Tag Archives: Feta

The don of meatloaf


One thing I realized my site does not have is my meatloaf recipe. It is the don of meatloaves. There’s lots of goodies in it. Bits of bacon mixed in, there’s chunks of feta, olives, onions and garlic.

 

Soak the sliced italian bread in the milk for several minutes in a large mixing bowl. While it is soaking turn the oven onto 200 degrees F.  Place the ground meat, garlic bacon, eggs, salts, pepper, parsley, cheeses, olives, and onions into the soaked bread. Mix by hand until it all comes together and is well mixed. Turn out onto pan and shape into 4 loaves. (I have a cooling rack that is nothing more then a chunk of 1/4 inch thick steel with 1/3 inch holds drilled in it. I place it over a turkey roasting pan 1/2 full of water. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS.) Place into oven and let cook 8-12 hours. After the 8-12 hours has passed apply your favorite sauce ontop of meatloaves and turn to 350 degrees F and allow to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes.

When it is done it will be sticky on the outside, and so moist and tender inside that you can microwave it the next day and not have it dry out on you which most meat loaves others have made for me tend to do. The onions will be clear, the garlic soft and delicious, the bacon flimsy yet delicious. The best thing of all, it’s a great meal that one can cook all day. No longer do you have to rush to get a meatloaf done, you can set it, and forget it.

Typically I use a apple bbq sauce with burbon in it.

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Summer salads for a crowd


Ok I love my seafood. During the summer here in Rhode Island, lots of good fresh seafood available.  I do 2 varieties, 1 with mayo, 1 without. I like the ones with mayo myself. I just cook my corn right on the grill on the cob till the tops start to brown/blacken a bit, and then remove the kernals with a corn cob cutter from lehmans and the desilking brush.

You can get the corn cutter here.

The desilking brush you can get from here.

I also highly recommend there book on growing corn, which you can get here.

 

Crab and lobster summer salad

5 lb crab meat (lump is good but I use all of it)
5 lb lobster meat (again all of it)
10 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
10 hass avocado, diced
20 hot peppers such as serrano or jalapeños, diced fine (seeds and white membraine removed for no heat, or seeds removed for mild)
15 cups fire roasted corn kernels
3 1/3 cup chopped red onion
20 limes, juice of (or more to taste)
10 tsp olive oil
20 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and fresh pepper to taste
3 cups feta

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them sit at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine chopped crab meat, lobster meat, feta, avocado, tomatoes, hot pepper and corn. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. For me the sweet of the crab, avocado and lobster the bite of lime an the saltyness of feta creates a real treat.

 

The mayo version is also great.

5 lb crab meat (lump is good but I use all of it)
5 lb lobster meat (again all of it)
10 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
10 hass avocado, diced
20 hot peppers such as serrano or jalapeños, diced fine (seeds and white membraine removed for no heat, or seeds removed for mild)
15 cups roasted corn kernels
3 1/3 cup chopped red onion
20 limes, juice of (or more to taste)
10 tsp olive oil
20 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and fresh pepper to taste
3 cups feta
20 spears oven roasted asparagus
1 1/2 cups black olives (sliced)
1 1/2 cups green olives (minced)
3 cups mayo
3 cups italian dressing

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them sit at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine chopped crab meat, lobster meat, feta, avocado, tomatoes, hot pepper and corn. Combine all the ingredients together, mayo and italian dressing, add cilantro and gently toss. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

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Homemade feta cheese


that’s right….homemade feta cheese for salads and anything else you’d like it for!

Feta from Greece

Image via Wikipedia

 

Feta cheese

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt with live cultures
1 gallon whole pasteurized milk
1/4 tsp. lipase powder, preferably calf
3/4 tsp. calcium chloride
1/4 tsp. liquid rennet
1-1/2 oz. kosher salt (6 Tbs. if using Diamond Crystal; 3 Tbs. if using Morton)
For the brine:
2 oz. kosher salt (1/2 cup if using Diamond Crystal; 1/4 cup if using Morton)

Day 1: Make the cheese curd:
Sterilize all the equipment you will need for this first day of work. Clean all counters with hot soapy water or an antibacterial wipe.

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with 1/2 cup of the milk.

In a deep 8- to 10-quart pot, heat the remaining milk over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until it registers 90°F on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the yogurt mixture. Turn off the heat (leave the pot on the burner), cover, and let sit for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl with a soupspoon, stir the lipase with 1/4 cup water until blended—it doesn’t matter if the lipase stays a little lumpy. Let sit for 20 minutes. Stir in the calcium chloride and rennet until the mixture is smooth and blended.

Turn the burner under the milk mixture to medium low, add the lipase mixture and stir with a slotted spoon for 1 minute. Stop the movement of the milk with the spoon and hold a thermometer in the center of the milk—the temperature should be at least 96°F; if necessary, continue heating until it comes up to temperature.

Remove the thermometer, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit undisturbed until the curd is firm and has a clean “cleave,” 1 to 3 hours. To determine a clean cleave, wash your hands with soap and hot water and insert a finger (or a sterilized spoon) 1 inch diagonally into the curd and pull straight up. If the cleave is clean, the curd will split with sharp edges and whey will start to fill the split.

Cut the curd:
With a table knife, cut the curd all the way to the bottom of the pot in a 1/2 -inch crosshatch pattern. Turn the heat to low and heat for 5 minutes. Stir the curd with the slotted spoon and insert a thermometer; it should read at least 96°F. If not, continue heating, stirring occasionally, until the curds come up to temperature, increasing the heat to medium low, if necessary.

Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes to break up large chunks.

Drain the curd:
Set a large colander over a large bowl and line it with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Pour the curd into the strainer and drain off the whey for 30 minutes. Put 1 quart of the whey in a sterile 1-quart liquid measuring cup, cover, and set aside at room temperature.

Gather the ends of the cheesecloth and tie them loosely at the top of the curd; then tie them around a long spoon or several chopsticks. Hang the bag inside the pot at room temperature for 24 hours, loosely covering the top with plastic wrap. After 24 hours, you should feel a firm, solid mass of curds; if not, let the curd hang for another few hours and check again for firmness.

Day 2: Salt the feta:
Sterilize the equipment you’ll need for this day of work. Clean all counters with hot soapy water or an antibacterial wipe. Untie the cheesecloth and transfer the feta to a cutting board.

Cut the feta into 2- to 3-inch pieces. If you see small, uniform, round holes throughout the cheese when you cut it, and it feels spongy, that means undesirable bacteria have contaminated it and you should throw it out. Otherwise, arrange the squares in a single layer in a sterile shallow container with a tight-fitting lid. Sprinkle about 1/2 oz. salt over all sides of the cheese. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 3 days. Turn the feta daily and resalt with 1/2 oz. salt on days 3 and 4. Each day, pour off the whey as it collects in the bottom of the container.

Day 5: Brine the feta:
Sterilize a 3-quart covered container. Transfer the cheese pieces to the container—it’s fine to stack them at this point. Stir the 2 oz. kosher salt into the 1 quart of reserved whey until it is dissolved. Pour this brine over the cheese, covering it completely. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 4 weeks. The longer the feta is aged, the stronger the flavor and crumblier the texture will be.

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