There’s a lot of recipes in Simply Delicious that use cheese–all different types. While by no means an exhaustive list, 19-13: Cooking with Cheese goes over a few different types that you’ll probably encounter in your own culinary adventures. This is part of the last section of the book, a Cooking School compendium of basic culinary reference material.
Cheese might not be a big part of your diet, but it’s always been a big part of mine (for better or worse–what can I say, my maternal grandparents were Swedish and French and lived in the Midwest USA). After the jump, read more about some common types of cooking cheese.
There’s not much I can add here, but as I have in some of the other entries, I’ll link to a few recipes that I’ve covered for each cheese that you can try. If I don’t have one yet, I’ll add one when I do!
Jarlsberg
Essentially a fancy Swiss cheese. 5-7: Quiche Lorraine suggests using Jarlsberg, but you could use it anywhere they call for Swiss cheese. Some recipes where Jarlsberg would work well instead of Swiss include:
- 5-9: Swiss Cheese and Crouton Omelette
- 4-12: Cheesy Sliced Baked Potatoes
- 3-3: French Onion Soup
- 9-12: Shepherd’s Pie
Parmesan
Think beyond the green can of shaky cheese. While I’ll admit to using it for certain purposes, freshly grated/shaved Parmesan cheese has a totally different and much richer taste.
- 2-34: Avocado-Parmesan Salad
- 17-19: Parmesan Bread
- 12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken
- 11-25: Best Ever Sole Au Gratin
Brie
Brie is a soft, creamy French cheese surrounded by a tangy rind that usually has a place on fancier cheese plates. One of my favorite meals is a big loaf of kalamata olive batard and a wedge of Brie.
Gorgonzola
A creamy cheese with a real bite. When I wrote this originally, I didn’t have anything for Gorgonzola, but over time I’ve collected a few(see below). Blue cheese is a close, stinky cousin, which I’ve mixed with Gorgonzola in a few of my recipes.
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese always seems like “diet food” to me, and that’s pretty much how Simply Delicious treats it–it’s substituted a lot to cut calories. Its popularity in that regard is due to its status as a high protein/low fat dairy food.
Feta
A Greek goat cheese. Always good on salads and on top of veggies.
Looking for more on cheese & other dairy products? Check out the next installment in Simply Delicious’ Cooking School: 19-14: Cheese & Other Dairy Products!
