Cheese Truffles (aka Cheeseballs)

Tags

blue cheese, cheddar, cheese, cheese truffles, cheeseballs, feta, finger food

The blue cheese ones

So, I’ve really got to stop doing this. Showing up now and then with a recipe I’ve nicked from my Greek blog… But I couldn’t not share this one with you guys. I’m actually really proud of these cheese truffles (the fancy name for cheeseballs). Cheeseballs aren’t an achievement in themselves; they’re ridiculously easy to make. It’s the flavour combinations I’m going to brag about. I did a lot of research and found a lot of recipes, however none made me think “THAT one”. So I decided to sit my derriere down and make one up (or three). And these are what I came up with:

Feta and Honey with Date and Walnut Coating
Cheddar, Gouda and Apple with Caramelised Almond and Sultana Coating
Blue Cheese with Sesame Coating and Strawberry Jam on a Cracker
(mouthfuls, literally and otherwise!)

The cheddar ones (at the front) and the feta ones (at the back)

The reason I was searching high and low for a good cheeseball in the first place, was the fact that I had chosen this as my finger food contribution to a recent street party. I’m part of a group of food bloggers here in Athens called Food4Good. We organize or participate in events where people can come along and sample (well, gorge on usually) our creations, paying a small amount of money which all goes to various charities. In this case, we participated in a street party which also included music, kids’ arts & crafts, kids’ yoga and all sorts of cool attractions. It was smack bang in the middle of an upscale shopping area, on the Sunday before Easter. The shops were open and the weather was lovely, so you can imagine how busy it got! We had all sorts of goodies, both savoury and sweet. Feast your eyes on this lot.

Mini meat pies with bulgur wheat dough, by Elena is Cooking

Smoked Salmon Potato Nests with Yogurt and Dill Filling by Sabor by Conna

Mini Tarts with Feta, Egg Bacon and Roasted Red Pepper Fillings by Wonderfoodland

Mini lenten apple pies by Funky Cook

Mini vanilla and chocolate cupcakes by Sugar Buzz

Mini pavlovas by Gourmelita

Before I move on to the recipes, I would like to once again thank Artemis Tsipi of Wonderfoodland, a fab food photographer and friend, who took all these beautiful shots and gave me permission to use them here. Check out her blog here (also in English, look for the links) and her lovely work.

And now, here goes:

Ingredients

Cheese Truffles (aka Cheeseballs)

Feta and Honey with Date and Walnut Coating

325 gr. feta cheese (choose a sturdy one, not a very soft one)
175 gr. cream cheese
2 Tbs + 1 ½ tsp honey
100 gr. walnuts, finely chopped
110 gr. dates, finely chopped
salty pretzel sticks (one for each cheese truffle)

Cheddar, Gouda and Apple with Caramelised Almond and Sultana Coating

200 gr. blanched almonds (for the coating)
1 Tbs + 2 tsp honey (for the coating)
1/2 tsp salt (for the coating)
1 tsp cinnamon (for the coating)
1/2 tsp (scant) freshly grated nutmeg (for the coating)
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper (for the coating)
100 gr. sultanas, finely chopped (for the coating)
350 gr. mature cheddar, thickly grated (on a grater with large holes)
90 gr. gouda, thickly grated
150 gr. cream cheese
2 pinches (between 1/8 – 1/4 tsp) salt
1-2 green apples, chopped into small cubes

Blue Cheese with Sesame Coating and Strawberry Jam on a Cracker

350 gr. blue cheese
100 gr. butter, softened
30 ml brandy
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp plus a pinch of salt (depends on saltiness of blue cheese)
toasted sesame seeds for coating
1/4 – 1/2 jar (100 to 180 gr.) strawberry jam
small salty crackers (one for each truffle)

Instructions

For the Feta and Honey Truffles

Mix/knead the cheeses and honey in a bowl with your hands. Take small amounts and shape into small balls. This mixture is soft and gooey so you might want to thump me at some point. Stay calm, wash your hands often (it helps) and persevere. It’s worth it. Put them on a plate and refrigerate for a while so they start firming up. Mix the chopped walnuts and dates in a bowl. One by one, place the cheeseballs into the mixture and roll them around till they are well coated. Pop onto a plate and refrigerate again for at least 4 hours. To serve, stick a pretzel in each so they look like lollipops.

