Cheese Coins

I am a recovering junk food junkie.  I love a good vending machine.  For the record, I love the crunchy Cheetos not the puffy, styrofoam peanut version and yes, I find Chester Cheetos really skeezy.  Almond Joy over Mounds.  Early Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies (whoever took over that company screwed up that cookie that's for damn sure)  For less than five bucks I could get a fix of salty and sweet in one quick insertion of change.  The advent of paper bill slots only made it worse.  I was often weak but back in the day you didn't feel like you were getting ripped off.  Today you're lucky if you pay less than a buck for a bag of 15 M&Ms.

But I am getting better.  Now I just try and make my own snacks.  So it made me happy to see a recipe for cheese crackers in the latest edition of Cook's Country magazine.

OK I know they call them cheese coins but when you're fighting for attention in the world of internet recipes and tv audiences you don't just want to throw out there another cheese cracker recipe.  So I thought I'd give them a shot.  Plus it gave me just another excuse to buy cheese ( a worse addiction than junk food).  Pretty straight forward recipe, combine cheese, flour, seasonings and butter, mix, roll, chill, slice and bake.  I will warn you about two things.  You need to roll and slice your coins as evenly as possible because of the second thing, careful baking.

You need to watch these crackers the same way you watch pinenuts when you toast them and bacon when it's frying because they will burn if you are easily distracted by some cat in a ridiculous hat on your Ipad.

Even if you watch your crackers carefully while in the oven, if you've cut them unevenly the thin side will burn and the thick side will be slightly undercooked and nobody wants that.

So I finally get the hang of the right slice thickness and bake time and the house is smelling Cheese Heaven.  But the coin tag was cracking me up.  So what if I wanted to give these as gifts.  What would be a fun packaging idea?  First I wanted to roll them in wax paper.  I cut open a paper towel tube and shoved the wax paper in side.  Then I carefully placed my coins inside and taped up the wax paper.

Then I got on my computer and designed some cheese cracker coin rolls and put the wax encased crackers inside.  Take that Martha Stewart!

I know I'd laugh if I got a couple of these tubes of cheese coins. However do NOT take them to the coin machine at your local bank unless there's a teller there you really like and will help you clean out the crumbs from the gears of the machine.

Oh yeah, a few months from now if you see this packaging idea on Etsy or in an Edible Gift Giving book, remember you saw it here first.

Dim Sum Sunday - A Little Something

I'm a fan of Martha. She who no longer needs a last name. I've never met the woman however I have no doubts our paths crossed long ago in the antique shops of Westport Connecticut. I was propper for the local theater, she had houses to furnish. I've always wondered who had the bigger budget. I'm not a fan of her early cookbooks. Too fussy and busy for me. However. Her hors d'oeuvres handbook is spectacular.Bright and easy to read. The photography is clean and luscious. You want to lick the photos to see if you can actually taste what's on the page. Tips, techniques and simple instructions to help any level cook. It was from this cookbook that I chose my snackies for Dim Sum Sunday.I started off with Ginger Spiced Pecans. I love nuts and there are numerous methods and spices you can use with pecans, cashews and walnuts. Fall is nut harvest season so take advantage and make yourself some wonderfully spicy nuts.I also decided to try Martha's Blue Cheese Popovers mainly because I had some wonderful blue cheese in the fridge. These are substantial, warm and hearty. I think I might cut back a tad on the thyme but still these popovers are delicious. But you know I couldn't just stop there. What could make it better? That's right - BACON JAM!! It's a nice match just be careful on the salt level of your jam. The bacon I had was pretty salty so I didn't feel like it needed any other additional salt. Thank you Kevin (current Top Chef contestant) bringer of the bacon jam. It's wonderful.Last but not least were the Spicy Tuna Rolls. It's a spicy tuna tartare rolled into very thin strips of cucumbers topped with a little spicy mayo. My only issue with this bit sized snack it that you should probably drain the tuna mixture before rolling to avoid liquid draining out of your little package. It was good but I think I'd use a lime spicing mixture as opposed to the light soy mixture Martha calls for in her cookbook.
If you haven't already added this cookbook to your kitchen shelves and you like entertaining, this cookbook would be a welcome addition and definitely a starting point for you imagination to go wild. Just like Martha.

Bliss

Blue Cheese with Praline Bacon

The fine folks at Wisconsin Cheese and Dairy have put together a lovely cheese pairing guide that features unique recipes. (Candied grapefruit rind, spicy pumpkin brittle, and praline bacon, to name a few.) The recipes are easy to follow, and the ingredients affordable. And they all sound delicious! Take a peek - the photos alone just might inspire an impromptu trip to your local fromagerie...