Showing posts with label Mizithra Cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mizithra Cheese. Show all posts

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Browned Butter Noodles





Everyone has their favorite dish and this is mine.

I love the combination of noodles, browned-butter and Mizithra cheese.

With this recipe you can use homemade noodles or packaged noodles.  Wheat noodles or gluten free noodles.  Long noodles or short noodles.

Browned-butter and Mizithra cheese work with most noodle types.  In fact, I have yet to meet a noodle I don't like drenched in browned-butter. Okay maybe drenched is a bit too much; but not really.

Making browned-butter is easy.  Take a cube of butter (salted or unsalted) and melt in a small sauce pan.  Keep your heat around medium.  You can go up to medium high if you are going to watch the butter.  Burned-butter is not our goal and if you don't watch it closely this is what you will have.  The melting and browning process takes about 7 minutes.  Every stove will be a bit different so the cooking time may vary.  

If you make it often, you will learn the stages:  melted, bubbly/ foamy, two distinct layers,and finally, browned specks at the bottom of the pan.

Use the browned-butter immediately or store the rest in the refrigerator.  It will form into a hard disk.  I usually break off with my fork a small amount and melt it in the microwave for individual lunch portions. If you are not going to use it immediately, I would suggest transferring it to a bowl.  Even with the heat turned off the butter will continue to brown.

Are you wondering why I shot this with chopsticks when it is clearly not an oriental dish?  Our family uses chopsticks for most meals.   In our drawer we have a spot for the normal utensils: forks, spoons and knives.  We also have a spot for chopsticks.  I think I might have a slight addiction to buying them too.

We go to HMart once a month and I always come home with a couple new pairs.  My latest pair are black and gold.  I haven't shown the kids yet because I want to surprise them with a fun meal first.

I wanted the picture to show how we eat our food.  I could have used a fork,  but why when chopsticks are a bit more fun and more true to how my family eats our dinners.

Serve with your favorite vegetable or side salad.

Another simply gourmet dish that will WOW your friends and family.



Browned Butter Noodles with Mizithra Cheese

1 batch of homemade noodles or prepared noodles/pasta, cooked and drained
1 stick of butter, soft
1 cup of Mizithra cheese, grated
salt, to taste


1.  Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Set aside.  If using homemade noodles then bring water to a rolling boil, add noodles, boil under done, drain and set aside.

2.  In a small sauce pan over medium heat melt butter.  Butter will start to foam and then  begin to form brown specks at the bottom of the pan.  Watch closely as not to burn the butter.  Stir until the aroma is nutty and the butter is a nice golden brown color.  Remove from heat.  See comments above.

3.  Serve noodles tossed in browned butter or have guest pour butter onto noodles themselves (I have done both).  Add cheese--lots of cheese.

4.  Serve immediately.  Store any leftover butter in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Written by Sherron Watson



Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Roasted Cauliflower with Mizithra Cheese


The first time I had Mizithra cheese was at a restaurant in Oregon (eons ago).  I believe I was in high school and they served it over broccoli with brown butter and this cheese.

I fell in love immediately with it.

Since this first experience, I have traveled and moved often. We don't always find this cheese with every move-- but-- I did last week while my sister was in town.

Whole Foods has this small basket of remnant cheese ends for a great price.  I like trying out new cheeses and this is a great way to experiment with new flavors without spending a small fortune.  They will run between $2 and $4 dollars.

I believe we both reached for the cheese when we saw the beginning few letters on the packaging.  We both knew immediately what it was.   Our faces broke out in grins a mile wide.

Happy bellies were on our horizon.

The problem was that we already had so much food in the fridge that we never got around to making it while she was here.

Darn it!

The purple cauliflower would not last long so I roasted it the next day, used the left over browned butter from our raviolis and blanketed a thick layer of grated Mizithra cheese over the top.

My mouth and belly did a happy dance.

This recipe is so simple but the flavors are amazing and so I wanted to share it.  Purple cauliflower is not necessary but it does make for a beautiful dish.

My sister will have to do with a few pictures or venture out on her own and make it for her family.  I hope she does the later because it is well worth the culinary experience.

ENJOY!


Roasted Cauliflower with Mizithra Cheese

1 head of Cauliflower, any color
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 stick of salted butter, softened
small chunk of Mizithra cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Prepare cauliflower by washing and cutting the crown into pieces.  In a bowl, toss the salt, pepper and olive oil to coat the cut pieces.

3.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes.  I cooked mine longer because I like the little browned edges of the cauliflower.  It adds texture to every bite.  Every oven is different so start checking for color and doneness at 30 minutes.

4.  While the cauliflower is roasting,  I will make the browned butter.  I do this by placing the softened stick into a small saute pan and turning the heat to medium high.  The butter will melt and start to foam. Then you will see it turn from a golden color to a light brown color.  It will also have a nutty aroma to it.   You must watch this the whole time because it happens quickly and you don't want it to burn. When I start to see the browned specks in the bottom of the pan I give it a stir or two and turn the heat off.  It will continue to cook a bit in the warm pan.  I will transfer it to a cool bowl if I don't use it right away. The browned butter stores nicely in the refrigerator.  When I need a spoonful I just break off a chunk and melt it in the microwave.

5.  When the cauliflower is to your liking, remove from oven and pour browned butter over the top.


6.  Add the Mizithra Cheese.



7.  Toss together and eat.  You can see that I didn't wait to put it in a bowl.  I ate it straight off of the cookie sheet.  You may want to serve it differently.  LOL


Written by Sherron Watson

Donut Breakfast Casserole

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  Share  this pos...

Popular Posts