For the Cheddar, Gouda and Apple Truffles

First make the caramelized almonds for the coating. Spread the almonds on a baking tray lined with greased parchment paper. Toast in preheated oven at 190C (fan) or 200C (conventional) for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the coating ingredients except the sultanas, in a bowl. When the 7 minutes are up, add the almonds to the bowl, mix to cover well, return them to the baking tray (spaced apart slightly), and finish toasting for another 6 minutes. Timings may differ from oven to oven, but be careful as you can’t really tell if they are burning now they are coated in honey. Let cool and chop finely. Mix with chopped sultanas and set aside.
In a large bowl place the cheeses and salt, and mix well with your hands. Take a small quantity in your palm, shape into a ball and press a cube of apple into the centre. Close it up and continue with the rest of the cheese. Roll the balls into the coating mixture, pressing well so it sticks. This will be trickier than the feta ones, as the cheese won’t be so soft. Place the balls in the fridge.

For the Blue Cheese Truffles

Crumble the blue cheese into a large bowl, add the butter, brandy, salt and pepper, and mix with your hands. Try the mixture and add salt if necessary. Shape into very small balls (this one is strong) and roll in the toasted sesame seeds till coated. Place in the fridge till firm. To serve, smear a bit of jam on each cracker and pop a truffle on top. These should be eaten in one mouthful so you get all the different flavours at once!

Note: All the truffles need time in the fridge to firm up. However, they are best served at room temperature, so remember to take them out about 30 minutes to an hour before you start munching. Best thing about these guys? They actually taste better if they are made the day before. Perfect party food if you ask me.

Unfortunately not all the goodies pictured above are available, but here are two of them. Wish I had a couple of each right now…
Smoked Salmon Potato Nests with Yogurt and Dill Filling by Sabor by Conna
Mini Tarts with Feta, Egg Bacon and Roasted Red Pepper Fillings by Wonderfoodland
The coating for the cheddar truffles was inspired by these incredible almond snacks on Wonderfoodland.

Easy Slow Cooker Dulce De Leche (Caramel)

Tags

caramel, condensed milk, crockpot, dessert, slow cooker

Psst! Hi! Just a quick post because I really should be doing other things right now…

You know in my last post how I mentioned slathering dulce de leche over vanilla ice cream in a cookie cup? Well, there’s a really easy way of making your own caramel, using sweetened condensed milk. Granted, it’s not easier than just buying it off the shelf in civilised countries like the US and the UK, but for those who live in villages (i.e. Greece) all you need is a slow cooker and the process is headache free. For a long while I used the “boiling-cans-in-water” method, which works fine but a. I was checking on the saucepan every 10 minutes worried about exploding cans and caramel coated kitchen walls, and b. I didn’t like the idea of the milk bubbling away in a tin for over 2 hours. I’m sure there are other ways, like maybe a water bath in the oven? But who wants their oven on for so long?

You can adapt this method to your own slow cooker; if it’s a large one you might get more quantities in. Just check how many heat-proof ramekins (or coffee mugs should work) fit in the slow cooker insert. My 3.5L slow cooker takes 2 ramekins which in turn take one tin of condensed milk. If yours fits more ramekins, use more milk. The caramel keeps well in the fridge in an old jam jar.

Ingredients

1 tin sweetened condensed milk, approx. 400g (the thick creamy milk that has sugar in it, not the evaporated milk that we dilute with water)
hot water for the slow cooker insert

Instructions

1. Fill the slow cooker insert with water to create a bath for the ramekins (water should come half way or 3/4 way up the sides). Keep in mind that when you put them in, the water level will rise!
2. Pour the condensed milk into the ramekins and put them into their bath.
3. Cover with foil so the condensation doesn’t fall back into the milk (see photos).
4. Turn slow cooker on to high and leave for about 4-5 hours. Adjust timings if your slow cooker tends to cook a little faster. You can check the progress by carefully peeking under the foil. Caramel is done when it has turned the colour of, um, caramel. The longer you leave it, the darker and thicker it will get. Mine is good after 5 hours.

