Recipes: Fromage Fort 5, 6 & 7 - Arugula and Fennel Salad - Over Cream Cheese

Let me begin with "Over Cream Cheese".  When I walked into the store Friday to prepare for my tasting, the assistant grocery manager told me they received a large shipment of cream cheese and if I could please do something with cream cheese.   Aghhh.  Nothing like a last minute "do something with it".  So I turned to my blog index and chose a customer favorite from 2013 -  Coconut Mango Pepper Sauce Spread.  I SOLD OUT of TFM Coconut Mango Pepper Sauce and switched to Robert Rothschild Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce.  SOLD OUT and that was just Friday.  I had to come up with something for Saturday.  I chose Robert Rothschild Hot Pepper Peach Jam ... SOLD OUT.  Since I sold out of all three products do I really need to say customers LOVED these EASY recipes?  The recipes are below, but first my apologies for selling out of product.  Since this was a last minute sampling I was not able to have the grocery manager order additional product for me.  It will all be back in stock this week.  Now, the three recipes.

If you want spicy this next flavorful sauce is for you. 

Coconut Mango Pepper Sauce over Cream Cheese

1 jar TFM Coconut Mango Pepper Sauce
8 oz. TFM Cream Cheese
½ c. TFM Toasted Coconut Chips
Stacy's Pita Crisps - Simply Naked (sea salt)

Place cream cheese on a serving plate. Top with ½ a jar of Mango Coconut Pepper Sauce. Garnish with coconut chips. Serve with Stacy's Pita Crisps.

If you're looking for spicy with a hint of sweet, Robert Rothschild Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce would be perfect.


Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce over Cream Cheese
1 jar Robert Rothschild Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce
8 oz. TFM Cream Cheese
½ c. TFM Toasted Coconut Chips
Stacy's Pita Crisps - Simply Naked (sea salt)

Place cream cheese on a serving plate. Top with ½ a jar of Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce. Garnish with coconut chips. Serve with Stacy's Pita Crisps.

Hot Pepper Peach Spread
1 jar Robert Rothschild 

     Hot Pepper Peach Jam
8 oz. TFM Cream Cheese
1 c. smoked almonds, 

     coarsely chopped
Stacy's Pita Crisps - 

     Simply Naked (sea salt)

Place cream cheese on a serving plate. Top with ½ a jar of Hot Pepper Peach Jam. Garnish with smoked almonds. Serve with Stacy's Pita Crisps.

Of all the "delicious", "fantastic", "I love it" comments for these three spreads, I think Hot Pepper Peach was the customer favorite. This recipe had a nice layer of flavors. First spicy, a hint of sweet and finished with smoke. VERY enjoyable. 

 All three of these spreads are QUICK and EASY to prepare.

*****************

Nicole had another nice selection of cheese for me for Fromage Forts.  It was fun pairing off cheese that I thought would make a nice combination and deciding what to add to it and serve it on.  I have gone off the beaten path of what a Fromage Fort is, but I'm going for tasty not traditional.

This first Fromage Fort has nice flavors.  Wensleydale with Cranberries was a nice addition and because of it I decided to use Nuts & Berries (from the bulk bin) as a garnish.  

Fromage Fort 5

8 oz. Ile de France Brie, 
     cut into wedges

8 oz. Wensleydale with 
     Cranberries, crumbled

7 oz. Belavitano Merlot, grated

8 Tbl. (1 stick) butter

¾ c. Nuts & Berries, coarsely chopped

Place cheese and butter in the bowl of a food  processor and process until blended and smooth.  Refrigerate 5 hours to overnight to let flavors blend.  Prior to serving, place in serving bowl and garnish with Nuts & Berries.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

In all honesty, I was on the fence about serving this. I was not a fan, but Nicole said it was quite good.  In the end, customers were enjoying it.   After talking with a customer about this Fromage Fort the light bulb went off for me ... I'm not a fan of Wensleydale with Cranberries.  If that is a cheese you enjoy, this recipe is for you.  Me ... not so much.

*****************

Nicole had scraps of Jarlsberg and Camembert for me.  I wanted to do something less savory and used Gjetost for a mild nutty flavor.  Then for texture I added honey roasted peanuts.  

Fromage Fort 6

8.8 oz. Ski Queen Gjetost, grated

8 oz. Jarlsberg Swiss, grated

8 oz. Ile de France Camembert

¾ c. honey roasted peanuts, 
     coarsely chopped

Place cheese in the bowl of a food  processor and process until blended and smooth.  This will be very thick, so you may want to do it in small batches.  Form into a ball.  Cover.  Refrigerate 5 hours to overnight to let flavors blend.  Prior to serving roll in peanuts.  Serve with your favorite crackers.

In other Fromage Forts I say to add oil if the cheese is too thick.  DO NOT add oil to this.  It severely minimizes the delicious nutty flavor.

*****************

This is the EASIEST Fromage Fort.  I was anxious to use Apetina Feta in oil with herbs and spices.  My hope was to just empty the jar into the food processor and not have to measure olive oil or decide on adding spices.  Success!

Fromage Fort 7

12 oz. Comte Gruyere, 
     rind removed and grated

11 oz. Kerrygold Aged Cheddar, grated

9.7 oz. jar Apetina Feta in oil 
     with herbs and spice

¾ c. Kalamata olives, chopped

1 bag Stacy’s Pita Crisps, 
                                                   Simply Naked (sea salt)

Place cheeses, including oil with herbs and spices, in the bowl of a food  processor and process until blended and smooth.  Refrigerate 5 hours to overnight to let flavors blend.  Prior to serving, place in serving bowl and garnish with Kalamata olives.  Serve with Stacy’s Pita Crisps.

THE customer favorite.

*****************

For this weeks cheese to familiarize customers with, Nicole selected Ricotta Salata.  So, I prepared a salad and I used Fennel as an ingredient that some customers  may not be familiar with.

Arugula and Fennel Salad

1 (5 oz.) clam shell arugula

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
fennel fronds, cut

¼ c. toasted pine nuts

1/3 lb. Ricotta Salata, crumbled

1 bottle Girard’s Barista Balsamic Vinaigrette

Wildly Delicious Roasted Garlic Sea Salt, to taste

Place arugula, fennel and fennel fronds in a large serving bowl.  Add desired amount of vinaigrette and toss until arugula and fennel are coated.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place on individual serving plates. Top with pine nuts and Ricotta Salata. Serve.

Customers LOVED, LOVED, LOVED.  Sold all but two bottles of dressing.  


Keep an eye for next weekends tasting schedule (posted on Thursday).  I have a VERY nice recipe booklet to hand out from Parmigiano-Reggiano. I will be preparing two recipes from it.