Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Food, Drink and Cooking What's cooking?

The tapioca is better, I think. Some folks use manioc (yuka) flour instead. And you can get a cheese spread and inject that after they are baked, but still warm. You OD on cheese but I guess that is the point.

Hmmmm....Things stuffed with cheese.
I like cheese a lot. Especially well aged and very sharp cheddars. But I don't think I've ever met a cheese I didn't like. Even Strong Limburgers and Stiltons. Baked Brie with apricots and figs. A luscious rich Butterkäse from Germany. Vintage Cheddar from the Isle of Man. The list is practically endless.

Tonight I'm making

Jalapeño Poppers

Ingedients

6 very large jalapeños
1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 to 1 cup cup grated Monteray Jack (or other) cheese
salt and pepper
1/2-1 tsp Sriracha (or other) hot sauce

3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
2 beaten eggs
oil at 350 degrees for deep frying

Method
Prick the top of each pepper, near the stem with a paring knife to release steam.

Parboil whole peppers for 3 minutes, then shock with cold water to prevent further cooking.

Cut off stem and bottom of pepper.

With a slender paring or boning knife, cut around the inside of each pepper to remove the membranes and seeds.

Rinse thoroughly and remove any remaining membranes with the knife so you have nice pepper tubes.

Insert your index finger into the pepper and with a vegetable peeler, working it back and forth as you go, peel each pepper.

Set peppers aside.

Mix cream cheese, grated cheese, salt, pepper, and hot sauce thoroughly with a fork.

With a teaspoon scoop out about enough of the cheese mixture to fill a pepper, roll it between your hands into the approximate shape of the pepper, pointed on one end, wider on the other. Insert it into the pepper, gently pressing it in until it just comes out the bottom. Fill any remaining space at the top with the cheese mixture.

Put the flour into a flat, lidded container, drop the peppers in, put the lid on and give it a shake to coat the peppers.

One at a time, remove the peppers, tap gently on the bottom of the container to remove excess flour, then drop them into the beaten egg, swirling gently to completely coat them with the egg.

Set them into another flat lidded container on top of the Panko bread crumbs. Put the lid on and shake gently to coat.

Then put each pepper back into the beaten egg and coat again with Panko.

Using tongs, place them gently into the hot oil and fry until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving. The cheese filling will be HOT.

To Serve

Cut six small corn tortillas into eight wedges, fry them in batches until crispy, drain on paper towels and salt lightly.

Garnish each plate with shredded lettuce, a slice of tomato and 8 corn chips.

If you have cheese mixture remaining, use it and a little more grated cheese to make a quesadilla, cut it into wedges and serve with the peppers.

This one is my recipe. It may look complicated but I've tried to outline each step carefully. It's really quite simple as long as you don't try doing it for a large crowd. I can guarantee that this makes the best poppers you have ever had.

Yes, I saw this in the news. How very sad.

I also love most cheeses. I like baked Brie with fresh sliced apples. I spray the apple slices with a bit of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Baked brie with blackberry jam is also delicious.

Neither have I met a cheese I didn't like, but I am not a fan of Limburgers, although I have tried them.
Yeah, you can't hope to list all the good cheese. Everywhere I go I make it a point to try local concoctions.

Yummy. Must try that

Blackberries were on sale at my market, so I purchased some. I made a blackberry jam from some, and made some buttermilk biscuits to go with it. This morning is a Sunday breakfast of biscuits, blackberry jam and butter. A nice Kona dark roast coffee to drink. I picked up the coffee on my recent trip to Maui. Tomorrow is oatmeal porridge with fresh blackberries.

So what do you wrap your baked brie in? Or do you just butter it and scatter a few nuts or fruit on top?

I'm partial to a sheet of puff pastry rolled out a little bit so it isn't overly puffy but in a pinch a tube of Pillsbury Crescent roll dough, preferably uncut, works nicely.
Yes, I could make a lovely layered, buttery rich dough myself but, generally speaking, a baked brie should be an easy course. An early entry in a Tapas style menu or a side to a nice cheese board which will keep your guests busy while you use the time to prepare a more demanding course like the Jalapeno poppers. (all prep work done earlier on the peppers but the breading must be done just before frying)

Also, if you've never tried it, there is a cheese very similar to brie called Saint-Andre. Or perhaps I should say it's similar to Camembert since it's made in Normandie rather than Ile-de-France.
I wouldn't bake this one though.

I prefer to wrap my baked brie in puff pastry. Lightly rolled, as you said, to reduce over puffiness. After baking to a light golden brown, I will top with thinly sliced almonds and serve with the sliced apples, or just pour the blackberry jam right on top.

So how about a Cheesecake!

To my notion, the ONLY cheesecake is a New York Style cheesecake.

It has been said that the best Cheesecake in New York City is from Junior's Diner in downtown Brooklyn so this is the recipe I will be using.
Junior's Cheesecake Recipe
I have another recipe that uses sour cream instead of heavy cream which makes a heavier, more dense cake but after baking it a few times I think I like Junior's better.

This time of year is a good time to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake, but I don't wanna go there just yet. Maybe for Thanksgiving. I wonder if anyone has ever made a Sweet Potato Cheesecake.....

At any rate, I think I'm going to make a regular cheesecake with a peanut butter topping then drizzle it with ganache and sprinkle some chopped peanuts on it.