Other cool ideas for your slow cooker
Slow Cooker Jacket (Baked) Potatoes, my most popular post ever
Hot Dogs for a Crowd, by A Year of Slow Cooking
CrockPot Play Dough Recipe, by A Year of Slow Cooking

Beetroot and Feta Dip – The Prettiest Dip in the World

Tags

beet, beetroot, dip, feta, spread

Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It’s been 10 days since my last post… (och there’s no way that line’s not been used before…). Anyway, it has been a while but this week’s been crazy, as was last weekend. I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner yesterday (a day later but Thursday was a school night here!) and was cooking for about 3 days… Look out for my next post for details.

Within the madness however, I did manage a quick post on my Greek pages. Quick being the operative word! I’d been thinking about going to Food Blogger Connect (#FBC5) in London in July, and I was looking for a blogger buddy in order to benefit from the Early Bird offer of 2-4-1 (ending tomorrow). It suddenly occurred to me to buddy up with someone from here in Greece. So I asked the nice peeps over at Greek Food Blogs and they suggested I write a post which they would promote within the online community. It took but a couple of hours and hey presto, Sugar Flowers Creations left a comment and we’re now looking for cheap flights! Yay!

As I really needed to get that post up as quickly as possible, I chose to include one of my easiest and simplest recipes from the “to-blog” list. The idea for this dip came from two things. First was a gorgeous salad a friend brought to a summer BBQ. Pieces of juicy, sweet and earthy beetroot, teamed with chunks of rich and creamy feta cheese. A match made in heaven. A few weeks later I was drooling surfing the website of another friend, who owns a company that imports/exports food (Elli & Manos). And I landed on this page. I knew I would love the beet/feta spread. So when I found myself with some leftover cooked beetroot and half a tub of feta that was begging to be eaten up, I wondered what would happen if I chucked them in the blender. The result was pretty amazing, in taste and in appearance! In my Greek post I didn’t mention where I got my inspiration, which was my bad, so I’d like to make it right. Elli doesn’t even know I’m writing this, so please don’t think it’s a sponsored post or anything. I haven’t tried their dip but how can it not work? It’s got beetroot and feta in it! (they’re based in Greece and the UK but check with them about delivery to other countries)

Here’s my version (would you please look at that colour? Is it not the prettiest colour ever?)

Beetroot and Feta Dip

Makes 1 small batch

Ingredients

180g beetroot, cut into chunks (I used the pre-cooked vacuum packed version. Might be even nicer with roast beetroot. Scrub, cut each into 4 or 6 wedges, toss in a bit of oil and roast for about an hour-90 min or until you can stick a fork in it)
80g feta cheese, crumbled
1 tsp oil
1 tsp vinegar (I used red wine vinegar and it was quite strong tasting. You might want to start with ½ tsp and add as needed)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Scant 1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp salt (watch the salt because feta has loads already!)

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse till smooth.
(My shortest “Directions” section ever!)

If you love beetroot (do you know it apparently cleans your blood?) check these out:
Beetroot borani recipe (borani chogondar) by Nami-Nami
Beet Chop/Beetroot Patty by Sunshine and Smile
Beet Hummus by Simply Recipes
Beet and Sweet Potato Stacks by The Kitchn

Quince Chutney – Sweet, Sharp, Tangy

Tags

chutney, quince

A while ago I found an old folder full of recipe magazine clippings. Another one. I swear, I’d need about 3 lifetimes to try all the recipes I’ve clipped, saved, bookmarked and filed away under “must try”. I have hundreds of magazines, all with little post-it’s sticking out to mark something I want to make. And of course I now have absolutely no recollection of what is actually in all my books, mags, folders and favourites lists. So it’s like I don’t even have them. But once in a while there will be one recipe that sticks in my mind and stays there till I buy the ingredients and get round to trying it out.

