Family Cooking Tips

Archive for August, 2009

Wine and cheese is like a marriage made in heaven. A good, full-flavoured cheese is certainly a perfect companion for a decent wine. You are able to buy a wine and cheese gift ready made up as a basket, however, wouldn’t it be a nice thought to select some cheese to match the wine present you have chosen for that special wine connaisseur of yours?

Well, there are some proved criterions for finding the exact cheese for your wine. Wine and cheese together have been consumed over the centuries. It is said that the Ancient Greek have appreciated cheese with wine together, in fact, they grated it straight into their glasses. Anyway, I doubt that feta infused retsina would meet today’s taste. Therefore, wine lovers and gourmets alike can look back on hundreds of years of experience.

When it comes to wine and cheese, it is Port and Stilton what probably springs into people’s mind. Port is a sweet dessert wine, produced in Portugal’s Duoro Valley. The delightful Port is the ideal partner for the strong and salty Stilton, which is a blue cheese. They both go so well together, that you can find various recipes about it. You will discover Port and Stilton sauces, Port and Stilton pâtés and even Kettle Chips produced Port and Stilton potato chips at one time in the UK.

Dubliner, a cheese from Ireland and Cabecou Feuille, a cheese from the Midi-Pyrenees region of France are both an ideal match for Shiraz. Their nutty flavours complement the wine in a perfect way.

Merlot calls for creamy, washed rind white cheeses such as Mozzarella. Buffalo Mozzarella would even be a better choice, or select a Pont L’Eveque.

Anyway, we could clearly continue listing specific examples. Still, what are the general rules for creating a perfect wine and cheese gift?

Soft cheeses like cottage cheese and Ricotta keep more of their moisture than harder cheeses, which have a greater whey content. They are best teamed with light white or rosé wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir.

Blue cheeses with their sharp and tangy flavour love to be accompanied by a red dessert wine. We have referred to Port and Stilton so far. However, you may well try this with a red Zinfandel or a Cabernet Sauvignon.

A Munster or a Monterey Jack, which are part of the semi-soft cheese family will go best with a fruity white wine like Riesling or a Chenin Blanc.

For a hard cheese such as Provolone or the various Swiss cheeses pick a crisp white wine like a Pinot Grigio and for extra hard grating cheese, like Parmesan or Romano, select a full bodied red wine. For Italien food lovers, Parmesan and Chianti would be the ultimate gift. Even so, this wine and cheese gift might not be the optimal choice, since the Parmesan requires cold storage contrary to the Chianti, which has to be served at room temperature.

With a basic knowledge of these rules and some creativity, picking the perfect wine and cheese gift should be an easy task.

Do you enjoy cooking from scratch…. But sometimes a shortcut would really be helpful. Here you will find a huge selection of recipes that use the ever popular Bisquick baking mix. No need to drag out the baking soda or baking powder or flour; you get all that with Bisquick.

Included are the many “impossible” recipes that are featured by Bisquick as well as so many other popular dishes. Try a few of these selections at your next pot luck and you will be the most popular cook around and certainly in great demand for the next pot luck. Using Bisquick mix you will certainly find a multitude of recipes that you will wish to try and share with family and friends. Here are some Bisquick Recipes that you can use using Bisquick;

• Quick Barbecue Beef Bake
• Kfc Buttermilk Biscuits
• Long John Silver’s fish batter
• Apple-Ginger Scones
• Bisquick Coffee Cake
• Beer – Cheese Bits
• Bisquick Apricot-Glazed Pound Cake
• California Cheeseburger Pie
• Firehouse Quiche
• Butter Chunk Cinnamon Rolls (Bisquick)
• Red Lobster Cheese Rolls

Easy to make Bisquick Recipes

Impossible Bacon Breakfast Pie (Quiche)
Categories: Pies, Cheese/eggs, Breakfast
Yield: 4 servings
1 lb Bacon 1 c Bisquick
1 cn Green Chili (chopped) 6 oz Sour cream
1 c Grated cheese (Jack) 3 Eggs
1 1/2 c Milk 1 Salt & Pepper to taste
Brown, drain and crumble bacon. Put in bottom of 11X7 greased dish. Top
using cheese and onions. Put rest in blender for 1 min. Pour into pan. Bake
at 350 until tests done with knife (35-45 min)

Batter-Dipped Fondue Meatballs
Categories: Ground beef, Meats, Dips, Beef
serving, 12
1 1/2 lb Ground Chuck 1 ea Egg; Large
1/4 c Bread Crumbs; Dry 2 tb Beer Or Apple Juice
1 ts Garlic Salt 2 c Salad Oil
1/2 c Butter;Do NOT UseMargarine,*
——————————-FROTHY BATTER——————————-
1 c Biscuit Baking Mix; Bisquick 1/2 c Beer Or Apple Juice
1 ea Egg; Lg
——————————-MUSTARD SAUCE——————————-
1/2 c Mayonnaise Or Salad Dressing 2 tb Mustard; Prepared
Finely chopped onion
—————————–HORSERADISH SAUCE—————————–
half cup of dairy Sour Cream and one table horseradish
1/8 ts Worcestershire Sauce
* NOTE: You can omit the butter and increase the salad oil to 2 1/2
~————————————————————————-
Mix the meat, egg, bread crumbs, beer and garlic salt. Shape the mixture
into 3/4-inch balls. Prepare the frothy batter. Heat the oil and butter
using a the metal fondue pot heat it to 375 degrees. Spear the meatballs with a fondue
fork, dip into the batter and cook in the hot oil to the desired doneness,
about 2 minutes. Serve with both sauces. Meatballs can be also
cooked without the batter. FROTHY BATTER: Mix all of the ingredients with a
fork. (Batter will be slightly lumpy.) MUSTARD SAUCE AND HORSERADISH
SAUCE: Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until serving time.