Cheese Ball and Crackers

Cheese Fondue

8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated
8 oz Muenster cheese, coarsely grated
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

In a bowl or large plastic bag, combine the cheeses and and toss with the cornstarch to coat.

In a large, heavy skillet, bring the apple juice/cider and garlic to a simmer over medium-low heat.  Add the cheese a little at a time, stirring well (to prevent clumping) until melted.  Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Continue stirring until smooth (about 3-5 minutes).  Set the pot over a candle and serve with the following:

boiled potatoes (canned will do in a hurry)
steamed broccoli florets
steamed cauliflower florets
toasted sourdough bread
pepperoni


Update:
If you don't have apple cider, just use 1 cup of apple juice. Sometimes it's nice to get a bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. Then you use 1/4 cup in the fondue and drink the rest at dinner.

Way better potatoes:
Roasted Lemon Pepper Potatoes
Syracuse Salt Potatoes

Rather than steam the broccoli and cauliflower, it is much easier to buy a bag of California Style Frozen Veggies and microwave them.  They are larger and hold up better dipped in cheese. And it's just easier.

Our favorite meat right now is Genoa Sausage.

Amanda's Cheddar Cheese Ball

1/2 lb grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup mayonaisse

1/8 teaspoon onion salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, plus enough to roll and cover the cheese ball.

Put all ingredients (except the nuts to roll the cheese ball in) in food processor, process until well combined.  (Amanda actually mixes this by hand, wearing plastic gloves to keep clean.)  Put nuts to roll the ball in a pie plate.  Pile the cheese mixture on top of the nuts (in as close to ball shape as you can get it).  Bring the nuts up the sides and on top as best you can, then pick up the ball and roll it around in the nuts to cover completely.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Zucchini Tomato Dish

1 young, tender zucchini, diced

1 tomato, diced

fat of your choice (I like bacon grease)

salt (I like Kosher)

pepper

Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Spread*

Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add zucchini and tomato to the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook until tender (about five minutes), stirring occasionally.  Pour into serving bowl and crumble Lemon Pepper Ricotta Spread over top.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

*Homemade Ricotta

Homemade Ricotta

2 cups whole milk

1 cup cream
(or 2 cups half and half and 1 cup whole milk)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream, and salt into a 4-cup glass liquid measuring cup.  Microwave until it comes to a full boil--it will get all foamy on top.  Mine took 7 1/2 minutes to come to a full boil, stopping occasionally to stir.  (Warning!  If you just set the timer for 7 minutes you might end up with an explosion in your microwave!  And it's no fun to clean up, so stop occasionally to stir--and maybe cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a paper towel or something.)  Then stir in the lemon juice and let it sit for 1 minute while the curds and whey separate  (If the curdling seems weak, try adding some more lemon juice.).  Place a strainer over a large bowl and line with paper towels.  Gently transfer curds to strainer and let drain for twenty-five minutes.

And you have 1 cup of ricotta cheese!  Now, what to do with it?  If you doubled the recipe, you could try Lasagna Florentine. Or you could try Roasted Figs with Fresh Ricotta.  After looking around at what I had on hand, I added about a Tablespoon of honey, a Tablespoon of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of lemon zest.  Gave it a good stir and scooped some into a bowl.  Then topped that with some berries and a drizzle of warm honey.  Delish!  

Try making  Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Spread and combining that with this Zucchini Tomato Dish.