didn't want anyone sweating over soup or slogging down fettucine alfredo-- our house can get quite warm and muggy on summer nights, especially when it's full of people, which it so often is. Amy made some turkey-vegetable skewers, and I made a dish I remembered eating at restaurants, a bruschetta (toast) topped with a cut caprese (tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad). I thought it turned out quite tasty and sophisticated, and it got eaten quickly. For dessert I made the lemon curd and berry pavlova that I made for Mother's Day, and people seemed to really enjoy the looks and flavor of that too.

Brushcetta alla Caprese

Topping
somewhere around 2 c chopped (into 1/2 inch dice) well-flavored roma tomatoes
about 8 oz fresh mozzarella (not low-moisture pizza cheese), in 1/2 inch dice
a handful of fresh basil, shredded with scissors
1 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Blend topping ingredients and season to taste. Refrigerate about 2 hours. Before serving, drain of excess moisture.

Toasts
a long, thinnish crusty Italian-style white loaf, cut into 1/2 inch slices
garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half, as needed
extra-virgin olive oil

Broil the bread until it is crisp on both sides. Rub one side of each piece of toast with cut garlic. Sprinkle with olive oil. I think guests should be allowed to spoon on their own caprese topping, so that the toasts don't get soggy.

Grandma's Baked Philly Pie

Cream:
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla

Add and blend:
2 eggs

In 1 cup of the above batter, stir in:
1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/2 t cinnamon
dash cloves, nutmeg

Layer batters in a 9" graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Grandma's Cream Cheese Pie

I think I need to ask Mom some questions about this one.

9" Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 OR 1 c crumbs
6 OR 4 T melted butter
1/4 c OR 3 T powdered sugar
1 OR 1/2 t cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 c sugar
lemon flavoring
8 oz Cool Whip

Mix. Chill.

Topping:
3 T cornstarch
1 pkg unflavored gelatin
1/4-1/3 c sugar
1 3/4 c fruit juice
dash salt
dash citric acid

Cheese Bread or Rolls

2 3/4 c scalded milk
4 1/2 c grated cheese
4 1/2 T sugar
3 t salt
3 T butter
2 T yeast
1/4 c warm water
9 c flour

Melt cheese in hot milk, along with sugar, salt, and butter. When lukewarm, mix in yeast proofed in water. Proceed as usual for bread or rolls.

Cheese Review: Mimolette

Mimolette is a beautiful cheese, the color of poppies, with an aroma like dried apricots and dates and citrus. The flavor is slightly sweet and deeply cheesy and savory, like a cheddar grown old and slightly world-weary after a life of indulgence. It is a hard cheese, but not granular; it has a solid chew and certain presence. Its rind, which looks like crusted dirt shaken loose, has the flavor of honey with little of its sweetness. I found this distinct and fascinating, but I am no great lover of the flavor of honey.

It turns out upon research that a defining feature of mimolette is the introduction of cheese mites, which burrow into the surface of the cheese and manufacture the unique rind from their detritus. This was a disturbing thing to learn having already consumed the cheese, and I worried for days about the introduction of cheese mites, which are otherwise pestilent, into my fridge, until convincing myself that there were certainly no live cheese mites in my sample, and that mimolette is put on cheese plates all the time.

That scare past, I remember this cheese with fondness, and recommend it to you.

Brie-Korean Pear Sandwich

Here in Rochester we have a little cafe called Open Face. I've never been there, although I hear it's charming. It seems strange to consider that I don't even quite know where it is, considering I've had countless of their sandwiches. They are the favorite caterers for the MD/PhD program I'm in-- we have their sandwiches for our Friday Scientific Reasoning in Medicine sessions. Almost all of their sandwiches are delightful. Last year I always got the pepper turkey, maple turkey, chick pea, or black bean. This year I've ventured into genoa salami and brie/pear, always with a side of baguette chips and Orangina. The brie/pear sandwich is somewhat of a trademark of theirs. They assemble it in very narrow baguettes, one side spread with aprioct preserves. They're a lot more savory than they sound and a whole new taste sensation. I've replicated the sandwich at home, variously with brie or camembert, all sorts of pears (thought my favorite is Asian pear-- crisp! delicious!) and peach preserves (what I have on hand).

Brie-Korean Pear Sandwich

long, thin fresh baguette
brie cheese
peach jam/preserves
Asian pear

Cut baguette in 4 inch pieces, and slice in half. Spread bottom with a bit of peach jam. Cover with 1/2 cm thick "slices" of brie. Top that with thin slices of crisp pear. Put lid on sandwich. Yum.