This happened when I found that old folder. Inside was a torn out page from a Sunday newspaper insert, with an article on quince. There were three recipes using this underestimated and underappreciated fruit, in very interesting sweet and savoury dishes.Here in Greece, practically the only way quince is used is in the traditional “Spoon Sweet”. Spoon sweet is basically fruit briefly cooked in obscene amounts of sugar and preserved in the resulting thick syrup. It’s called that because you (can) only eat one spoonful of it! To be fair it’s quite good stuff, it’s just really really sweet. The best way to enjoy it is with Greek yogurt, because that counteracts the sweetness perfectly and prevents the sugar comma you might fall into if not careful. There are many different types of spoon sweet like cherry, pear, apple, orange, grape, apricot, plum, and some weirder ones like carrot, courgette (zucchini) and baby aubergine (eggplant). And of course quince, which is probably one of the nicest.
Anyway. Since I’m supposed to be writing about chutney, I’ll stop going on about sweets! So. Quince chutney was one of the three recipes in that article. It immediately grabbed my attention, and stayed in my mind till a few days ago when I saw a crateful of the strange looking things in my local supermarket. They look like a cross between pears and apples! But they are tough little cookies to deal with. The flesh is very hard and they’re quite difficult to peel because of the many bumps and grooves. I’d recently seen this video on Food52 about peeling apples and thankfully remembered it, so I tried out the technique and it worked a treat. Quince may be very hard when raw (and definitely inedible) but it softens very quickly during cooking. And it must also absorb liquid as this thickened very quickly too. So make sure you cover the pan and turn the heat right down, so the flavours have enough time to mingle before it’s ready.

This is gorgeous with cheese. Try it with a fairly strong tasting variety as it’s very flavourful and the quince chunks are quite sweet. A mature cheddar or even smoked cheese would work fantastically. It’s also a good accompaniment to pork or cold deli meats. Like all chutneys it gets better with age, so let it rest for at least a few days before digging in.

Recipe by Thalia Tsichlaki in the magazine BHMAgazino, November 2009.

Quince Chutney

Makes about 2-3 medium jars

Ingredients

2 quinces
1 lemon, juice of
1 ½ Tbs olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 Tbs raisins
1 Tbs dried cranberries
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
200ml cider vinegar
150g soft brown sugar
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Fill a large bowl with water and add the lemon juice.
2. Peel the quinces, cut into chunks and put them in the bowl with the lemon water (to keep them from browning – they brown very quickly). Leave for 10 minutes.
3. In the meantime, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and gently cook the onion until soft and translucent.
4. Add the quinces, raisins, cranberries, cinnamon, vinegar and ginger. Sprinkle the sugar over the top. Mix gently and let it cook, covered, over very low heat for about 30 minutes. If you can, leave it longer, but be careful that the liquids aren’t all absorbed too quickly.
5. Add salt and pepper (the recipe mentions adding this now. To be honest I think I completely forgot this stage, so I don’t know if it would be better added at the beginning with the rest of the ingredients. I also can’t say how much. I do know that none is fine, you can always season when serving!)
6. Put into warm sterilized jars and leave to cool completely before placing in the fridge.

Other interesting chutneys from around the web:
Fig Chutney by David Lebovitz
Tomato Chutney by Liz the Chef
Apple Cranberry Chutney by Simply Recipes
Curried Apple Chutney by Local Kitchen
Green Bean Chutney by Chutney and Spice

Easy Slow Cooker Applesauce with Pears

Tags

apples, applesauce, crockpot, ginger, pears, slow cooker

Greek yogurt and applesauce topped with crunchy granola.

It’s currently 8:00am and I’m at the bus stop waiting for my bus (and furiously scribbling on my notebook). I’m on my way to work you see.

