Classic paneer - Chatelaine Recipes

Classic paneer - Chatelaine Recipes

Edible Parmesan Salad Bowls!

OK - these are just simply gorgeous, easy to do and most impressive. Of course when trying anything unusual like this, you might worry that it won't work out. Well, keep practicing and eventually it will look like a bowl. It took me a couple of tries...I made some of them too big so they looked a little floppy. But I fixed that and broke off the uneven pieces and ate them! Also, if it looks more like a plate than a bowl - who cares! Just put the salad in the bowl. Now here is the secret to making a successful Parmesan Bowl. Cut individual squares of parchment paper to put the cheese on. That way when you take them out of the oven, you only have to pick up the parchment paper with the cheese on it and lay it over an inverted bowl. Easy removal. That was my mistake. I used a spatella to remove the cheese and it bunched up (though it was still amazing). Serve these salad bowls when you have people over tonight for dinner - they will think you are amazing!

1. grate about 1 1/3 cups of fresh Parmesan (not the powdery canned cheese).

2. cut up four parchment paper squares and put onto a cookie sheet

3. Put 1/3 of a cup of grated Parmesan on each parchment paper square and make into a nice even circle (if you need to grate more cheese then do).

4. Put into a 325 degree oven and let it just melt (about 2-3 minutes - maybe even longer if need be...don't worry)

5. When it's a nicely melted consistency, pull the cookie sheetout of the oven and lift one of the parchment paper squares up and lay the cheese side over an inverted 5inch bowl or rounded coffee cup which I think might be better. Repeat the process with three more bowls/coffee cups and with a paper towel, blot the excess oil and shape the bowls with your hand.

6. Let cool for five minutes or so take a deep breath and gently remove each Parmesan salad bowl from it's mold,put onto invididual plates and fill with your favourite salad. There you go, easy, takes about 10-15 minutes total, and you'll be a star! My whole family loved them and they said they "looked fancy!"

My Cheese Torte a Delish Recipe I Lifted from the Wedgewood Hotel And Am Making This Weekend

(lifted from the Wedgewood Hotel Kitchen...)
1 cup of asiago cheese (put in shredder of food processor and shred), 1 cup of mascarpone cheese, 1 cup of dry curd cottage cheese, ½ cup of pesto, ¾ cup sundried tomatoes in oil. Drain the sundried tomatoes and put into the food processor and chop very fine. Set aside. Then mix all three cheeses into the food processor and don’t be afraid to over mix. Set aside. Divide the cheese mixture into three equal parts. Set aside. The first 1/3 of the cheese mixture, put back into the food processor with the sundried tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Spread on the bottom of the 8” spring form pan. Set aside. Take the next 1/3 of the cheese mixture and put in the food processor with 1 tbsp. of mayo or Miracle Whip and mix again. Spread on top of the first layer of the cheese mixture in the spring form pan. Take the last 1/3 of the cheese mixture and put in the food processor and mix it with the pesto sauce. Spread that layer on the top of the other cheese layer in the spring form pan. Put in the freezer to get pretty solid, but not frozen. Cut into wedges (pardon the pun) and wrap each wedge with Saran Wrap and put in the freezer. This freezes well l and fantastic for when you need something gorgeous and delicious to spread on crackers or a nice fresh baguette.

You Will Be A Star Brie Brioche with Mango Chutney

Now listen up my dear fellow cooks - do not let this recipe daunt you.  Trust me.  It is simple to make and surprisingly unfussy.  My gorgeous Aunt had ordered the same brioche from a catering co. and paid a whopping $70....for the small wheel.  The brioche is a "slow" recipe that you can have done in about 1/2 hour.  I froze mine and used the dough for my Christmas Eve party.  It was a hit.  Not only is it a masterpiece to behold, it is truly delicious.  P.S.  I made the mango chutney in the microwave!

First up - the mango chutney.  For years I was searching for the micowave version, as I'd heard it on the Pia Shandell show years ago, and would you believe, I actually had the recipe in my old, "The New Basics" cookbook written by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.  You may actually add anything you like over top the Brie Brioche, or if you so desire, keep it absolutely naked.

Mango Chutney:  1 mango peeled, 1/2 cup of sugar (yes it's true), 1/4 cup of finely chopped red onion, 2 tbsp. of vinegar, 2 tbsp. of finely chopped green bell pepper, 1 tbsp. of grated fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/8 tsp of ground tumeric, 1/8 tsp of ground cloves and finally freshly ground black pepper to taste....though white might be cool too!  Peel, halve, seed and cut manot and throw into casserole dish with all the other ingredients.  Stir and then micro on high for seven minutes.  Once done in the micro, take out and cook.  Stir and cool.  You can refrigerate for a week and it will last for about a week.

