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Romao a different Manchego

Romao is a sheep’s milk cheese from La Mancha in Spain.  Gourmet-Food.com says:  “Romao is hand-rubbed with oil and fresh rosemary and aged in caves for 8 months. The oil and rosemary permeates the cheese and complements its full flavor.” It is related to Manchego, but I think I like it a bit better than Manchego – the rosemary taste is excellent.  It’s a bit more expensive ($13.99 vs. $10.99 at Calvert Woodley) , but I’d pay it again. It was good to try the 2 sheep  cheeses together so we could compare. It wasn’t in any of our cheese books – too new? Ignore the goat and cow head – those are both sheep cheeses in the photo.

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Cowgirl Creamery Fondue

Fondue in a bag
Fondue in a bag

Cowgirl Creamery has assembled paper bag fondue kits for under $20. It’s easy to make your own, but it was nice to have all the rinds removed and just exactly what you need – with no preservatives.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Cave Aged Gruyere

1/2 pound Wagon Wheel

1 clove crushed garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

salt & pepper to taste

Dice cheese into small cubes. Heat fondue pot, add crushed garlic clove. Deglaze with white wine. Sloly add cheese until meled and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat.

Served with cubed bread or raw veggies for dipping. Nice if you have  a small crockpot or fondue part to keep it warm.

It serves 4, so we split the recipe and did it a half at a time.

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Cannoli Cheesecake by W

Great New Year’s Resolution: Learn to make cheesecake.

Cannoli Cheesecake Americano
Recipe By     :Emmy Gold
Serving Size  : 12    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Desserts & Puddings

Amount  Measure       Ingredient — Preparation Method
——–  ————  ——————————–
8             ounces  cream cheese
15            ounces  ricotta cheese
1/3           cup  sugar
4              large  eggs
1         tablespoon  cointreau
1           teaspoon  vanilla extract
1/2      teaspoon  cinnamon
1/2           cup  mini-chocolate chips
1/2           cup  dried cranberries
2        tablespoons  orange zest

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. Coat the interior of the pan with nonstick cooking spray, then place the parchment paper circle in the pan. (or you can use a cheesecake pan.

In a medium bowl, using a mixer on low speed, combine the cream cheese and ricotta. Add the sugar and beat until smooth but not fluffy. With the mixer running, add the eggs one a time, blending after each addition, and then the orange liqueur, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips, cranberries, and zest. Stir briefly to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the center sets and the edges just begin to brown, about 30-35 minutes.

If the cheesecake seems to be browning and cracking around the edges (a sign that it is cooking too quickly), reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. When done, it will be lightly golden on the edges  and start to pull away from the pan. A little jiggle is fine as long as the cake feels firm in the center; it will continue to set as it cools.

Cool on a rack until room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Loosen the edge of the cake by running a hot knife along the inner perimeter of the pan, then remove the cake by inverting it onto a plate. Give the pan a firm tap if the cheesecake didn’t release from the pan.

Source: “Culture magazine Winter 2010”

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 214 Calories; 15g Fat (62.2% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 109mg Cholesterol; 114mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : Wendell 1/23/11. Cracked on top, but didn’t matter when you inverted.