[Mid] Sovaory toasted cheese (the variations)

Than you one and all for the help. My Mother will rave for years(and the
rest were impressed too). I have included below the 4 major variations from
the mid and atlantia. Sorry if it's long, BUT if you can eat cheese,
 there's nothing better. If you're cooking for feast I Would recommend the
split the cheese in 2 parts per veggie as it can get pricy. Though there's
nothing like slicing through 3" of savory toasted cheese

Thanks again
aelred

#1
Here's your receipt, which is originally from the Closet of Sir Kenelm
Digbie. (The original is probably on line somewhere - Cariadoc's
Miscelleny perhaps?)

I use about equal parts brie and cream cheese (remember to peel the brie
thoroughly) and a little less butter - maybe 1/2# of each of the first
two and 1/3# of butter? (Everyone has their own proportions)

Cream all three together over low heat (a double boiler might work!),
whisking until smooth.

Pour over a pan of hot veggies and throw in the oven long enough to
toast the top (Digbie scorches his with a hot iron from the fire....)

In Digbie, he mentions 'sparages' in the recipe, and that you can serve
it on sops (little toast bits). I like asparagus when I can afford it
(frozen will work, but drain it well and don't overcook it!) and
broccoli is great because the florets hold a lot of cheese. I've even
seen it done with mushrooms. Digbie also suggests that you can add
bacon (which is probably equivalent to modern ham). As far as
seasoning, a little white pepper is usually all it needs....

#2
 The recipie as I remember was
the one being passed around the cooks guild in Tyr Ysgithr (Tucson
AZ). I have also seen it in Cariadoc's Miscellany.

Amounts may vary depending on how many folks you are trying to feed.

I use
1-8oz pkg of cream cheese
4-8oz of Brie
2-tbsp of butter

Melt and mix the above together.
The cream cheese takes the longest so it goes in first.
(I ususally do this in the microwave)

Place 2 cans of green beans in a casserole.
Spread the cheese mixture on top.
Bake at 350F until top is lightly golden brown.

You can vary the amount of Brie depending on how rich you
want it to be. I've only done 100% Brie once and it was
sinful. The french fried onions are also good scatterd
on top or the greeen beans or on top of the cheese mix.

#3
All you need is:

2 parts cream cheese
2 parts brie
1 part butter
bacon, cooked til still some what flexible, but crispish
broccoli, green beans, asparagus - whichever you like (I vote for broccoli)

Now then: Peel the waxy rind off the brie and put it into a non-stick
saucepan (if you will cook it on the stove) or a big glass microwave bowl (if
you want to do it that way). Chop up the softened butter and cream cheese and
toss them in with the brie. On top of the stove, heat slowly and stir
frequently. DO NOT LET IT SCORCH! In the microwave, take it out and stir if
from time to time. Either way, all you want to do is melt the cheeses and
butter into a creamy sauce.

In the meantime: you can use frozen or fresh veggies. Cook them briefly, to
take the "crunch" off and make them warm through. Drain VERY well.

In a baking dish: You can use a loaf pan or a square pan or casserole, or
whatever is handy. Assembly pattern is: green veggie on the bottom, sprinkle
chopped up bacon pieces over, then pour the cheese sauce over all this
evenly. You can always leave the bacon out if you are feeding vegetarians....

#4
8oz Brie,
8oz Cream Cheese
4oz Butter (1 stick)

Melt butter over low heat. While it is melting, cut skin off brie.
 When butter is melted, swirl around bottom of skillet/saucepan to
coat. Drop brie and Cream Cheese in chunks into butter and stir with
wooden spoon or wire whisk till fully blended.

Cook any green vegetable (asparagus and broccoli are my favorites for
this), and drain well, preferably on paper towels.(This will keep the
water from the vegetables from thinning out the sauce.)* Place
vegetables in a shallow ovenproof dish and pour cheese mixture over
it, covering as much of the greens as possible. Just before serving,
place under broiler just long enough to toast the cheese slightly. I
suppose you could make this in advance, but not broil it. You could
then put it in the oven after you get where you're going. At that
point, bake till cheese browns and veggies are hot again(about 20
minutes).**

· *One friend simply puts bread in the bottom of the baking dish to
soak up the extra liquid/oil, but I find it yukky to look at at the
dinner table, so skip this for purely presentation reasons.
· *If you're going to do it this way, be sure to slightly under-cook
the veggies the first time, or they will be mushy after being cooked
twice....

Variations:

The most common variation is to sprinkle bacon pieces (good sized
chunks, ¾ of the way crisp) over the vegetables before you put the
sauce on. This most closely follows the period recipe, but I find it
too rich....

I've used spinach in this recipe, too, and it makes the best hot
spinach dip you've come across, or spread it on toasted pita or
english muffin halves and re-toast.

If you need to stretch this dish for a large group, an extra cup of
finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese can be whisked in with the other
cheeses, with no noticeable change in flavor. Or simply double the
recipe. Or both.

Warning:

Do not melt the butter/cheeses in the microwave. Hotspots in the
microwave can cause the delicate cheeses to scorch, and brie can
sometimes get real rubbery when nukked.

#5
I'm sure you'll be deluged with posts, but here's the version I use
(adapted from the venerable recipe of Sir TJ):
remember: 3..2...1...
3 parts Cream Cheese, 2 parts brie, 1 part butter
I chop onions VERY fine and saute in the butter, then add the brie and
cream cheese in chunks, stirring with a whisk until melted and blended.
Then pour over your favourite veg (broccoli is great, asparagus is out of
this world, pork and just a good crusty bread are heaven...)...to get a
nice bubbly topping, you can broil until brown on the top, but I find it
works lovely as a sauce. Hope this is helpful.

Put your baking dish in a warm 350 degree oven and let it bake for a half
hour or so until the top is bubbly and nicely brown. Depending on the oven it
sometimes takes a little longer or a little less time.

Its wonderful stuff, isn't it? ::chuckle::

Usually, I use an 8oz box of cream cheese, an equal amount of brie, and a
half stick of butter, plus enough broccoli to serve the number of people I'm
feeding. A narrow pan will make a deeper layer of cheese, a wider pan will
make a thinner layer. The whole thing is very flexible...

Thanks again everyone
a
From: Maelred@aol.com
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Received on Mon Dec 1 23:18:29 1997