Brie in Brioche.  Well, you are suppose to use Camembert for this recipe, but I couldn't find a big wheel of it at the grocery store.  Instead I used Brie and you absolutely must freeze it in the freezer before you wrap it up in the brioche dough.  Brie is a softer cheese and will easily melt.  I would recommend that you actually use Camembert, but Brie was lovely.

5 cup all purpose flour


1 tbl yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbl salt

2/3 cup hot water (120 degrees)

6 x eggs

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

9 x inch whole round of Camembert

1 x egg

1 tbl of milk

Tapenade (optional topping):

Get your mixer out!

Mix one cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt in heavy duty mixer.


Add hot water and beat at medium speed for two to three minutes until smooth.

Add eggs one at a time beating after each egg.

Gradually add two cups more flour.

When blended, add butter a few pieces at a time just until blended.

Gradually add the rest of the flour slowly for several minutes.

The dough will have a thick batter-like consistency.

Put into a greased bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at cool room temperature until doubled, approximately 2 hours.

Punch down dough, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Cut dough in half. You may freeze half for another use for up to three weeks - I buttered my bags before freezing.

With a rolling pin roll out remaining dough large enough to wrap completely around whole 9 inch Camembert round (you may need additional flour to make dough easier to handle; add one tablespoon at a time).

(Tip: make sure the dough doesn't stick to the countertop or board before placing Camembert in center.

Use additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking - 1 tbsp at a time.

)(Toppings: You may add a topping but it isn't necessary.  This is where I added the mango chutney.  Just spread it over top of the Brie and then wrap the dough around frozen Brie.

Suggested toppings could be minced roasted red peppers, olive oil and garlic or olive tapenade and spread on top of Camembert.

)Place Camembert in center of brioche dough and wrap dough completely around the cheese.

Place on greased baking sheet.

Put an egg wash on Camembert (one whole egg and one tablespoon milk whisked together).

Bake in preheated oven 400 degrees until golden brown approximately 30 minutes.

Cool. Serve while still warm with extra crackers.

Camembert Cheesecake

I went to an appie party the other night as an alternative to our (my friends) annual cookie exchange. I got a recipe from the Canadian Living December 2007 issue. Finding a mini-cheese cake tray would be lots of fun. I couldn't find a mini cheesecake tray, so I used my 8 inch spring form pan which was great too. Here is the recipe and it was amazing:

1 pkg of cream cheese softened, 4 oz. of camembert cheese, diced, 1 egg, 1 tsp. of minced fresh rosemary, ¼ tsp. of pepper, 2/3 cup of sour cream. For the Crust: ¼ cup of toasted unbalanced almonds, ¼ cup of butter, softened, ½ cup of all purpose flour, ½ tsp. of minced fresh rosemary, ¼ tsp. of salt. Garnish: 4 thin slices of prosciutto, ½ tsp. of vegetable oil.

For the crust: In a food processor, finely grind almonds. In bowl, beat butter until fluffy; stir in almonds, flour, rosemary, and salt. Press onto base of twelve 4-oz (125 ml) mini cheesecake cups, or one medium sized spring form pan. Bake in the centre of a 350 degree oven until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with Camembert until fluffy. Beat in egg, rosemary, and pepper; beat in sour cream. Spoon over bases or base of crust. Bake in the centre of 325 degree oven until puffed and centres still jiggle slightly, about 12 minutes. Run hot knife around edge of each cheesecake. Let cool on rack. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours or you can make ahead and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Garnish: slice prosciutto crosswise into thin strips. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; fry prosciutto stirring, until crisp. About three minutes. You can make this ahead for up to 24 hours. Garnish each cheesecake with prosciutto.

Cheese and Onions

While waiting for my tea to steep tonight, I popped a slice of Farmer's Cheese (not Foremost), with a blanket of BBQ ed onion into my mouth. Wow! This is delicious. I need to make up an appie that consists of these two ingredients and assemble it in a pretty way. One would have to be brave, sensuous, and a libertine - like the late great French poet, Colette, to enjoy this simple though vibratingly delicious ensemble, as cheese combined with onions may require a sprig of mint or parsley post chew; but like I said, wow, what a superb combo - and BBQ ed is a must (it brings out the onion's sweetness).

Simple Green Beans with Yellow Pepper and Boursin

I think that I just wrote out the whole recipe in the title! Trim a pound of green beans and boil in a pot of salted water for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, saute some sliced yellow/orange peppers in a pot of olive oil and garlic. When the beans and the peppers are done, toss them all together, adding more jarred garlic and olive oil if you like to make it glisten. Then dot the top of the green beans and peppers with Boursin Cheese and put into an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Very pretty and very delicious.