Quick Fix with Cheese

I've always loved cheese!  Over the past two years I have discovered new cheeses that are so tasty that I wanted to share some quick cheese-tastic recipes.  In 2010, my husband and I went to Italy where I discovered Gorgonzola. This is a very creamy blue cheese. It is a perfect addition to pizza, stuffed chicken, salad dressings, sauces, steak and pasta. So I thought I would share my Gorgonzola Penne with Arugula with all of you.

You will need:
- 454g of penne or any short pasta
- 200g of Gorgonzola cheese
- 1 cup of cream
- 2 cups of Arugula or baby spinash
- 3/4 cups of tosted nuts (Pecans or Walnuts)

Cook the pasta according to the packaging, in the mean time, eat up the cream.  Once simmering, add the Gorgonzola in chunks and stir until melted.

When ready, drained the pasta, but keep about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.  Mix together the pasta and the cheese sauce, add a little bit of pasta water to thin it out and add the arugula and nuts. Add black pepper generously and serve immediatly.

Another cheese that I really love is Brie.  This is one of the most popular French cheese in the world.  Here are some quick recipes with Brie.


Baguette and Melted Brie
Cut a baguette lengthwise.  Cut thin slices of Brie to cover the bread. Add some chopped hazelnuts and drizzle a little bit of honey. Put in the oven until the cheese is melted, about 7 min at 350 degree oven. Cut in pieces and serve immediately.


Garlic Mash Potato with Brie
Use potatoes of your choise, I personnaly love yellow gold potatoes as they are more creamy. Boil the potatoes with 3 or 4 garlic cloves.  Mash the potatoes as you would normally and add some small pieces of Brie.  Taste your potatoes as you are adding the cheese, and add as much as you want. This will make your potatoes so creamy you will have to call them "Smashed potatoes"!

Fondant with Sweet Onions
This is one dish that I make very often. You will need a small wheel of Brie cheese, 1 onion and 1 table spoon of brown sugar. Preheat the oven to 350 degree.  Slice the onion thinly and sauté in butter in a skillet. Once the onions are translucide, add the sugar and stir until the onions are brown and the sugar makes a nice brown sauce in the bottom of the skillet.

Put the onion mixture on top of the Brie and cook in the oven for about 20 min. Keep an eye on it, as the cheese could expand and burst. Serve with bread and crackers. This will have your guests talking!

There are so many ways of enjoying cheese.  Sure it's always good on bread, but try new things and you won't regret it!

The Other Man in my Kitchen

As some of you noticed, I did not post last week.  Things have been crazy around my kitchen and I just didn’t have one minute to myself.  But to make it up to you, I want to introduce you to THE other man in my life.  This affair  has been going on for over 10 years and my husband knows all about him.  Being the confident husband that he is, he is not jealous, in fact he encourages me to seek advice and comfort from my other man.  And I’m not the only woman that has this other man in her life.  He is loved by thousands of women and men and his name is: Ricardo Larrivée… I call him Ricardo.  He is the inspiration to so many recipes. He makes me discover new foods and ways of doing things…in the kitchen.  I will guarantee that any recipe of his, will become an instant favourite.  His familiar smile and his easy recipes (even the most complex) will make you feel like the Chef of all Chefs.  Most of the time, when I try a new recipe, my husband, mother-in-law or even friends will say: “Is this from Ricardo?" and I will be so proud to answer “YES!”. Even my cooking is giving him away!  Yesterday when I told my husband this weeks's post was about my “other man”, he replied “Oh, you’re writing about Ricardo”. You see? This could happen to you too!

The thing that I absolutely adore from Ricardo is that all of his recipes are good, easy to prepare and they give you room to grow.  You know sometimes a chef can have good, not-so-easy and/or bad recipes, but Ricardo’s are just simple, tasty and appetizing.  Ricardo gave me the confidence to try new things. Things like fish. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't grow up eating fish. But now, it's part of my life thanks to him.  And don't get me started on avocados! I think I bought my first avocado only four years ago!  My mother has a family recipe for Banana Bread that’s been passed on from mother to daughter for generations. And it was the most A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Banana Bread... until I decided to try Ricardo's double chocolate banana bread. Oh my, what have I done? I broke the family legacy because I’ll be passing down his recipes to my children! Don’t tell my mom, I haven't told her yet!  But head on over to Ricardo's website for that recipe.

Thanks to Ricardo, I also discovered ratatouille.  No, not the cute Disney movie, the recipe!  This dish with a funny name is a mix of vegetables generally served as a side dish.  I had tried to make it many times before, but it was just so mushy. It came out looking like a clear soup with a few chunks in it and didn't really taste like anything.  But after reading Ricardo's recipe, I recognized my error.  In order to have a good ratatouille, the vegetables need to be prepared and cooked separately so each will taste truly of itself. Then you combine them.  Ricardo explained it to me (well on his website - I suppose it wasn't just for me!) and since then, his recipe is my favourite.  I use it to top a low-calorie pizza where I just add chicken and cheese.  I use it instead of pasta sauce and I add feta cheese and Kalamata Olives. And of course I use it as a side dish.  You have to try this recipe you’ll love it!



Picture from Ricardo's Website

The last thing I want to mention is his website.  It is full of interesting and educational information, how-to videos, etc.  You can create a menu for a specific meal or gathering and save it in your account.  You can even produce a list of your favourite recipes and create your grocery list from it.  His website is just very user-friendly and has earned the number one spot in my food-related bookmarks.  What can I say? He is my go-to guy!  Also, all of his recipes are available in French and English, which makes them even easier to share. And to top it all off, you can sign up for Ricardo's weekly newsletter, with over 10 recipes (generally along the same "theme") and other useful information.

So, there you have it! The (not-so) secret ingredient in most of my recipes and the inspiration for all of my cooking.  I’m sharing my man with you and I honestly hope that you’ll enjoy him!