Something very German today: Käsekuchen, traditional German-style Cheesecake. It is made with Quark, which is nearly impossible to find around here, but I make my own (sort of like making yogurt). I am always a little nervous when making cheesecake, actually, because it can get quite dense or develop an unslightly crack through the middle, but this was light an fluffy and very was a great success. It was tart and lemony and yet still sweet and light. Pleased with the result.
cheese
While we’re wrapping up “Bread Week” here at CSPS, here is another bread-like recipe — Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits. OMG are these good. Absolutely phenomenal. I think the the trick to making them so flaky is to freeze the butter ahead of grating and then adding to the dough. It’s a little crumbly when you go to roll it out, but trust me, it will work. These are, hands down, the best biscuits that I have ever had. Here they are pictures as my breakfast,but they would also go great with soup or salad or as a dinner roll. Trust me, you’ll want to make them. Besides: Bacon. Cheddar. What could go wrong there!
The Superbowl is this weekend, and like I often remind people this time of year, I am not an American Football fan, so I don’t have a specific team to follow, but I do watch. And it’s always a good excuse to make party snacks. Here I made some Bacon Cheddar Potato Skins …. oh so good. When I make these, I always try to find the smallest Russet potatoes that I can — like about the size of my palm. Often they are so big that you could make a boat out of them. Definitely aim for the smallest potatoes you can find here, but don’t sub out other smaller varieties like yukon gold or red potatoes; waxy potatoes won’t work here.
These are a little time consuming (the making the baked potatoes first) but they are very much worth the effort. Yummy!
January is made for comfort food. It’s chilly and snowing just a bit which made it the perfect time to make these Cheesy Shells with Meatballs. Full disclosure: this is one of those times that you can bought store bought parts of this meal. I included directions on how to make meatballs, but you can also go buy some pre-cooked frozen meatballs. And I didn’t make the marinara or pesto sauces either — store bought is just fine. While people have this perception that it is hard to stuff shells (or manicotti, for that matter), if you cook the pasta al dente, it isn’t much of an issue. Enjoy!