Progressive Grocer - June/July 2009 - (Page 98)

Cooked Cheese Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese & Chili Poblano Soup This recipe, also from the archives, was created by Chef Dean Fearing of the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas for the WMMB, and it uses two of the state’s most famous products, beer and cheese. Cheese that has been sliced from the face of a wheel, or the ends of wheels that are either too small or too unsightly to sell, can go straight to the kitchen. Serves 4 1 1/2 1 1 1/2 1 1 1/2 tablespoon bacon fat white onion, chopped large shallot clove garlic, chopped jalapeño chili, seeded and chopped teaspoon pure chili powder tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro tablespoon chopped fresh epazote (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) 1 Pinch of ground cumin seed 1/2 cup beer 4 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 small chili poblanos, roasted, peeled and seeded, and cut into1/2-inch dice 1.5 cups (5 ounces) shredded Wisconsin aged cheddar cheese Salt to taste Juice of 1/2 lime Heat the bacon fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, shallots, garlic, jalapeño and chili powder. Sauté for two minutes or until soft. Add the cilantro, epazote, cumin and beer. Bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Knead the butter and flour together into a paste. Slowly whisk bits of the flour paste into the boiling soup, mixing it until smooth. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and immediately stir into the cheese. Pour into a blender in batches and blend until smooth. Add the chilis. Season with salt and lime juice. Pour into soup bowls and serve immediately. in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator indefinitely. Any time one is using grated cheese in the kitchen, it may as well be scraps. Cheese with any serious defects, of course — such as black mold or cheese that is dried out to the point of no return — should be discarded. But cheese that has been onions. Topped by some freshly made bread crumbs with a few knobs of butter, baked to golden-brown perfection and accompanied by a bottle of good ale, the impromptu pie was a delicacy I would have paid good money for in any restaurant. Soups are a wonderfully economical way to use up cheese. A little goes Even mundane macaroni and cheese can be turned into haute cuisine with the addition of aged farmhouse cheddar or other specialty varieties. sliced from the face of a wheel, or the ends of wheels that are either too small or too unsightly to sell, can go straight to the kitchen. In our kitchen at home, we routinely use scraps of cheese in cooked dishes. Recently, after going through a mass of samples from Vella Cheese Co. in Sonoma, we gathered the end pieces, trimmed the rinds and baked the whole in a vegetable pie with zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and a long way, especially when you spice it up with other ingredients such as in the example at left by Chef Dean Fearing. Besides using scraps of leftover cheese for soups, the rinds are also excellent flavor-enhancers for soups. Save all those rinds from the Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano and other hard-rind cheeses. Simply toss in one or two of them to lend loads of flavor to all kinds of soup, not only cheese soups. The tart www.progressivegrocer.com 98 • Progressive Grocer • June/July 2009 A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T http://www.progressivegrocer.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Progressive Grocer - June/July 2009

Progressive Grocer - June/July 2009
Table of Contents
Nielsen’s Shelf Stoppers/ Spotlight: Cheese/Shredded Cheese
Market Snapshot: Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif.
Independents Report: The Advantages of Older Associates
Lempert Report: Food Experts Tackle the Economy
Industry Achievement: The Top 100 Women in Grocery
Multicultural Marketing: 2050 is Today
Retailer of the Year: Celebrating Kroger
2009 Deli/Bakery Operations Review: Shrink-Wrapped
Fresh Developments: Consumer Shifts Create New Complexities for Fresh Food Trading Partners
Produce: Brimming With Possibilities
Meat: Fired Up!
Store of the Month: Giant Eagle’s Express-Ohhh!
Cheese: Cooked Cheese and Other Spiritual Revelations
Beverage Alcohol: A Cup of Cheer
Frozen Foods: Frozen Vegetable Sales are Steaming
Real Estate: Bigger is not Always Better
Technology: At Your Service
Equipment Innovations
What’s Next: Editors’ Picks for Innovative Products

Progressive Grocer - June/July 2009