Looking for a meal that pairs up Cheeses with wine, here’s what I put together for a Publix Aprons Cooking School demonstration class. There’s several fun parts of this class, enjoying the well prepared meal, excellent wines, fantastic cheeses and to top it off, we educate you on the cheeses, wines and how to prepare the recipes, and you don’t even have to think about doing the dishes!
Check out the menu, cheeses, wines and recipes!
Cheese, Wine & Dinner
Cheeseboard with Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio
Président Fat Free Feta Veggie Salad
Emmi Gruyere Onion Soup Au Gratin
Grilled Pear & Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Pork Chops with Parmesan Folio Crisp Bowl Mushroom Risotto
Crispy Apple & Beemster 18 Month Gouda Pastries
Course One – Artisan Cheeseboard with Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio
BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella with Olive Oil & Herbs
Emmi Le Gruyere
Beemster 18 Month & Apricot Spread
Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue & Honey
Course Two – Président Fat Free Feta Veggie Salad
Serves 6
8 oz Président Fat Free Feta
2 Medium Zucchinis
1/2 cup Vinaigrette
1 tbsp Parsley chopped fine
1 Red Pepper cut in strips
1 Small Bunch Radishes sliced
4 Green Onions sliced
1/2 cup Parsley Leaves
Slice zucchinis lengthwise, then slice into equal-sized pieces.
Steam until desired tenderness, set aside to cool.
Mix vinaigrette with chopped parsley and set aside.
Once zucchinis are cool, transfer into a large, shallow salad bowl and top with the red peppers, radishes, green onions, parsley leaves. Crumble the feta and sprinkle on top.
Drizzle with vinaigrette, serve, and enjoy!
Course Three – Emmi Le Gruyere Onion Soup au Gratin
Serves 8
1 1/2 Tbsp. Land O Lakes® Unsalted butter
3 cups combination of Vidalia onion, red spring onion and baby leeks, thinly sliced
1/2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. ground star anise
3 Tbsp. dry white wine or dry vermouth
7 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and black pepper, to taste
6 oz. French bread, thickly sliced, cut into chunks and oven-toasted
9 oz. Emmi Gruyere wedge, shredded
Melt Land O Lakes® butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Add sliced onions and leeks, garlic, bay leaf and star anise. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onions caramelize and brown, about 25 minutes.
Add wine; cook until evaporated. Add stock or broth and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf. For each serving, ladle 1 cup hot soup into ovenproof crock. Float 1 oz. oven-toasted croutons atop soup. Cover croutons with 1-1/2 oz. shredded Emmi Gruyere. Broil until cheese melts.
Course Four – Grilled Pear & Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Pork Chops
Serves 4
2 fresh Pears, cored, and cut into four quarters
2 cups water
½ Tbs salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup Dijon mustard (divided)
4 thin-cut, boneless pork chops
2 tsp olive oil
6 Tbs Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue, crumbled
In a zippered plastic food storage bag, combine water, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add pork chops and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Remove chops, discard marinade, and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Combine remaining mustard and olive oil in a small bowl and mix well. Brush over pear quarters, and pork chops. Grill chops and pears until pears are lightly charred and pork is done and browned on the outside and edges. Be sure pork is cooked through. The pears should take about 5 minutes, and the pork chops about 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on thickness and grill heat.
Place hot pork chops and pears on serving plates, and top with Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue crumbles.
Course Four – Parmesan Folios™ Crisp Bowl Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4
4 Parmesan Folios™
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup Arborio Rice
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 small Onion – chopped
1 Clove Garlic – minced
¼ cup Dry White Wine
8 oz. Fresh Crimini or Baby Bella Mushrooms - chopped
1 tbsp. Fresh Parsley – chopped
4 tbsp. Land O Lakes® unsalted Butter
¼ cup Grated Belgioioso® Parmesan
3 tbsp. Dried Porcini Mushrooms – diced
Pinch Salt and Pepper
Place Parmesan Folios™ on parchment paper and on a sheet pan in the oven at 3750 for about 6 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 seconds and then shape over a bowl or cup. Wrap must be shaped within 30 seconds after removing from the heat.
Heat the chicken broth in a medium sauce pan and add the diced Porcini mushrooms. Leave on low heat to steep. Put olive oil in a large heated skillet and add the onions, garlic, and Land O Lakes® unsalted Butter. Sauté until translucent (about 3 -5 minutes). Then, add the fresh chopped mushrooms and rice. Stir quickly and continuously for 2 minutes. Add the white wine and continue to stir until the rice mixture has absorbed the wine. Begin adding 1 ladle at a time of the warm Porcini chicken broth, stirring as you add. As soon as the broth is absorbed, add another ladle and continue until all of the broth is added. Remove the hot skillet from the stove and stir the remaining Land O Lakes® unsalted Butter and grated Belgioioso® Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Fill each Parmesan Folios™ bowl with ¼ of the finished Risotto until all 4 Folios™ are filled. Top each with chopped fresh parsley and serve.
Course Five – Crispy Apple & Beemster Classic 18 Month Gouda Pastries
Yield 6 large pastries (or 12 small)
18 (14 x 18-inch) sheets phyllo dough
1 ½ sticks Land O Lakes® unsalted butter, melted
6 Honeycrisp apples, cored and diced
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups (12 ounces) Beemster Classic 18 Month Gouda, shredded
Prepare the phyllo dough. Lightly grease 6-cavity jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray.
Heat oven to 375°F.
Place one piece of phyllo on work surface and gently brush it all over with melted Land O Lakes® unsalted butter. Place another sheet on top. Repeat until you’ve stacked 6 sheets of pastry.
Cut phyllo in half so you end up with two 7 x 9 inch pieces of phyllo. Gently press each piece into the cavity of the prepared muffin pan. Repeat process two more times to fill all 6 cavities of the pan.
Assemble the pastries.
In large bowl, toss apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together to combine. Place spoonful of apple mixture into the center of each pastry. Place 2 ounces shredded Beemster Classic 18 Month Gouda on top of apples. Spoon remaining apples over cheese in each pastry.
Fold excess phyllo dough over top of apples and separate pieces with your fingers to ruffle pastry a bit.
Finish. Bake pastries until they are deeply golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool inside pan 10 minutes. Run an offset spatula around the outside edge of each pastry and remove to a cooling rack. The pastries should be very crisp and should come out of the pan easily. Serve warm.
NOTE: You can make 12 smaller pastries by baking these in a regular muffin pan. Cut the dough in quarters (so you end up with four 3 ½ x 4 ½ inch pieces of phyllo). Use 1-ounce Beemster 18 Month Gouda per pastry and bake 12-17 minutes.