Salsa Picante – recipe by Mark and Lora Griffin

• 8-10 Medium Tomatoes – cut into quarters (if using Romas, use 14-15)
• 1/2 Onion (medium-large) – cut into quarters
• 5-6 Garlic cloves – slice in half
• 2-3 Medium Jalapenos – remove seeds
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• Salt to taste
• Approximately 2 handfuls of Cilantro – stems removed

Put 1/2 of tomatoes in blender and puree.  Strain excess moisture.  Add remaining ingredients into blender.  Pulse/blend until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Store in large container in refrigerator.  I recommend preparing the day before using for maximum flavor saturation.

Beans (Navy, Pinto, or Red) – adapted from recipe by Mark and Lora Griffin

1. Inspect and wash beans.
2. Soak beans in bowl overnight.
3. Drain beans and discard water.
4. Add beans, ham/ham hocks/salt pork (whichever you have on hand) to crock pot with enough water to fill the pot.  Turn on high until boiling then turn crock pot to low to simmer.
5. For pinto or red beans, add 1 large diced onion, 5-6 garlic cloves (finely chopped), 1/4 tsp. red cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp. cumin.  DO NOT ADD SALT until beans are done and meat is tender.
6. For navy beans, use ham, but nothing else except salt and pepper to taste.
7. This dish can be served with sliced jalapenos and mixed with salsa picante and sour cream, and/or can be served over rice or cornbread.

©2012 KiddoBlogging. All Rights Reserved.

The White Stilton with Mangos and Ginger was good. The cheese is crumbly and a bit tart with sweet bits of fruit throughout. As you might expect, it didn’t go well with the garlic Triscuits or the garlic bread. Erin and I both ranked it below the blueberry and the apple and pear stiltons, but on par with or slightly better than the cranberry. I would recommend this cheese, although it is not my favorite of the four similar style cheeses.

Next, we enjoyed the Bellatoile triple-cream brie. This was excellent as always. Like most (all?) bries, Bellatoile has a slightly tough, bitter, white, edible rind and a soft, almost runny interior. The middle of the cheese is very smooth both in texture and flavor. We’ve had this on a variety of breads and crackers. In our opinion, this cheese needs to be balanced by a salty and/or savory cracker to balance out the bitterness of the rind. That is not to say that this cheese has an unbearably bitter rind (like some other bries I’ve tried), we both enjoy it sliced right of the wedge, but the saltiness of a cracker enhances the overall flavor of the cheese. I highly recommend this cheese – I didn’t like brie until I tried this.

Finally, we have the Red Hot Dutch Edam from Holland (of course). This is a spiced, semi-hard cheese which comes in round balls approximately 8-10 inches in diameter. This apparently is typical of Edams in general. The Red Hot Dutch has chili pepper flakes in with the cheese which gives it a nice, hot bite. The heat is moderate, but not overwhelming – especially not for Mexican food lovers such as Erin and I. In fact, the Dutch cheese is sometimes used in Mexican cooking due to its heat. The flavor of the cheese before the heat peaks is mild and smooth. I recommend this cheese if you like spiced cheeses. Erin and I typically eat this cheese by itself or on a plain cracker.

So there you have it: the results of our first official “Cheese Friday” here at familynewsblog.com. Check back next week for more cheese reviews.

©2012 KiddoBlogging. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve tried the red hot dutch and Bellatoile before and we both love them, but we only tried a sample of the Stilton at Harmon’s. We have, however, tried similar English cheeses with cranberries, blueberries, and apple and pear. They have all been wonderful so far, with blueberry being my favorite and apple and pear being Erin’s fave.

To go with our cheese, we have roasted garlic Triscuits, original Triscuits, and a roasted garlic loaf from the Harmon’s bakery. We will give our impressions of the cheeses after we’re done. We’re going to be watching a movie while we eat so the reviews will be up later tonight.

©2012 KiddoBlogging. All Rights Reserved.