Feeling Blue

June 15, 2012 | 8 Comments

 

I go through phases with my cheeses. I was on a feta roll for a while putting it in everything from quiche to salad and even one day into scrambles eggs (where it didn’t really belong). I was having a love affair with Gruyere (often eating it standing up, over the sink, with a dab of honey as icing on top), and have been going pretty steady with my Parmesean relationship for the past 6 mos.

The latest suitor to win my heart has been blue cheese – Gorgonzola is divine, Stilton I’d choose as part of my last meal on earth, but I’ve been buying a lot of Danish Blue which is far cheaper and depending on what you’re doing with it  - just fine.  In fact if you’re looking for crumble (a trait I often value in a blue, depending on the dish), sometimes its the cheaper cheese that are more crumbly.

A salad I’ve been making a lot the past couple months has been fennel, beets and blue … with a simple vinaigrette. It’s an ideal summer salad and the sharp, salty blue is a really nice offset for the mild, sweet beets.

An interesting bit of trivia re blue cheese – supposedly it came about by accident.  The caves where the cheese aged was a perfect climate for mold which found its way innocently into the cheese and voila – it stuck.

 A few tips for the fennel

  • Use a mandoline and put it on the finest setting (raw fennel is far tastier when its super finely sliced – almost see-through).
  • The fennel will soften with the vinaigrette so you might want to toss it in the vinaigreette first, let it sit 30 mins then add the other stuff
  • Don’t let shaved fennel sit out too long else it will turn brown

A few tips for the beets

  • Calculate a time you think they’ll take to cook and then double it. They always take longer than you think – they basially take as long to cook as a potato.
  • No need  to peel them first, or ever, for that matter. Just eat the skin. You won’t notice.

Get the recipe for Fennel, Beets and Blue.

Get the recipe for a fabulous basic vinaigrette.

Got any great ways to use blue cheese?  Or fennel?

Related Posts

Sauteed Fennel with Tomatoes and Olives
Grated Carrot and Fennel Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

 

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  • mari hayter

    Roasted sweet potatoes, (roasted) cauliflower and (roasted) asparagus with bleu cheese is pretty spectacular.

  • Engfood

    My favorite blue cheese: Maytag Blue Cheese. If you have never tried it, treat yourself. You will never be sorry. BTW, the blue has many different size options. The 1 oz. option is great for having in the freezer and pulling out when a recipe calls for some blue. Try it. You’ll like it!

    http://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/aspx/welcome.aspx

  • Thegeorgesfamily

    I love maytag blue cheese.  It is so worth the price tag.

  • http://www.In-HomeCulinaryClasses.blogspot.com/ Vicki Bensinger

    This is a nice salad.  I’m like you going in phases of the cheese of the month.  I use to love blue cheese of all things when I was younger.  Now for whatever reason I avoid it.  I think because it’s so high in mold my throat starts to itch.  Oddly enough it doesn’t happen with any other cheese.  This salad would work well with goat cheese tool.  I  think I might try it this way.  Thanks for sharing!

  • ahoomes

    Are you allergic to penicillin?  I am and I have to limit my exposure to blue cheeses.

  • Jen

    My sister lives in Oregon and Rogue River Blue is out of this world. Wrapped in grape leaves that have been macerated in pear brandy. If you have a Whole Foods, I’ve found it here on East Coast.  Sooo good on Carr’s wheatmeal biscuits with honey and walnuts, oh, my.  I try to stay on a plant-based diet for health reasons, and for this I will indulge in dairy.

  • Ctb

    Danish blue cheese has always been my fave – seems a bit sweeter than most other types. When I was @ school in NYC, I practically lived on thin sliced Swedish rye bread ( dense, whole grain ‘cocktail’ rye) w/ Danish blue cheese & maybe some raw sweet onion – mmmm.

  • Jennifer H

    I love blue cheese! A happy day was when hubby saw the light, trying it with just a drizzle of honey at a wine bar. He previously wouldn’t touch blue cheese.

    I absolutely adore it with green apple and celery. Something about those 3 flavors together sings to me.