The other recipe I cooked before I took an extended break (the first being 3-2: New England Clam Chowder) would be these Cheese Sticks. I think this was one of those “burn off leftover ingredients” recipes.
Think of these Cheese Sticks as kind of like big Cheetos. This recipe is Card #15 in Subgroup #5 (Eggs & Cheese), found in Book 1.
Now that I think about it, these sticks are closer to those cheesy snack sticks you can get in specialty stores (like Trader Joe’s or Cost Plus) or in gift baskets at the holidays. Crunchy, salty, a bit musky–depending on what cheese you use.
Not a whole lot of ingredients. The sink (barely visible to the left) will suffice as “water” for this shot. I got out my pastry bag for this one, but they proved difficult to pipe through that kind of bag. If I attempted to pipe them again, I’d probably use a plastic bag with the corner cut off instead.
Butter, creamed in the Kitchen Aid. Let the machines do the hard work.
A nice, cheesy ball of dough. And my hand.
Pipes somewhat okay, but more difficult than I had imagined. My poor Silpat has seen better days–good thing I found a BRAND NEW one still in the package on a Goodwill excursion a few months ago. Price on that new Silpat: 99 cents. SUCH A GOOD DEAL.
I struggled through, and was able to produce about a half sheet pan’s worth. Sprinkled them with the cheese, and popped ‘em in the oven.
After they came out. I almost deleted this pic, thinking that it was another angle of the before shot, but now looking at the edges and coloration, it’s definitely the after shot. This is what happens when you try to piece together something you did almost a year ago. 🙁 Bright side: they look good!
Final plated shot. They were yummy, and pretty easy to do despite the piping problems. Silpats make a big difference though–if you don’t have one of those, parchment paper works OK too.
Grade: A
