Chesse? Yes, please
When I was a little girl, I hated cheese. In fact, I distinctly remember crying because my mom was making pizza for dinner and the thought of all that gooey, melted cheese was enough to make me gag. Then one day my friend convinced me to try string cheese by insisting that it didn’t taste like “normal” cheese. He was right, and since then I have developed a strong love for almost every kind of cheese.
But what is “normal” cheese? And how many different kinds of cheese are there? I think what most people probably think of when they think cheese is mild cheddar. Another common one is mozzarella, most likely made popular by the favorite childhood snack string cheese and the fact that it’s the main cheese used on pizza. (What I bet you didn’t know is that the secret ingredient most pizza restaurants use is smoked provolone cheese mixed with mozzarella.)
If these two kinds of cheese are the only ones you know of, I challenge you to broaden your cheese scope with these delicious recipes.
Pear Gorgonzola Pasta
Gorgonzola is a crumbly bleu cheese that can be found in little containers near the dips and other fancy cheeses in your grocery store. It may seem pricey, but it’s so strong that you only use a tiny bit at a time. You can keep it in your freezer and it’ll last pretty much forever.
This recipe also uses Parmesan cheese. For best results use the kind that is relatively freshly grated, as opposed to the sprinkle kind that comes in the green plastic bottles.
8 ounces pasta (penne or bowtie work well)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 large pear, peeled and chopped (put it in a bowl and brush it with lemon juice to prevent browning)
1/3 cup of cream (more or less depending on preference)
– In a medium pot, bring about six cups of water to a boil.
– Add the pasta and boil eight to 11 minutes, until soft. Drain.
– Add the butter and cheeses and stir until melted. You may need to put the pot back on the stove to get everything to melt. If you do, keep the temperature on low to prevent the cheese from burning to the bottom of the pan.
– Add the cream, a little at a time, until you reach a good thickness.
– Gently stir in pear pieces.
– Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Quesadilla Supremo
These quesadillas use muenster cheese in addition to the “normal” stuff. You can get it by the slice at the deli or by the block in the regular cheese section. Muenster cheese has a delicious mild, unique flavor. It’s also good on sandwiches.
Tortillas (the ones that come uncooked are the best)
black beans
pinto beans
corn
fresh lime juice
cheddar cheese
muenster cheese
avocado
cilantro (optional)
You can make this recipe in any quantity. I usually do about 1 1/2 cups black beans, 1 1/2 cups pinto beans and 1 cup corn.
– Just combine it in a medium skillet and heat until it gets warm.
– Add a big squeeze of lime juice to the mixture.
– Meanwhile, start cooking your tortilla (or if you use the precooked kind, you can just warm it up) and sprinkle both kinds of cheese onto half of it.
– Let it cook just until the cheeses melt.
– Cover the melted cheese in the bean and corn mixture and fold the tortilla in half.
– Flip to cook and warm both sides.
– Serve topped with sliced avocado and garnish with cilantro (optional).
Jennelle Clark is a junior in psychology.Questions or comments can be sent to her at jenn.nelle@gmail.com.