Cheese Recipes

I need to double-check some these recipes, especially the cheese soup one. It's been a while since I've made a cheese soup, and I've botched a few pots of cheese soup in the past.

Oddly, I need to double check the grilled cheese recipe, too. For some reason grilled cheese never quite made it into my repertoire. Cheese bread, on the other hand, is a staple in my house.

I also need to learn how to make stove-top mac-n-cheese from scratch. I've been meaning to for ages, but we've found the boxed stuff to be hard to give up. I think we are addicted to all the salt they add.

Cheese

Cheese is high in calcium, protein, fat, and phosphorous. Cheese is, essentially, concentrated milk. You would have to consume about seven times as much milk to get as much nutrition as is in a piece of cheese. This makes cheese nutritionally a decent substitute for meat.

Not everybody can digest milk products, however. Those who are lactose-intolerant may find hard cheeses easier to digest than soft cheeses, or they can get their nutrition from other sources, such as tofu or beans for protein, and leafy greens for calcium.

To work with cheese in the kitchen, you will need either a cutting board and a knife, to slice the cheese, or you will need a cheese grater. Cheese can be sliced and grated and then stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Cheese Bread

Bread (sliced, any type)

Cheese (any type)

This is a great fast recipe for children, and it goes particularly well with soup.

First, lightly toast your bread. Then put the bread on a cookie sheet, and top with slices of cheese. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Caution: You will need to stand and watch the bread, because when it starts to brown, it will quickly start to smoke and then burn. Make sure that small children are out of the room, because you must cook on high heat with the oven door partly open. Always pull out the oven wrack to get to the bread. Do not reach under the hot oven element.

Remove from the oven, let it cool, and serve. Small children may prefer to have the crusts cut off.

Quesadilla

To make one quesadilla:

2 Tortillas

1 handful of grated cheese (Monterey jack or cheddar are particularly good)

Grate the cheese. Heat up a counter-top skillet or a buttered pan on medium heat. Place one tortilla in the pan, coat evenly with the handful of grated cheese, and top with the other tortilla. Cook until the cheese starts to melt. Then flip the quesadilla over and cook for a few more minutes, to brown the other side.

If you are cooking a stack of quesadilla, you can keep them warm by stacking them on a plate in the oven on the oven’s lowest setting.

Quesadilla are great with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream. For a more filling quesadilla, you can include cooked chicken, cooked ground beef, or other meats. Minced greens such as kale or spinach can also be cooked in a quesadilla.

Grilled Cheese

To make one grilled cheese sandwich:

2 slices of bread

2 slices of American cheese, or enough slices of any other cheese to cover a slice of bread.

If the cheese is not pre-sliced, cut enough thin slices to fill a sandwich. Heat up a counter-top skillet or a buttered pan on medium heat. Place the first slice of bread on the skillet or pan. Top the slice with the cheese, and then the other slice of bread. Cook until the cheese starts to melt. Then flip the sandwich over and cook for a few more minutes, to brown the other side.

If you are cooking a stack of grilled cheese sandwiches, you can keep them warm by stacking them on a plate in the oven on the oven’s lowest setting.

Grilled Cheese is good with soup, especially tomato soup. Grilled cheese can be made more exciting with the addition of pickles, sliced tomato, ham or other lunch meat, cooked chicken, or chopped greens.

Cheese Sauce

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

Salt

Pepper

1 cup grated cheese (any kind)

Follow the instructions for making a basic gravy or sauce. Then sprinkle in the cheese and stir until melted.

Cheese sauce is a good topping for pasta or vegetables.

Cheese Soup

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

3 cups milk and/or chicken stock

½ cup cream *

Salt

Pepper

Optionals: chopped vegetables, cubed ham, cooked chicken or other meats.

1 cup grated cheese (any kind)

In a soup pot, first brown the optionals in the butter. Then add the flour, and proceed as if making a basic gravy or sauce, by first stirring the flour-coated extras over medium heat for a few minutes, and then adding the milk, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup almost to a boil, add the cream, and then sprinkle in the cheese and stir until melted.

*Cheese will not melt properly into a soup unless there is enough fat in the soup to help it melt. So a soup that is made from whole milk may not need cream at all. But a soup made from chicken stock will need to have some cream added before the cheese.