Cheese Straws!

Right before Christmas, I discovered a cookbook,  The New Best Recipe Book from the editors of Cooks Illustrated, that had been sitting on my shelf forever with no attention being given to the amazing recipes inside.  Lesson learned.  I made the best gingerbread cookies over the holiday, and thought to myself, "What else is in there?".  So, being the cheese head I am, I looked in the index under "cheese" and found "cheese straws."  "Hooray!"  I thought.  I'd just made some pretty decent collard greens for New Years, and was pretty sure I was successfully channeling my inner southern belle.  Cheese straws being a very traditional southern food would be a perfect next project, right y'all?  Well, being from Michigan with New England parents and living in California, you could safely assume that southern belle is a bit of a stretch for me.  Good thing the recipe was a super easy, non-Southern version, or I would have had to de-camp to Savannah (a bit of a fantasy of mine, but that's for another time...).

Anyway, the version I made was super easy - anyone can do it, even people who don't know where the Mason Dixon Line is.  Ready?
-One sheet of puff pastry, partially thawed.  Place it, unfolded, on a sheet of parchment paper.
-1/2 cup of shredded cheese (the recipe calls for Parmigiano Reggiano, but you could absolutely use Aged Gouda, Sharp Cheddar, or any drier/more aged cheese) sprinkled on top of the sheet of puff pastry with a little salt and pepper. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to press the cheese into the pastry.
-Flip the whole thing over and repeat with another 1/2 cup of cheese and roll to press in.
-Slice into even strips with a pizza cutter or whatever
-Make into twists and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through for beautiful, puffed "straws."

So, as I was researching this post, I found this amazing web site.  Hoppin' John has spent A LOT of time researching the history of cheese straws.  Turns out, the recipe I just shared with you is not officially a cheese "straw," but more of a cheese "finger."  And Hoppin' John, while complimentary about the fingers, refuses to admit them to the lexicon of Southern cheese straws.  I will not even begin to share with you the knowledge on his site, but I will tell you that real cheese straws are basically flour, fat, cheese, and a bit of spice - cayannne, etc.  More like a savory shortbread cookie than a cracker.  Think about it - it is HOT in the South, and until recently, cheese wasn't really something that was made there.  A great way to preserve cheese there was to bake it!  Puff pastry just won't hold up in humid, hot weather.  The first Southern cheese straw recipe seems to have surfaced in 1861, and they haven't gone away since.  And did I mention that they're delicious?  Crunchy and flaky, with a rich cheese flavor that comes from a cup+ of cheese, and the intensifying magic of the oven.  The addition of spice, either plenty of black pepper or cayanne, adds great depth of flavor.  Tastes great with Cabernet.  Give it a try!

Cheese - You Can Bank On It!

The economy has been on everyone's minds for a long while now, and far be it from me to ignore such a trend. In Italy, the Parmigiano-Reggiano makers have a creative way of raising money for general operating expenses on their diaries and other production expenses. They use aging rounds of their national treasure as collateral for bank loans! According to MSNBC, a wheel of this hard salty goodness is worth up to 300 euros, and a cheesemaker might put up as many as 2,000 of the 7,000 wheels they make each year (600,000 euros), and the bank would give them a cash loan for 60-70% of the value (420,000 euros). Not a bad deal, especially in difficult economic times. When the loan is due to expire (when the cheese is fully aged and ready for sale), the cheesemaker can either repay the loan, or allow the bank to sell the cheese at market prices. Considering the two year delay, a lot can happen to the price of cheese (commodity prices being what they are), and the 30-40% taken by the bank doesn't seem that high when you consider the risk they are taking (though I think it still seems a bit high). The BBC report says there is only 3% interest + a fee, which seems much more reasonable. I guess we'll have to travel to Italy and check it out for ourselves to clarify!

This isn't a new financial arrangement. Apparently, the Italians have been doing this since right after WWII. It's extremely organized, and banks even have in-house cheese watchers to take care of the collateralized wheels of cheese in environmentally controlled vaults especially built for cheese aging. They even check the wheels during the aging process to ensure that they are properly developing (they aren't worth as much if they have air holes in them).

Cheese deposits are up 10% during the current recession. Yet another indicator to watch as we look for signs of light at the end of the financial tunnel. In the meantime, grate a little Parmesean on your pasta and don't panic! There's more where that came from, and its tucked up safely in a bank vault.

For All You Dog Lovers...

This is Philby. He is a VERY spoiled greyhound (as you can see from the fact that he has managed to take over the entire couch and ALL the pillows). He loves all kinds of treats, and will stand behind you in the kitchen hoping that you will accidentally trip over him and fall backward holding a steak.

Because he is so cute, however, I just don't mind (except when he is making a pest of himself at dinner parties). In fact, I tend to encourage it with new stuffed toys and left over pieces of chicken skin.

Yesterday, however, I entered a whole new world of pet pampering when I discovered a new reason to go to the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Cheese Rinds! Most dogs love cheese, but don't tend to be that discerning about whether they get Velveeta or artisinal cheddar. I have given Philby more than one pill buried in a slice of pasteurized processed cheese food. The problem with giving dogs cheese snacks to regularly is that it tends to do weird things to their tummies, and the snack lasts for all of 2 seconds and then they are begging for more. Not so with rinds of Parmigiano Reggiano! These rinds (also delicious thrown into minestrone soup) are the perfect dog treat. They are tough but tasty. Plenty of cheese still left on the rind, and since the rind is really just extra hard cheese, it's all natural! More like a rawhide chew than a cheese nip. Philby loves them, and so do I. I think it took him a whole 10 minutes to chew through it, and when he came back, I have never seen him look so happy! I picked up a whole sack of these rinds at the Cheese Store. People don't tend to want them (they don't grate up very well), so they are kind of like left-over bones at the butcher counter.

I don't know if you can pick these up at other cheese stores - I haven't asked - but you should!

Here's to happy cheese dreams - for you and your dog.