Oops, I’m now on the bus. I’ve been feeling really bad about falling behind with my posts, but I’ve had quite a bit going on lately which has been stressing me out. And blogging is supposed to be a fun hobby isn’t it? At least at my level! So I decided to stop beating myself up about it and do what I can when I can. This is my intro to a very quick post and an even quicker recipe!

Despite all my “goings on” I still spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and couldn’t help but jump on the seasonal bandwagon. That means recipes with apples and pumpkin! Seasons are slightly different here in Greece, I mean we had pumpkins all through the summer, but when you read blogs from the US all the time, you get carried away by the beautiful descriptions and transferred into their atmosphere. So even though we’ve had 30^oC degrees heat this week (that’s 86^oF), I’m thinking applesauce, soup, hot chocolate and so on. I did do a little experiment to try and combine the two worlds, but more about that another time (after I know it was successful!).

Aaand I’ve now reached the metro station, next train in 2 minutes. So, applesauce. What a gorgeous, versatile, adaptable concoction. It especially goes with the granola I talked about here and here; in fact all granolas or even porridge can benefit from a spoonful of applesauce dolloped on top. Add a little Greek yogurt and… perfect breakfast or snack. It also goes well with ham or turkey in a sandwich. Or with cheese. As I said, versatile.

On the train now, so glad you can’t see my handwriting. I saw this recipe by Cookin’ Canuck on Slow Cooker from Scratch, where there is a great round up of applesauce variations. It’s quick to prepare, has few ingredients and tastes lovely. A winner in my book! I made a much smaller batch because I only had two apples and The Mister doesn’t really eat much applesauce anyway. Check out the original here, as well as all the other recipes on the Slow Cooker from Scratch round up here. Hey, thanks for keeping me company on my morning journey!

Makes just under 2 cups

Ingredients

2 red apples (I used a crispy, juicy Greek variety like Red Delicious)
2 pears
1 Tbs brown sugar
½ tsp dried ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup water

Instructions

1. Peel, core and chop the apples into large pieces. I only peeled one of them because I got impatient and I don’t mind the skin, it gets soft anyway. Do the same with the pears. If their skin is tough (it can be sometimes) don’t leave any on.
2. Pop them all into the slow cooker and sprinkle the spices and sugar on top. Mix well.
3. Add the water to the slow cooker, you can use less if you want, I wanted to coat the bottom of the stoneware but I don’t think there was any need to, the fruit releases lots of moisture.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-5. Cooking time depends on how hot your slow cooker gets, and how much fruit you use (the more the fruit, the longer it takes). Stir occasionally and break up with a spoon or fork.

Other recipes for or with applesauce from around the blogosphere
CrockPot Applesauce Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking (another slow cooker version)
Homemade Applesauce by Framed Cooks (a stovetop version)
CrockPot Applesauce Chicken Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking
Perfect Roasted Pork Loin & Homemade Rosemary Applesauce from the LeMoine Family Kitchen

Melitzanosalata: 2 Ways to make Aubergine (Eggplant) Dip

Tags

aubergine, dip, eggplant, melitzanosalata, salad, spread, vegetarian

You’ve probably come across the –salata ending on a couple of Greek salad/dip types of food, the most common being Taramosalata (it’s with an “o” not an “a”). Salata obviously means salad, and in some cases when it’s on the end of a word it refers to a dip or spread made out of whatever the first part of the word is. So taramosalata is a dip made with taramas (fish roe), tyrosalata is a dip made with tyri (cheese, usually feta), maidanosalata is a dip made with parsley, and the list goes on… Every Greek restaurant has at least some of these, and they are best eaten with crusty bread or in some cases chips (French fries). Greeks will rarely order a starter each, they mostly have a selection of nibbles in the middle of the table and share these before the main course arrives. And more often than not, these “mezes” are enough to feed an army, let alone the people at the table!

This dip is called Melitzanosalata because it’s made with melitzana, which means aubergine or eggplant depending on where you’re reading from. You may recall a previous post, where I used aubergines from a friend’s garden. I still had some left over and they were beginning to look very unhappy. Actually I’m surprised they lasted that long. So yesterday I decided to test a couple of recipes, to see which I liked more. They are both taken from Greek websites, so I’ll link because it’s the right thing to do, but I’ll save you a click by telling you you’d have to read Greek to make any sense!

I made small quantities because these were tests, and also because garlic is just about forbidden in this flat by a certain Mister. And these are pretty garlicky!

Both recipes start out with cooking the aubergines, preferably on a charcoal BBQ or an open flame. This is not possible in a flat, so I thought I’d stick them under the grill (broiler) till they blackened on all sides. You know, like we do peppers. Yeah, this is all good if you are aware of one thing. Aubergines explode. Literally. The first batch was ok, with a small piff and a few seeds popping out of one of the fruit. During the second round though I heard a loud (and I mean loud) bang, which I thought was a door slamming. It wasn’t. It was an aubergine Molotov that had just ruined the next half hour of my life (spent cleaning splotches of goo and seeds off the inside of my oven). I don’t know if pricking them beforehand would have helped. Anyhow, I saved most of the flesh and used it, hoping for the best. It was fine in the end, but I’m sure it would have tasted even better if the skins had fully charred and the insides softened more. Apparently, if you have a gas cooker (the ones with a flame instead of a hob) you can cook them on that. I have no idea how you would go about it though, so don’t hold me to it.

Melitzanosalata #1 – From Mount Athos (the place where no women are allowed. Yes, there is such a place in Greece. In this day and age!)
Serves 2

What you need:
3 small aubergines (eggplants)
1 small or ½ large roasted red pepper (from a jar)
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 Tbs olive oil
1 ½ Tbs vinegar
Salt & pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat grill (broiler). Place the aubergines on an oven rack or tray under the grill. Get them up close to save time. Grill until they are black on all sides. You want the skin to burn. You don’t want them to explode, but you’ll have to risk it because I don’t know how to avoid it. You can try pricking them first with a fork in a few places. Cross your fingers.
2. If all goes well, let the aubergines cool for a few minutes. Then cut into the skin at the top (where the stem is) and make a slit down to the bottom. Open up the skin and scoop out the flesh. Put it into a bowl and mash it with a fork. I used a knife and fork and sort of mashed/chopped it.
3. Chop the roasted red pepper and add it to the bowl.
4. Put the garlic, oil and vinegar in a food processor and whiz into a dressing.
5. Add half the dressing to the bowl with some salt and pepper, and stir it all well. Taste and add more dressing if necessary (I didn’t).
6. Put it in the fridge and leave it for a while so the tastes can mingle and get to know each other. While you clean your oven.

Note: This is really garlicky. It was a bit strong for my taste, but I’m not a huge garlic fan to begin with. I took some to my mum who is, and she loved it. It’s actually supposed to be like this, but you can adjust it to suit your palate. Original recipe on Matia website.

Melitzanosalata #2 – With Yogurt and Walnuts, by chef Argiro Barbarigou
Serves 4

What you need:
2 medium aubergines
4 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs vinegar
1 clove garlic, mashed (or pressed through the garlic-press-thingy)
½ cup walnut crumbs (use a food processor to blend them until sand-like)
½ tub (100g) Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
Salt & pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Follow steps 1 & 2 from above.
2. Add oil, vinegar, garlic. Mix.
3. Add walnut crumbs. Mix.
4. If it’s cooled down enough add yogurt. Mix.
5. Refrigerate.

Note: This has a mellower taste. Original recipe (in Greek) here.

Enjoy both dips on top of crusty bread, rusks, or toasted baguette slices.

Other great looking recipes using aubergines:
Slow Cooker Punjabi Eggplant with Potatoes from The Perfect Pantry (I’ve tried this, love it!)
Spicy Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Salad with Thai Flavors from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Italian Grilled Eggplant Cakes by Andrea Meyers
Easy Baked Eggplant Parmigiana by Food Blogga